Sophie, 36, feared she’d be almost 50 before she managed to adopt. Source: Supplied

She was told it could take 10 to 15 years to adopt a child within Australia, and eight to 10 years to adopt a child from overseas.

“I thought, how am I going to handle having a child at 50?” the 36-year-old told news.com.au.

Others warned Sophie* and her husband Sam, 38, that the process was extremely hard, and their child would be older and most likely have behavioural problems.

They weren’t the only ones to feel discouraged. Adoption rates have plummeted to a record low in Australia, with just 317 children joining a new family across the nation this year.

But the couple, who had fertility issues, wanted desperately to be parents.

They researched at length, and eventually found the Barnardos scheme for adoption through foster care.

She and husband Sam were desperate for a child to love. Source: Supplied

“I wish more people know about it,” said Sophie. “It’s another door that I didn’t even know about.”

Within two years, they are now filing the papers to finalise their adoption of their foster son, three-year-old Harry.

“We’ve had him a year-and-a-half,” said Sophie. “He calls us mummy and daddy and I consider him my son. I didn’t have to give birth to him to feel that way.”

They were lucky to live in New South Wales, which is leading the way for reform. In other states, foster parents have to go through a completely separate process if they later want to adopt. It can take more than a decade.

Some states don’t have permanent care as an option and children can be shunted between eight or nine families, which can be highly disruptive.

“A lot of children jump around foster parents,” said Sophie. “If you’ve been to 10 families you’re going to struggle as an adult.

Adoption in Australia can be a long and arduous process. Source: Supplied

“Even Harry had a few problems at first. He’d been to a respite carer and he may have felt he was being palmed off. He would have long, long tantrums, worse than a usual toddler.

“He would bang his head against the wall and he was violent toward me. He’d cry for four or five hours and, as a two-year-old, he’d say he wanted to leave.

“But now he understands this is mummy and daddy. I’m quite open. He understands no one will take him away and he has a different surname.

“He still sees his biological mother four times a year, and he calls her Mummy Alice.”

Jane Hunt, CEO of Adopt Change, told news.com.au that she was “really disappointed” with the 9 per cent drop in adoptions revealed in this week’s report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

“It really is a very low number for the whole country,” she said.

“People talk about Australia as having an anti-adoption culture.

Jane Hunt, CEO of Adopt Change, says the record low of adoption rates this year was “really disappointing”. Source: Supplied

“I’ve met lots of potential parents who want to provide a home, and would be wonderful families. But lots of couples find the process difficult, and it costs.

“Having a loving relationship with someone who touches and talks to you makes an enormous difference. It helps brain development in children, creates neural pathways and regulates cortisol.”

The preference is always for the child to remain with their family, or their community, but if neither is possible, adoption can be the next best option.

The Federal Government has recently committed to reducing waiting times for adoptive parents to an average of 12 months across the board.

The number of children adopted from overseas fell significantly this year, and Ms Hunt said part of the issue is that Australians are only able to adopt from about seven other countries.

Deborra-Lee Furness is a founding member of Adopt Change, which wants to see Australia change its “anti-adoption culture”. Source: Getty Images

This means that if there is a slowdown in one country, or if the country is placing more children nationally, then fewer adoptions will take place.

In the US, there are 100 countries open to Americans for adoption.

“The government needs to establish more relationships with other countries,” said Ms Hunt. “We need to work with countries where we know there are a lot of children in orphanages.”

Both Ms Hunt and Sophie stress that the most important thing is what is best for the child.

“We advocate for ethical and fair adoption,” said Ms Hunt. “And there’s a critical need.”

Sophie is hoping that by her birthday in July, Harry will be fully adopted.

“Lots of people sit there and say, ‘You’re doing such a great thing,’” she says. “But I think, don’t congratulate me that much, I wanted this too.

“We really wanted a child. And if you really want a child, you’ll do anything.

“IVF could have cost $8000. We thought we were better off giving that to Harry.”

* All names have been changed.

For more information on adoption, visit the Barnardos website or see Adopt Change.