Application GOC & GC; re WJS

The parties involved in this case were the Government of New South Wales (GOC) and the Guardianship Commissioner (GC) on one side, and WJS on the other. The dispute centred around an adoption application by WJS, an Australian citizen, who sought to adopt a child born in Taiwan. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The legal issues that the court had to determine were whether the adoption application could proceed under the NSW Adoption Act and whether an order to dispense with the consent of the birth mother could be granted.

The court was required to decide if the adoption application could be processed under the NSW Adoption Act, considering that Taiwan is not a party to the Inter-Country Adoption Convention and is not a prescribed overseas jurisdiction. The court also needed to determine whether the adopting parents, who were not resident or domiciled in Taiwan, could proceed with the adoption under the NSW Adoption Act. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the birth mother's consent given in a Taiwanese court could be recognised in Australia and whether there were grounds to dispense with the birth mother's consent for the purposes of the NSW Adoption Act.

The court determined that the adoption application must proceed under the NSW Adoption Act because Taiwan is not a prescribed overseas jurisdiction and is not a party to the Inter-Country Adoption Convention. The court found that the birth mother had given consent in a Taiwanese court, but this consent did not meet the requirements of the NSW Adoption Act. The court held that the birth mother had not been shown to be unable to be identified or found, and no grounds were apparent to dispense with her consent. Consequently, the application for a consent dispense order was declined. The court's decision was grounded in the statutory requirements of the NSW Adoption Act and the need to protect the rights of the birth mother.

The court made no orders regarding the adoption application. The parties were directed to further proceedings as required by law, with the understanding that the adoption could not proceed without the birth mother's consent in accordance with the NSW Adoption Act.