Adoption Bill passed to clear backlog and restore stability for over 400 children

Parliament has unanimously passed the Adoption Amendment Bill 2025, which addresses inconsistencies in the legislation that were identified when the Act was gazetted in May this year and resulted in more than 400 children being denied the opportunity to be placed in stable homes.

While tabling the Bill under Parliamentary Standing Order 51, Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran explained that although the Act was originally passed in 2020, it was not operationalised until May 2025.

Kiran says after operationalising the Act, the ministry realised that there were inconsistencies that made it difficult to fully implement.

She highlighted that consultations with the judiciary, the Office of the Solicitor General, and legal practitioners revealed several pressing issues, including inconsistent interpretation and application of certain provisions across courts, procedural ambiguities causing unnecessary delays in adoption decisions, weak enforcement mechanisms, and unclear institutional roles among responsible authorities.

Kiran noted that while the Act empowers the Minister to make regulations, it does not confer authority on the Chief Justice to establish rules governing adoption proceedings, creating procedural limitations within the courts.

As of October 2025, Kiran says there is a significant backlog of adoption cases, with 194 cases pending with the Department of Children and an additional 273 cases reported by the Legal Aid Commission, including 212 cases from 2024 and 61 from 2025.

During the parliamentary debate, Opposition MP Faiyaz Koya expressed support for the amendments, noting that legal practitioners and judges had highlighted the need for these changes.

Echoing these sentiments, Minister for Lands Filimoni Vosarogo emphasised the importance of providing safe, stable, and protected environments for children.

Vosarogo says that adoptions are necessary in cases where children are orphaned, parents are unable to care for them due to legal issues, accidents, substance abuse, or instances of sexual offences.