Adoption of Hampton‑Morgan [2018] NSWSC 2007

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Adoption of Hampton‑Morgan [2018] NSWSC 2007 Hearing dates: 9 and 10 August 2018 (Broken Hill) Date of orders: 10 August 2018 Decision date: 10 August 2018 Jurisdiction: Equity - Adoptions List Before: Brereton J Decision: Orders dispensing with the consent of the birth mother and birth father; for the adoption of the child; approving surname and forenames on adoption, and registering the paternal adoption plan. Catchwords: FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE – child welfare under State legislation – adoption – whether consent of birth parents ought to be dispensed with – where child in care of approved carers with whom she has an established relationship – held, in child's best interests to make consent dispense order so as to allow adoption order to be made.

FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE – child welfare under State legislation – adoption – adoption plans – importance of birth family contact in mitigating risks of identity issues potentially associated with adoption.

FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE – child welfare under State legislation – adoption – consent – dispensing with consent – where adoptive applicants are approved carers with whom child has an established relationship – where Children's Court has allocated parental responsibility to Minister to age 18 – where adoption would promote child's best interests and is clearly preferable to any other order that could be made with respect to care of child – held, in child's best interests to make consent dispense orders so as to permit adoption order to be made.

FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE – child welfare under State legislation – adoption – names – assumption of adoptive parents' surname is a fundamental feature of adoption and a manifestation of its benefits – inclusion of former surnames as middle names is in child's interests as means of preserving the child's identity. Legislation Cited: (NSW) Adoption Act 2000, s 8, s 23, s 28, s 50, s 67(1)(d), s 90 (NSW) Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, s 90 Cases Cited: Adoption of SRB, CJB and RDB [2014] NSWSC 138 Adoption of Hogarth [2017] NSWSC 1861 Texts Cited: Bohman M & Sigvardsson S (1990) 'Outcome in Adoption: Lessons from Longitudinal Studies' in The Psychology of Adoption, eds Brodzinksy D M & Schechter M D, pp 93-106 Brodzinksy D M (1993), 'Long-Term Outcomes in Adoption', The Future of Children, 3(1): 153‑166 Holloway J S (1997), 'Outcome in Placements for Adoption or Long Term Fostering', Archives of Disease in Childhood, 76(3): 227-230 Rushton A, Treseder J & Quinton D (1995), 'An Eight‑Year Prospective Study of Older Boys Placed in Permanent Substitute Families: A Research Note', Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36(4): 687‑695 Triseliotis J (2002), 'Long-Term Foster Care or Adoption? The Evidence Examined', Child and Family Social Work, 7(1): 23-33 Vinnerljung B & Hjern A (2011), 'Cognitive, Educational and Self-Support Outcomes of Long-Term Foster Care Versus Adoption: A Swedish National Cohort Study', Children and Youth Services Review, 33(10): 1902-1910 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Secretary, Department of Family and Community Services (plaintiff) Mr Warwick Hampton (in person) (defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr C McGorey (plaintiff)