Australia, Jan. 11 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on Dec. 16:

1. The Secretary of the NSW Department of Communities and Justice seeks an order that "Joy" and "Sophia" (not their real names), now seven and four years of age respectively, be adopted by "Cath" (not her real name).

2. The birth parents of the children are aware of these proceedings but have not consented to the adoption. The Secretary therefore seeks an order that the Court dispense with the requirement of consent pursuant to s 67(1)(d) of the Adoption Act 2000. The Secretary also seeks orders in relation to the children's names. In each case, the Secretary proposes that the children adopt the surname of the proposed adoptive parent. In Sophia's case, the Secretary also proposes an additional given name.

3. Joy has lived with Cath continuously since 23 October 2017, when she was about five months old. Sophia has lived continuously with Cath since 21 February 2020, when she was one day old.

4. The children are sisters. Their birth parents were served with the Notice of Application for Adoption Orders, but neither parent has entered an appearance.

5. The children are presently under the parental responsibility of the Minister for Families and Communities until each attains the age of 18 years, pursuant to orders made by the Children's Court of New South Wales at Parramatta on 19 December 2017 (in the case of Joy) and 25 May 2021 (in the case of Sophia). Those orders remain in effect.

6. I have determined to make the orders sought and to register the adoption plan. These are my reasons for doing so.

The circumstances of this case

7. It is not necessary to set out the reasons why the children are presently under the parental responsibility of the Minister. Neither birth parent has expressed the view that it is appropriate for the children to be restored to their care and I am satisfied that restoration is not a realistic possibility.

8. Cath is 44 years old and is currently single. She has one adopted child, "Patrick" (not his real name) who is eight years old and was adopted on 4 October 2019 pursuant to orders of the Court.

9. Cath has a tertiary qualification in counselling and family therapy, although she is not currently employed. She does however have the financial capacity to meet the care needs of the children as well as the needs of Patrick and her own needs. She is also able to count on the support of her brother and his wife, who support this application.

10. I have read the affidavit of the proposed adoptive parent and those of her referees.

11. Both children have very high care needs. Both have been diagnosed with a number of medical conditions and disabilities. However, all the evidence before me suggests that Joy and Sophia have been very well cared for and that their complex needs have been met. Cath maintains a loving home in a suburb of Sydney with plenty of room for all of the children to explore and grow. The environment in which the children now reside seems to me to be conducive to their wellbeing, which is borne out by the various reports in evidence.

12. Cath owns her home together with her brother and his wife. They are currently doing some renovations to the property to allow both families to live there. Once complete, Cath, Patrick, Joy and Sophia will live in one part of the premises and Cath's brother, wife and two young sons will live in another part of the premises.

The formal requirements for adoption

13. I am satisfied that the formal requirements of the Adoption Act have been met.

14. Pursuant to s 87 of the Adoption Act, this application is brought by the Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice. At the time the application was filed, the children were present within NSW: ss 23(2)(a) and 24(1)(a). The proposed adoptive parent, Cath is resident and domiciled in NSW: ss 23(2)(b) and 27(1)(a).

15. A report concerning the proposed adoption authored by an "approved assessor" has been provided to me as part of the application: ss 91(1) and 91(2A)(s). The proposed adoptive parent is of good repute and is a fit and proper person and meets the age requirement: ss 27(1)(b) and 27(2). The proposed adoptive parent has also been assessed as a suitable person and has been selected in accordance with the Adoption Act: ss 45F and 90(1)(c).

16. Finally, notice was given to the birth parents more than 14 days before the date of the orders contained in this Judgment: ss 72(1) and 88(1)(a), and, the birth parents have been provided with a copy of the Mandatory Written Information: s 59.

*Rest of the document and Footnotes can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/193cc44d3b0a209bc03b6fce)

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