The Adoption of Nataly (a pseudonym) and Ali (a pseudonym) [2023] NSWSC 1069

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: The Adoption of Nataly (a pseudonym) and Ali (a pseudonym) [2023] NSWSC 1069 Hearing dates: 19 July 2023 Date of orders: 06 September 2023 Decision date: 06 September 2023 Jurisdiction: Equity - Adoptions List Before: Stevenson J Decision: The Secretary has made reasonable inquiries as to whether the children are Aboriginal children; the children are Aboriginal children; the prospective adoptive parent has the capacity and knowledge specified in s 35(3) of the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW); the Aboriginal child placement principles have been properly applied; the Secretary has complied with the consultation obligations under s 33 of the Act; an inability of the Secretary to comply with the consultation obligations under s 33(2) of the Act would not itself deprive the Court of jurisdiction to make an order for adoption; declaration of paternal parentage to be made Catchwords: CHILD WELFARE – adoption – Aboriginal child placement principles – whether placement for adoption has occurred – whether prospective adoptive parent has capacity under s 35(3) of the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW) – where children with one Aboriginal parent and one non-Aboriginal parent – where prospective adoptive parent is not Aboriginal – where preliminary hearing held under s 80(2) of the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW) CHILD WELFARE – adoption – consultation by the Secretary with a relevant Aboriginal organisation – whether placement of Aboriginal child for adoption has been made in consultation with such an organisation for the purposes of s 33(2) of the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW) – whether the engagement by the Secretary in such consultation is a condition of the authority of the Court to make an adoption order – whether failure or inability of the Secretary to ensure that the requisite consultation has occurred deprives the Court of the power to make an order for adoption Legislation Cited: Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) Adoption Act 2000 (NSW) Adoption Amendment Bill 2008 (NSW) Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) Status of Children Act 1996 (NSW) Status of Children Regulation 2019 (NSW) Cases Cited: Black-Clawson International Ltd v Papierwerke Waldhof-Aschaffenburg AG [1975] AC 591 Clayton v Heffron (1960) 105 CLR 214; [1960] HCA 92 Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) 194 CLR 355; [1998] HCA 28 Stanley v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2023] HCA 3 Tasker v Fullwood [1978] 1 NSWLR 20 The Adoption of Blake (a pseudonym) [2022] NSWSC 1766 The Adoption of Edward (a pseudonym) [2022] NSWSC 1488 The Adoption of Mary (a pseudonym) and Michael (a pseudonym) [2023] NSWSC 149 Texts Cited: New South Wales, Legislative Assembly, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 25 September 2008 Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Secretary, New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice (Plaintiff) "Michael" (Defendant) Representation: Solicitors: Crown Solicitor's Office (Plaintiff) Defendant (self-represented) File Number(s): 2023/171198 Publication restriction: This judgment has been anonymised pursuant to s 180 of the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW)