45Criteria for assessment of applicants

#### 45 Criteria for assessment of applicants 45 Criteria for assessment of applicants > For the purposes of section 45 (1) (a) of the Act, the relevant decision-maker is to have regard to the following matters when assessing the suitability of a person to be approved to adopt, and in the selection of a person to adopt, a child under the Act— > > > (a) the person’s health, including emotional, physical and mental health, > > > (b) the person’s age and maturity, > > > (c) the person’s skills and life experience, in relation to the person’s ability to undertake parenting tasks and attend to the specific needs of an adopted child, > > > (d) the person’s capacity to provide a stable, secure and beneficial emotional and physical environment during the child’s upbringing until the child reaches social and emotional independence, > > > (e) the person’s financial circumstances, in relation to the person’s capacity to adequately provide for the child’s needs, > > > (f) the person’s capacity to support the maintenance of the child’s cultural identity and religious faith (if any), > > > (g) the person’s appreciation of the importance of and capacity to facilitate— > > > > > (i) contact with the child’s birth parents and family, and > > > > > (ii) exchange of information about the child with the child’s birth parents and family, > > > (h) the general stability of the person’s character, > > > (i) the stability and quality of the person’s relationship with his or her spouse (if any) and between the person, his or her spouse (if any) and other members of the person’s family and household, > > > (j) any information obtained or check conducted under clause 44, > > > (k) if the person has had the care of a child before the application, whether the person has shown an ability to provide a stable, secure and beneficial emotional and physical environment for the child, > > > (l) without limiting paragraph (k), if the person is, or at any time has been, an authorised carer—the person’s compliance with any applicable provisions of the [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1998-157) and the regulations made under that Act.