The Adoption of Mary (a pseudonym) and Michael (a pseudonym) [2023] NSWSC 149

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: The Adoption of Mary (a pseudonym) and Michael (a pseudonym) [2023] NSWSC 149 Hearing dates: 20 February 2023 Date of orders: 27 February 2023 Decision date: 27 February 2023 Jurisdiction: Equity - Adoptions List Before: Stevenson J Decision: The children Mary and Michael are Aboriginal children; the requirements of ss 35 and 36 of the Adoption Act 2000 are satisfied; the requirements of s 33 of the Act are not yet satisfied Catchwords: CHILD WELFARE – Adoption – Aboriginal placement principles – definition of "Aboriginal child" CHILD WELFARE – Adoption – Aboriginal placement principles – placement for adoption of Aboriginal children – relationship between s 35(4) and ss 35(2) and 35(3) of the Adoption Act 2000 – whether s 35(4) displaces ss 35(2) and 35(3) – where Aboriginal child has one Aboriginal parent and one non-Aboriginal parent – where child placed with non-Aboriginal prospective adoptive parents CHILD WELFARE – Adoption – Aboriginal placement principles – reasonable inquiries – whether placement of child has been made in consultation with relevant Aboriginal organisation for the purposes of s 33(2) of the Act Legislation Cited: Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) Adoption Act 2000 (NSW) Adoption Regulation 2015 (NSW) Cases Cited: Adoption of BR [2018] NSWSC 1009 Hackett (a pseudonym) v Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice [2020] NSWCA 83 Principal Officer, Family Spirit Adoption Services v D [2022] NSWSC 142 The Adoption of Edward (a pseudonym) [2022] NSWSC 1488 The Adoption of Edward (a pseudonym) (No 2) [2022] NSWSC 1754 Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Secretary, New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice (Plaintiff) "Audrey" (a pseudonym) (First Defendant) "Steven" (a pseudonym) (Second Defendant) Representation: Solicitors: Crown Solicitor's Office (Plaintiff) Defendants (self-represented) File Number(s): 2019/221936 Publication restriction: This judgment has been anonymised pursuant to s 180 of the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW)