Under NZ law, adoptive parents have few legal rights to obtain information about a child's birth family once an adoption is finalised. I therefore recommend that they obtain a copy of the child's original birth certificate and copies of any other documents, before the application for an Adoption Order is filed. The main exception is obtaining medical information - A registered medical practitioner can apply (at any time) for medical information to provide treatment or advice about a specific medical condition.
Copies of Court reports cannot be released, as they belong to the Court, unless a Judge agrees that you have special grounds, and gives permission. These records are requested by way of a Section 23 application to open Court records. This does not apply to records held by other agencies such as Oranga Tamariki / CYF, solicitors etc
Further information about both of these applications is available below.
However, under the Privacy Act, adoptive parents can request any / all information held about themselves by Oranga Tamariki (formerly Child, Youth and Family, Child, Youth and Family, Department of Social Welfare and Child Welfare) This includes copies of any documents such as references, medical and Police reports; and any assessment.