International Social Service (ISS) Australia has undertaken research into the 1996 Hague Convention[1], in particular its potential application to the inter-country casework of ISS Australia involving children. This research report is part of a project funded by the Ian Potter Foundation, "Boosting Outcomes for Australian Children Using International Laws." [2]

The 1996 Hague Convention is a multi-lateral treaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law to improve the protection of children in international situations.  It does this by building a structure for effective international co-operation in child protection matters through a network of Central Authorities at the State and Commonwealth level.

The Convention determines which country's authorities have jurisdiction to take measures to protect children across international borders, clarifies which are the applicable laws, and enables recognition and enforcement of protection measures in all Contracting States.

Currently only 15 countries, including Australia, have ratified the Convention and to date there have been no Australian cases under the Convention.  However, once more countries ratify the Convention, it is expected that the Convention will start operating, with significant changes in the way international cases involving child protection and parental responsibility are dealt with. 

This project has enabled ISS Australia to deepen its own understanding of the 1996 Hague Convention, positioning us as the leading non-government organisation in Australia with expertise on the Convention. We have also developed more effective service delivery systems for responding to inter-country cases involving children and have identified key aspects of the Convention that could be applied to improve outcomes for children.

[2] For full details of the project, Click here.

In January, 2008 ISS Australia commenced work on our Victorian Kinship Care Project, funded by the Fred P Archer Charitable Trust. The project was aimed at achieving better outcomes for Victorian children who are placed in alternative care by exploring the capacity of family members overseas to be potential carers for these children.

The first phase of the project, which has now been completed, was to liaise with the Victorian Department of Human Services (DHS) about the project and to identify the children in the ‘child protection’ system who may benefit from overseas kinship care.  During this phase a submission was made to the Victorian Government’s Review on Kinship Care, which was an opportunity for ISS to contribute to the development of future policy in Victoria around Kinship Care.  The submission is available for download, click here .

The Kinship Care Project has enabled ISS Australia to engage more effectively with DHS in order to promote inter-country kinship care as an option with the potential to improve outcomes for Victorian children. As a result of our work, referrals to ISS from DHS for overseas kinship care have now increased.