Adoption of BJW, JWW, CMW and LW

In the Family Court of Australia, the case involved the adoption of four children, BJW, JWW, CMW, and LW. The dispute arose regarding the adoption process, specifically the necessity of obtaining consent from the natural parents and the appropriateness of altering the children's names to align with their adoptive family. The children had given their sole consent for the adoption and the requisite notices were provided to the natural parents. The legal issues before the court included whether an adoption order could be made without the consent of the natural parents, and if so, whether such an order was clearly preferable to any other possible order concerning the care of the children. Additionally, the court had to determine if changing the children's names to accord with their adoptive mother's family was in their best interests.

The court addressed the first issue by noting that while the consent of natural parents is generally required for adoption, there is no absolute necessity to dispense with their consent if an adoption order is clearly preferable to other orders that could be made regarding the care of the children. In this case, the court found that the adoption was clearly preferable, as the children had no desire for contact with their natural parents and the restoration of the children to their birth parents was not proposed. Furthermore, the s 91 reporter confirmed that contact with the natural parents would not be in the children's best interests. Consequently, the court held that the adoption order was indeed preferable. Regarding the name change, the court recognised the importance of preserving the children's given names as far as practicable while considering their wishes. The children's desire for a name change was deemed well-considered and rational, and the court concluded that the name change was in their best interests.

In summary, the court ruled that the adoption order was appropriate and preferable to other care orders, and it granted permission for the children to change their second forenames to align with their adoptive mother's family.