Bureaucratic red tape has resulted in increased frustration for families wishing to adopt children.

The blunder occurred after changes to the adoption laws came into effect at the start of last November.

But Government forms that have to be completed by prospective parents are out-of-date and unacceptable because they do not reflect the new regulations — and new forms will not be available until the end of next month.

It is understood that the current forms refer to ‘Adoption Rules 1964’ — regulations that were made obsolete when new rules came into law last year.

The slip-up means that some adoption applications could be delayed by up to seven months.

This newspaper first questioned Government about the glitch on April 2. No response to our questions had been received by Press time last night.

But it is understood the new forms still have to be ratified by senior legal officials before they can go into print.

One lawyer said the discrepancy should have been foreseen and avoided.

And they questioned why new forms could not be generated and completed electronically.

“The delay in permitting applications for adoptions to be received by the Court just makes the Magistrates’ Court administration seem incompetent,” the attorney, who asked not to be named, said.

“I really don’t know why the Government won’t permit applicants to print off the application form at the back of the Adoption of Children Rules and complete it.

“What is the difference between a form in the prescribed form that doesn’t bear a heading printed by Government and the form in the exact form prescribed by the Rules?

“I can understand the Government not having the money to print the forms right now — so why print them? Why not create a form electronically?”