30Person consenting to receive counselling

30 Person consenting to receive counselling (1) Subject to subsection (4), a person (other than the Minister) who is, under this Division, required to consent to an adoption of a child must not consent to the adoption unless the person has received counselling from an approved person. (2) The person who gives the counselling mentioned in subsection (1) must, not later than 7 days before consent to an adoption is given, give to the person or persons who propose to consent to the adoption information in the prescribed form in respect of the effect of an order for adoption and the alternatives to adoption. (3) The Minister may, for the purposes of a proceeding under this Act, certify that subsections (1) and (2) have been complied with and such certification by the Minister is prima facie evidence that subsections (1) and (2) have been complied with. Part 3 Adoptions under this Act Division 4 Consents to adoptions Adoption of Children Act 1994 16 (4) This section does not apply to a person who proposes to give consent to an adoption and who will have been residing outside the Territory for a continuous period of 2 months at the time of giving the consent.