18Prescribed requirements

18 Prescribed requirements

For the purpose of section 24(1)(a) of the Act, the prescribed requirements that a prospective adoptive parent is to satisfy are as follows:

(a) that the prospective adoptive parent is an accepted applicant;

(b) that the prospective adoptive parent is of good character and is a suitable person to be entrusted with the care of a child;

(c) that the motivation of the prospective adoptive parent for adoption of a child indicates his or her awareness of a child's needs and that his or her expectations for a child are likely to enhance a child's future development;

(d) that a prospective adoptive parent shows an understanding of the needs and rights of the natural parents who relinquish a child for adoption;

(e) that a prospective adoptive parent has the capacity to accommodate and promote the interests and welfare of a child of a particular age and gender;

(f) that a prospective adoptive parent has the capacity and commitment to assist a child to acquire knowledge of his or her child's adoptive status and origins, including the passing on of background information concerning the child;

(g) that, in the case of the approval of a prospective adoptive parent for placement of a non-citizen child or a child of a different cultural background (other than a prospective adoptive parent who is a natural relative of such a child), the prospective adoptive parent has an understanding of, and interest in, the culture of the child's background and the capacity and commitment to facilitate maintenance of positive links with that culture.