DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES & WILLIAMS

In the Family Court of Australia, Foster J considered an application by the Department of Family and Community Services (the applicant) for a recovery order concerning a child, B, born in 1999. The child was subject to a welfare order until the age of 18, with parental responsibility vested in the Minister for Family and Community Services. The dispute centred on the location and recovery of the child, who was understood to be in the care of the applicant.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether it was appropriate to make a recovery order under section 67Q of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) in circumstances where the child was under a state welfare order and parental responsibility rested with a Minister. This involved determining whether the delegate of the Minister could provide the necessary consent for the Family Court to exercise its jurisdiction in such a matter and, if so, whether the order sought was in the best interests of the child.

Foster J reasoned that the delegate of the Minister had the authority to consent to the Family Court exercising jurisdiction, and that making the recovery order was in the best interests of the child. The court found that the circumstances warranted dispensing with the usual procedural requirements, including the filing of a section 60I Family Dispute Resolution Certificate. The court ultimately issued a recovery order, directing the Marshal of the Family Court, officers of the Australian Federal Police, and all State and Territory police forces to locate and recover the child.

The recovery order authorised these officers to deliver the child to a delegate of the New South Wales Minister for Family and Community Services or a delegate of the Victorian Minister for Human Services. The order also granted broad powers to stop and search vehicles, vessels, or aircraft, and to enter and search premises where the child might be found, including the use of reasonable force. Leave was also granted for the applicant to apply for orders regarding publication of the child's details in appropriate circumstances.