LANGE & SPARKS

In the Family Court of Australia, Ms Lange and Mr Sparks applied for leave to commence adoption proceedings concerning a child, X, born in 2015. The respondent was Ms Bartram, X's biological mother, who did not appear at the hearing. Ms Lange and Mr Sparks, who had been in a de facto relationship since 2014, had cared for X since shortly after his birth and were seeking to formally adopt him.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant leave to Ms Lange and Mr Sparks to commence adoption proceedings, pursuant to section 60G of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). This required the court to determine if granting such leave would be in the best interests of the child, X, having regard to the relevant provisions of the Act concerning the determination of a child's best interests and the consequences of adoption. A further consideration was the definition of a "prescribed adopting parent" and whether the applicants met this criterion.

Justice Carew found that Ms Lange and Mr Sparks were prescribed adopting parents as defined by the Act. In reaching the decision to grant leave, the court considered the best interests of X by reference to sections 60CB to 60CG of the Family Law Act. The court noted that Ms Bartram had consented to a final parenting order granting sole parental responsibility to Ms Lange and Mr Sparks, and was aware of and consented to the adoption process. Given that X had been cared for by Ms Lange and Mr Sparks throughout his life and appeared to be a well-loved member of their household, the court was satisfied that granting leave to commence adoption proceedings was in X's best interests.