12.12 Fees & Charges
The ‘Contract for Service’ between the applicants and ‘Compassion for Orphans’ will include a schedule of fees (estimated and actual expenses), and conditions under which fees or costs may be charged, waived, reduced or refunded and when and how the fees shall be paid.
‘Compassion for Orphans’ recognises that applicants are vulnerable in the foreign country to being taken advantage of financially. Therefore ‘Compassion for Orphans’ will identify, itemise and disclose in detail what applicants can expect to pay in the foreign country and any situations where refunds can be expected.
Information will be provided to applicants for each separate category of fees and costs they are likely to incur in the adoption process. There will be a full explanation of how each fee and cost has been calculated.
Each separate category of fees and costs to be charged is as follows:
12.12.1 Actual Adoption Programme Fees.
‘Compassion for Orphans’ will calculate ‘reasonable fees’ based on recovery of actual and reasonable costs, not on any normative comparison to other providers of similar services in New Zealand or overseas.
As a sole focus provider, adoption programme fees for providing adoption services in New Zealand will be based on total cost recovery, e.g. of staff costs, administrative overheads, training and education, communications and publications.
In accordance with our aims to increase the affordability by New Zealand families on average incomes, ‘Compassion for Orphans’ will give consideration to utilising any available funds from the ‘reserve fund’ to offset the cost of providing adoption services.
Adoption programme fees will be calculated as follows:
|
Total cost of providing adoption services for 12 months (less any contribution made from reserve fund)
divided by _____________________________________________________________________
Projected number of adoptions for 12 months |
Also, notwithstanding the above calculation, the adoption programme fee will not exceed what is regarded as ‘reasonable’ for New Zealand.
12.12.2 Foreign Country Programme Costs
The total cost of providing adoption services in the child’s country of origin.
12.12.3 Translation and Document Costs
The costs for obtaining any necessary documents and for any translation of documents related to the adoption. Including obtaining or copying records or documents required to complete the adoption, costs for the child’s court documents, passport, adoption certificate and other documents related to the adoption. The costs for notarisation and certification, with disclosure of any expectation that Applicants pay such costs directly either in New Zealand or the foreign country, will also be included.
12.12.4 Travel and Accommodation Expenses
The (approximate) cost of travel and accommodation expenses.
12.12.5 Additional Fees
‘Compassion for Orphans’ policy is that additional fees beyond those disclosed at the initiation of services will not be charged. In the event that unforeseen additional costs are incurred or required ‘Compassion for Orphans’ will:
Meet any additional costs where the total is under NZ$100.
Disclose the additional costs in writing to applicants for total costs over NZ$100 and obtain the consent of applicants to incur the cost prior to expending any funds.
Provide written receipts for any additional costs incurred.
12.12.6 Central Authorities
‘Compassion for Orphans’ will advise applicants, in advance, of fees (if any) required by the Central Authorities to process the adoption.
