Re DYK & The Adoption Act 2000 [2005] NSWSC 1045

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Re DYK & The Adoption Act 2000 [2005] NSWSC 1045

JUDGMENT DATE : 17 October 2005

JUDGMENT OF : Brereton J

CATCHWORDS : FAMILY LAW & CHILD WELFARE - Child welfare other than under Family Law Act 1975 - adoption - application for consent dispense orders with respect to Korean natural parents and Korean guardian of child - whether consent of natural parents to be dispensed with - "reasonable inquiry" for the purpose of deciding whether to make consent dispense order - whether consent dispense order with respect to Korean guardian necessary - application of Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1976 (Cth) to child who enters Australia with intending adoptive parent

Adoption Act 2000 LEGISLATION CITED : Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 (Cth)

Re H & The Adoption Act [2004] NSWSC 1242 Re S & The Adoption Act 2000 [2005] NSWSC 393 CASES CITED : Re K & The Adoption Act [2005] NSWSC 858 Re KN & The Adoption Act 2000 [2005] NSWSC 896

PARTIES : Re DYK & The Adoption Act 2000

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 80085 of 2005

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION :

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES EQUITY DIVISION ADOPTIONS LIST

BRERETON J

Monday 17 October 2005

80085/05 DYK & The Adoption Act 2000 JUDGMENT 1 HIS HONOUR: DYK was born in Korea. He is now two years of age and has been in the care of the applicants and in Australia for 18 months. With the consent of the Director General of the Department of Community Services ("DOCS"), by his delegate, the applicants seek an adoption order in their favour, the approval of the child's name, and orders dispensing with the consents of the child's natural parents and of the child's guardian Kim Do Young, who is the Executive Director of the Eastern Social Welfare Society ("ESWS"), an Korean agency approved by the Korean government to conduct intercountry adoptions, and also dispensing with the giving of notice of the application to the parents and Kim Do Young. 2 Subject to the making of the orders dispensing with consents and notice as sought, all necessary conditions for the making of an adoption order have been satisfied, and it is appropriate that such an order be made. But issues relating to the consents have called for more thorough consideration. Relevantly, the history is as follows.