Adoption of SVS [2015] NSWSC 2043

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Adoption of SVS [2015] NSWSC 2043 Hearing dates: 9 December 2014, 31 March 2015, 1 April 2015 Date of orders: 01 April 2015 Decision date: 01 April 2015 Jurisdiction: Equity - Adoptions List Before: Brereton J Decision: Adoption order made; consent dispense order made; adoption plan approved. 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 restoration of child to birth parent not proposed – where removing child from adoptive parents' care would disrupt child's development – whether long term foster care preferable – whether age of adoptive parents militates against adoption order – impact of order on relationship with biological siblings – 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; FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE – child welfare under State legislation – adoption – adequacy of adoption plan – whether sufficient contact with birth mother – whether contact with birth mother should be permitted in presence of birth mother's partner – whether contact with birth mother should be permitted in absence of one or both adoptive parents. Legislation Cited: (Cth) Family Law Act 1975 (NSW) Adoption Act 2000, s 8(1), s 23(2), s 24(1), s 28(1), s 28(3), s 28(4), s 67(1), s 87, s 88, s 90(3), s 91 (NSW) Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, s 90(4) Cases Cited: Director-General, Dept of Community Services v D [2007] NSWSC 762; (2007) 37 Fam LR 595 Texts Cited: J Triselotis, 'Long-Term Fostering or Adoption: the Evidence Examined' (2002) Child and Family Social Work 7 M Bohman and S Sigvardson, 'Outcome in Adoption: Lessons from Longitudinal Studies' in D M Brodzinsky & M D Schecter (eds), The Psychology of Adoption (1990, Oxford University Press) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Secretary, New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services (plaintiff) KF (defendant) SVS (child) Representation: Counsel: M Neville (plaintiff) R Dart (defendant)