The issue of whether or not the basic principle guiding the placement of Australian children in need of care is applied in practice is addressed in this expanded seminar paper. It is pointed out that the principle stating that the child's welfare should be of paramount concern has been incorporated into Australian legislation in the Adoption Act and the Family Law Act. It does not appear, however, in the proposed Child and Community Welfare Act (circa 1981). The history of child welfare provision, Australian law, the psychological parent and bonding, and the biological parent are the topics initially taken up. Subsequently, the topics of the impact on the child of separation, early adoption, late adoption, and long- and short-term foster care are discussed. It is concluded that in Australian society, the child's ties with biological parents are overvalued. The proposed Child Welfare Act makes termination of parental rights increasingly difficult even though research findings indicate that adoption of young children is preferable to long-term foster care. To the extent that the law protects the rights of biological parents over the best interests of the child, the legal principle that the child's welfare should be of paramount concern is completely abandoned in practice. (Author/RH)