Howard And Anor and Horta

In the matter of *Howard and Anor and Horta*, Strickland J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application for adoption. The applicants sought leave to commence proceedings for the adoption of two children, S and L, born in February 1992 and October 1997 respectively. The respondent, Horta, was also involved in the proceedings.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether to grant leave pursuant to section 60G of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) for the adoption proceedings to be commenced. This required the Court to assess the merits of the proposed adoption and determine if it was in the best interests of the children.

Strickland J granted leave for the adoption proceedings to be commenced, indicating that the Court was satisfied that the proposed adoptions were in the best interests of the children. Consequently, the Court dismissed all other applications before it and removed them from the active pending cases list, signifying the resolution of the matter in favour of the adoption.