Lebrun and McLare

[2010] FamCA 888

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

LEBRUN & MCLARE [2010] FamCA 888

FAMILY LAW – CHILDREN –ADOPTION – By step-parent– Whether to grant leave to commence proceedings pursuant to s 60G of the Act

Adoption Act  2009 (Qld)
Adoption of Children Act 1964 (Qld)
Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) Div 12A, ss 60G, 69ZN, 69ZT
Family Law Rules 2004 (Cth)

Fogwell & Ashton (1993) FamCA 113

APPLICANTS: Mr and Mrs Lebrun

RESPONDENT: Mr McLare

FILE NUMBER: BRC 6071 of 2010

DATE DELIVERED: 6 September 2010

PLACE DELIVERED: Brisbane

PLACE HEARD: Brisbane

JUDGMENT OF: Murphy J

HEARING DATE: 6 September 2010

REPRESENTATION

SOLICITOR FOR THE APPLICANTS: Ms Kaur of Carroll Fairon Solicitors

THE RESPONDENT: In person by telephone

Orders

IT IS ORDERED THAT

1. Pursuant to section 60G of the Family Law Act 1975 leave is granted to the applicants MR LEBRUN and MRS LEBRUN to commence adoption proceedings of the child A born … January 1997.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym Lebrun & McLare is approved pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT BRISBANE

FILE NUMBER: BRC 6071 of 2010

MR AND MRS LEBRUN

Applicants

And

MR McLARE

Respondent

EX TEMPORE

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. This is an application by a step-parent for leave to adopt pursuant to s 60G of the Family Law Act1975 (“the Act”).

2. As Chisholm J remarked in Fogwell & Ashton (1993) FamCA 113:

   It is somewhat odd that it is necessary to apply to one court for leave to apply to another court for an exercise of the latter court’s ordinary jurisdiction.  Nevertheless, that is the consequence of the provisions of the Family Law Act1975 (“the Act”).

3. His Honour went on to say:

   In these undefended proceedings, it is appropriate for this court to rely on the presumption that the relevant provisions of the Family Law Act are constitutionally valid.  I note, however, that for reasons developed by Dr Jessep in a jointly-authored article, their validity may well be arguable:  C.O. Jessep and R. Chisholm, “Step-parent adoptions and the Family Law Act” (1992) 6 Australian Journal of Family Law 179 at 182-185, discussing, in particular, Re LSH; ex parte RTF (1987) 75 ALR 469.

4. No argument is addressed in respect to the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Family Law Act. In this ex tempore judgment.  I will assume, as did his Honour, that the provisions are constitutionally valid for the purposes of these proceedings. 

5. Adoption of children in this state is governed by the Adoption Act2009 which came into force on 1 February 2010. 

6. The new Act specifies criteria different to those in the previous Act. Critically, the Act requires prospective adopting stepparents to satisfy, in addition to previous criteria, two new criteria, namely that the relevant child or children is or are at least five years old and not yet 17, and secondly, that this court has granted leave to adopt.

7. Further, a natural parent must, absent an order of the court dispensing with same, obtain consent of the other parent, irrespective of whether the natural parents of the children were married. 

8. Section 60G of the Family Law Act1975 (“the Act”) was inserted into the Act in 1995 after the decision in Fogwell & Ashton, to which I have earlier referred, in which his Honour Chisholm J considered whether the criterion of best interests applies to an application for leave to adopt. The Act now makes it plain that a decision whether to grant leave is governed by a determination of best interests (section 60G(2)). The note to that section makes it plain that familiar best interest considerations, contained in section 60CC of the Act, apply.

9. While, as has been observed, the failure to obtain leave now has consequences under the (new) State Act, it also has consequences under the Act. Section 61E of the Act provides:

   (1)      This section applies if: 

   (a)a child is adopted; and

   (b)immediately before the adoption, a person had parental responsibility for the child, whether in full or to a limited extent, and whether because of section 61C or because of a parenting order.

   (2)[Parental responsibility ends on adoption of child] The person’s parental responsibility for the child ends of the adoption of the child, unless the adoption is by a prescribed adopting parent and leave was not granted under section 60G for the adoption proceedings to be commenced.

10. The expression “prescribed adopting parent” is defined in s 4(1) of the Act as follows:

    Prescribed adopting parent in relation to a child means:

    (a)     a parent of the child; or

    (b)the spouse of, or a person in a de facto relationship with, a parent of the child; or

    (c)a parent of the child and either his or her spouse, or a person in a de facto relationship with the parent.

11. Section 65J of the Act provides:

    1.     [Application of section] This section applies if: 

    (a) a child is adopted;  and

    (b)immediately before the adoption, a parenting order was in force in relation to the child.

    2.[Effect of adoption on parenting order] The parenting order stops being in force on the adoption of the child, unless the adoption is via prescribed document parent, and leave was not granted under section 60G for the adoption proceedings to be commenced.

12. Thus, an effect of adoption is that all parental responsibility for the child or children ceases, as do all other parenting orders. Parental responsibility is defined in the Act in section 61B:

    In this Part, parental responsibility in relation to a child, means all of the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which, by law, parents have in relation to children.

13. Proceedings for leave to adopt pursuant to section 60G of the Act are, in my view “child-related proceedings” within the meaning of the Act and, specifically, within the meaning of Division 12A. That Division imposes duties upon the court included among which are to deal with as many aspects of the matter as possible on a single occasion.

14. Moreover, the court is required to apply a number of principles in the determination of child-related proceedings, all of which are directed towards focusing the court upon the interests of children and the impact of proceedings on children.  In my view, those matters apply no less so in proceedings of this type. 

15. I note, in particular, section 69ZN of the Act requires the court to consider the impact that the conduct of the proceedings may have upon the child, and the court is instructed to actively direct, control and manage the conduct of the proceedings and that the proceedings are to be conducted without undue delay and with as little formality and legal technicality and form as possible.

16. As if to underline the last mentioned principle (contained in section 69ZN(7)), section 69ZT makes specific provision with respect to the rules of evidence, and in particular, as it might apply to this case, the rules relating to the receipt of hearsay evidence.

17. It is important to understand that the decision facing this court is different to the decision which will face the court charged with the decision whether to permit the adoption (which, after 1 February 2010, is the State Magistrates Court).  The granting of leave does not have the consequences just described;  only the order for adoption made by that State court has those consequences (see generally Fogwell at paras 23ff).

18. Having said that, it is important to observe that the State legislation does bear upon the decision to be made in these proceedings. 

19. First, the leave of this court is a precondition to the making of an order for adoption in favour of a step-parent by the State Magistrates Court. 

20. Secondly, and importantly as it seems to me, the State court must consider (as well as the general requirement to consider the best interests of the relevant child or children) the matters enumerated at s 208 of the State Act. For example:

    208:    Requirements for making final adoption order

    The court may make a final adoption order only if it is satisfied of the following matters –

    …

    (e)an order for the child’s adoption by the step-parent would better promote the child’s well-being and best interests than an order under the Family Law Act1975 (Cth), any other court order or no court order;

21. In a similar vein, although neither consent, nor specified ages of the child or children are specified as requirements of the application under the Act in this court, nevertheless they seem to me to be directly relevant to such an application, if for no other reason than that this court ought not grant leave to permit proceedings in the State court which are doomed to fail because of the absence of those mandatory (State) prerequisites.

22. The question then, in my view, can be expressed this way:  is it in the relevant child or children’s best interests to permit adoption proceedings to proceed in the (State) Magistrates Court with the potential consequences that a parent shall (with the consent of the other parent or, absent consent, by court order) cease to have any of the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority in respect of his or her child, as distinct from orders being made in this court that might involve the parent and step-parent.

THE PRESENT APPLICATION

1. The relationship between A’s mother and father broke down in about 1998 when the child was but a baby. He was born in January 1997.

2. There has been no contact between the child and his biological father since about 2003, that is, some seven years or so ago. 

3. Mr McLare does Mr and Mrs Lebrun and the court the courtesy of appearing by telephone today. He indicates that he consents to the application being made by Mr and Mrs Lebrun, takes no issue with any of the matters raised in any of the affidavit material and, in effect, supports the application for the adoption.

4. On 8 July 2003, the mother commenced cohabitation with her current husband, and they married in 2005.  They have, then, maintained a committed relationship for about seven years. 

5. Mr and Mrs Lebrun have three other children, K, H and C, and Mrs Lebrun is currently on maternity leave in expectation of the birth of their fourth child. 

6. A is, then, part of a sibship of four, soon to be five.  He is now some 13 ½. 

7. It is said in affidavit material in support of this application for leave to adopt him that he has a mature understanding of the adoption process which has been explained to him in detail by each of his mother and Mr Lebrun. The child has, to use Mr Lebrun’s deposed words, “said to me in no uncertain terms that he would love to be adopted, that he is excited at the prospect of that, and that he would feel more like my son if that were to occur.” 

8. The tenor of the affidavit material is that from the time Mr and Mrs Lebrun commenced their cohabitation (which occurred when A was aged about six) Mr Lebrun has treated the child, for all intents and purposes, as his own son.

9. He has both provided for the necessaries of life and provided him with emotional and psychological support. 

10. It is specifically deposed that consequent upon the birth of A’s three siblings, no differentiation in terms of treatment is made between children and that they have a close and loving relationship. 

11. It is partly for the reason of, as it were, “cementing” that relationship at law and giving to the child the comfort of having a legal parent/child relationship with Mr Lebrun that the application is made. 

12. Mr Lebrun deposes to be willing and able to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between A and his father, should the child so choose. 

13. The material reveals that, although there has been no contact between the two since 2003, they live, in geographic terms, relatively close to each other, and should the child wish to see his father as he matures, Mr and Mrs Lebrun both evidence a willingness and capacity to allow that to occur.

14. The material reveals that A is a mature boy who is popular at school and regularly participates in both school and many extra-curricular activities. 

15. Both Mr and Mrs Lebrun are actively involved in sport and encourage all of the children, including A, to do so as well as encouraging application to schoolwork and the other activities associated with school. 

16. In all of the circumstances of this case, it seems to me appropriate to make the order as sought, and I so order.    

I certify that the preceding thirty-eight (38) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment of the Honourable Justice Murphy delivered on 6 September 2010.

Associate: 

Date:  4 October 2010