VICTORIAN couples are facing waits of up to six years and bills as high as $30,000 as demand to adopt a child from overseas soar
VICTORIAN couples are facing waits of up to six years and bills as high as $30,000 as demand to adopt a child from overseas soars worldwide.
Only 95 children were adopted from overseas by Victorians last financial year, plunging almost 30 per cent from a peak of 132 two years before.
About 300 other applicants are living in limbo - approved by Victoria's adoption authority but awaiting the green light from the chosen country.
A surge in interest in overseas adoption worldwide has prompted countries to tighten eligibility rules, making it tougher for Australians to adopt.
Figures prepared for the Herald Sun by the Department of Human Services show that waits range from 20 months to six years and four months.
Most couples wait three to four years.
Costs vary from an estimated $14,300 to $28,700 depending on the country, the figures show.
Adopting a local child has become all but impossible, with only 18 in Victoria last year compared with almost 10,000 a year nationwide in the early '70s.
Almost 500 Victorians a year inquire about overseas adoption through DHS. China and South Korea are the most popular choice for overseas adoptions by Victorians, followed by Ethiopia, India, Thailand and the Philippines.
DHS intercountry adoption spokesman Sam Cavarra said the drop in adoption numbers was mostly caused by tougher rules imposed by China, including age and health restrictions.
Strict quotas and restrictions on eligibility imposed by countries have led to the long waiting lists.
China rules out the extremely obese (BMI over 40) and anyone who has taken medication for depression or anxiety in the past two years.
China also won't accept anyone with a history of any form of cancer, lupus, epilepsy or blindness.
Most countries accept only married couples, with de facto couples and singles ruled out.
The strictest country is Taiwan, which insists those in second or subsequent marriages must have been married at least 10 years.
It also requires both parents to be practising Christians and rejects those with a BMI over 30.
Family composition, motivation to adopt from a particular country, and intentions for the child's religious and academic education form part of the criteria imposed by countries.
For all adoptions, one parent must be able to stay home for full-time care for the first 12 months after adopting a preschool child.
Some countries require evidence of infertility and give priority to childless couples.
Applications from couples undergoing IVF or other fertility treatment are deferred until the treatment is completed.
And, while approval may be granted by DHS's Intercountry Adoption Service for more than one country, an application is only sent to one at a time.
A shortage of babies up for adoption in Western nations - partly because of better contraception, access to abortion and support for single mothers - has led prospective parents worldwide to look overseas instead.
The DHS figures show costs to Victorian adoptive parents include $6727 in fees to DHS and fees of $600 to $12,000 to the country concerned.
Parents must also pay $7000 to $10,000 in travel and other costs, including flights to the country to collect the child, and accommodation.
Mr Cavarra said DHS was working with the federal Attorney-General's office to find more countries for Australians to adopt from.
North Melbourne couple Charlie Salloum and Diana Mercuri paid $25,000 to $30,000 to adopt each of their two children from South Korea, without even a moment's regret.
"It's been the most wonderful experience that we ever could have hoped for," Mr Salloum said.
"We have two beautiful children that we otherwise wouldn't have had."
The couple tried for four years to have a child naturally, then six months of IVF.
Mr Salloum said the long process - two to 2 1/2 years for each child - seemed insignificant once adoption went through.
"The day you get them, all of that just washes away," he said.
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