145.— (1) A person who is—

(a) an adopter,

(b) a prospective adopter,

(c) a parent, or

(d) a guardian,

of a child shall not receive or agree to receive, in consideration of the adoption of the child, any payment or other reward.

(2) A person shall not make or give, or agree to make or give, any—

(a) payment, or

(b) other reward,

the receipt of which is prohibited by subsection (1).

(3) A person shall not—

(a) receive, make or give any payment or other reward, or

(b) agree to receive, make or give any payment or other reward,

in consideration of making arrangements for the adoption of a child.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to accredited bodies in respect of—

(a) reasonable costs and expenses related to their functions, including reasonable fees paid as remuneration for professional services, and

(b) the receipt of gifts of money with the prior approval of the Authority.

(5) This section does not apply in respect of payments made for the maintenance of a child referred to in subsection (1).

F104[(6) In this section “guardian” includes any guardian of a child who stands appointed under the Act of 1964.]