Adoption of KH [2015] NSWSC 274

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Adoption of KH [2015] NSWSC 274 Hearing dates: 3 February 2015 Date of orders: 03 February 2015 Decision date: 03 February 2015 Jurisdiction: Equity Division - Adoption List Before: Brereton J Decision: Declaration of paternity; amendment to birth certificate to include birth father ordered; consent dispense orders made; adoption order made; adoption plans registered. Catchwords: FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE – child welfare under State legislation – adoption – whether the making of an adoption order is clearly preferable to any other order that could be made with respect to the care of the child – where no realistic prospect of restoration of child to care of birth parents – where preserving the possibility of restoration would thus contravene the spirit of adoption principle (e1) – where proposed adoptive parents in a better position to facilitate contact with birth parents than the Department – where adoption would serve child's identity needs better than any potential alternative as it would confirm the child's identity with his psychological family while preserving the opportunity for him to know his birth parents and to understand why he does not live with them – held, that the making of an adoption order is clearly preferable to any other order that could be made with respect to the care of the child.

FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE – child welfare under State legislation – adoption – whether consent of birth parents ought to be dispensed with – as the making of an adoption order would promote the child's welfare and be in his best interests, it is necessarily also in the best interests of the child to make a consent dispense order so as to allow the adoption order to be made. Legislation Cited: (NSW) Adoption Act 2000, s 8(1), s 8(1)(e1), s 8(2), s 23(2)(a), s 23(2)(b), s 24(1)(a), s 28(1)(a), s 28(1)(b), s 28(3), s 28(4), s 50(3), s 59, s 67(1)(d), s 87, s 88, s 90(3), s 91, s 91(1) (NSW) Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995, s 19(2) (NSW) Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, s 90 (NSW) Status of Children Act 1996, s 21(2) Cases Cited: Adoption of BS (No 3) [2013] NSWSC 2033 Adoption of NG (No 2) [2014] NSWSC 680 Director-General v Department of Community Services and D [2007] NSWSC 762; (2007) 37 FamLR 595 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Secretary, NSW Department of Family and Community Services (plaintiff) M (first defendant) D (second defendant) Representation: Counsel: T Stevens (crown) M Fallon (first defendant) D (in person) (second defendant)