Adoption of Y (anonymised) [2019] NSWSC 1197

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Adoption of Y (anonymised) [2019] NSWSC 1197 Hearing dates: 6 September 2019 Date of orders: 06 September 2019 Decision date: 06 September 2019 Jurisdiction: Equity - Adoptions List Before: Sackar J Decision: Adoption Orders Made Catchwords: ADOPTION - FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE –Adoption- whether adoption in the child's best interests- whether adoption clearly preferable Legislation Cited: Adoption Act 2000 (NSW) Cases Cited: Adoption of Hogarth (No 2) [2019] NSWSC 9 Texts Cited: n/a Category: Principal judgment Parties: Secretary for the Department of Family and Community Services by his delegate Principal Officer, Adoptions, Barnardos Australia (plaintiff) K N (first defendant) D Y (second defendant) Representation: Counsel: Ms K Shea (plaintiff) Self represented (first defendant) Self represented (second defendant)

Solicitors: Crown Solicitor of New South Wales (plaintiff) Self represented (first defendant) Self represented (second defendant) File Number(s): A153/2018

judgement

Procedural background 1. These proceedings concern the adoption of AY, born 18 August 2015. 2. The Secretary, NSW Department of Family and Community Services by his delegate Principal Officer, Adoptions, Barnardos Australia (the Secretary), by Amended Summons filed 22 February 2019, seeks the following orders: 1. An order pursuant to s 67(1)(d) of the Adoption Act 2000, that the consent of the child's birth father be dispensed with. 2. An order pursuant to s 67(1)(d) of the Adoption Act 2000, that the consent of the child's birth mother be dispensed with. 3. An order pursuant to s 23 of the Adoption Act 2000 for the adoption of the child ATY in favour of the adopting parents (named). 4. The court approves pursuant to s 101(1) of the Adoption Act 2000 the name "M" as the surname and "ATY" as the given names of the child. 1. The matter was initially listed for directions before Justice Robb on 12 December 2018. At that point, the birth mother and birth father were joined as first and second defendants to the proceedings. The matter was set down for preliminary hearing on 27 February 2019 and for directions on 28 March 2019. At this stage the defendants were ordered to serve any evidence upon which they wished to rely by 11 April 2019. 2. The matter was then listed for hearing on 7 June 2019. The mother requested an adjournment of this date due to her giving birth around this time. 3. I then listed the matter before me for directions only on 12 June 2019. At this stage I fixed the final hearing for an estimate of half day on 6 September 2019. 4. Neither of the birth parents filed any evidence in the proceedings, however each attended the hearing in person. Following exchanges between myself and the birth parents at the hearing, it became apparent to me that the birth parents both continued to oppose the adoption but they seemed primarily concerned with the issue of contact (T13/49-14/20). I raised the issue of Adoption Plans with both them and Counsel for the Secretary. After a short adjournment, Counsel informed me that the proposed adoptive parents and the Secretary had signed both a maternal and paternal adoption plan and now sought to have them registered (T10/1; 27/5). The birth parents informed me that they did not wish to sign the proposed adoption plans (T15/33-47). 5. Following oral submissions from the Secretary, as well as hearing from the birth mother and birth father, I gave my brief reasons ordering the dispensing with consent of the birth parents and the adoption of A in favour of the proposed adoptive parents, as well as an order registering the adoption plans and an order for name change. I now publish in full my reasons.