Adoptions

7 February 2025

Today the Chief Justice reissued Practice Note SC Eq 13 – Adoptions, with a commencement date of 10 February 2025. The revised Practice Note includes the following changes:

• The addition of paragraphs 26 to 30 and 35 to:
  • Place greater emphasis on the existing provision at s 9 of the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW), requiring decision makers to ensure that the child participate in decisions under the Adoption Act.
  • Emphasise the principle that the voice of the child should be heard in adoption proceedings.
  • Deal with the circumstance where a legal practitioner is appointed to represent a child, and the child expresses a wish to give evidence in the proceedings and provides for directions to be given to guide and protect the child.
• Amendments to the clause dealing with the appointment of a legal practitioner to represent a child to:
  • Change the provision that the court “may” appoint a legal practitioner to represent a child if that appears to be necessary, to a provision that, in every case, and at the earliest opportunity, the court is to invite submissions from the parties and thereafter to consider whether to appoint a legal practitioner to represent a child.
  • Expand the matters to which the court should have regard when taking those steps.
  • Provide for circumstances in which the court will, absent good reason, appoint a legal practitioner to represent a child.
  • Enumerate other circumstances where the court will be inclined to appointed separate representation for the child.
• Removing the transitional provisions.

The reissued Practice Note will be published on the Supreme Court website and will be submitted for gazettal.

Download a copy of the revised Practice Note in Word (DOCX, 87.0 KB) and PDF (PDF, 275.5 KB) format.