(1) A person cannot
apply under section 38(1) unless at the time of the application, he or
she —
(a)
subject to subsection (2), is an Australian citizen;
(b) is
18 or more years of age;
(c) is
resident or domiciled in this State or, if applying to adopt a child in a
Convention country, is habitually resident in this State;
(d) if
married to, or in a de facto relationship with, another person, applies as a
joint applicant with that person; and
(e) if
applying as a joint applicant —
(i)
has been married to, or in a de facto relationship with,
the other applicant for at least 3 years; and
(ii)
is not married to, or in a de facto relationship with,
any other person.
(2) Two persons cannot
apply jointly under section 38(1) unless at the time of the
application —
(a) both
persons are Australian citizens; or
(b) one
of the persons is an Australian citizen and the other is a citizen of a
country that, in the opinion of the CEO, gives rights to adopted persons that
are not inferior to the rights of non-adopted persons in relation to entry
into, residence, education and medical care in that country.
(3) For the purposes
of subsection (1)(e)(i) if the joint applicants are married and before
the marriage were living as de facto partners, the period of living as
de facto partners may be included when calculating the period mentioned
in subsection (1)(e)(i).
[Section 39 amended by No. 7 of 1999
s. 10; No. 3 of 2002 s. 12; No. 8 of 2003 s. 23;
No. 34 of 2004 Sch. 2 cl. 2(8).]