Hanlon & Hanlon (No. 2)

Mr and Ms Hanlon, the applicants, sought access to a report prepared by the Director-General of Community Services under section 39D of the *Adoption Act 1993* (ACT) concerning a proposed adoption. The matter came before Gill J of the Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue was whether the court should exercise its discretion to release the report to the applicants and their legal representatives, and if so, what conditions should be imposed on its release to ensure procedural fairness and maintain appropriate restrictions.

Gill J reasoned that procedural fairness required the applicants to have access to the report to understand the basis of any decision made regarding the adoption. The court ordered that the report be made available to the applicants and their legal representatives. However, to balance this access with the need for confidentiality and to prevent wider dissemination, the court imposed strict conditions on the release. These conditions included the report being provided electronically to the solicitor, a single printed copy being permitted, the electronic version being deleted within 48 hours of receipt, no electronic copies being retained, the printed copy remaining in the solicitor's custody, and its return to the court registry upon the expiration of the relevant appeal period.