Mortland and Wheaton

In *Mortland and Wheaton*, heard before Murphy J, the applicants sought leave to commence adoption proceedings for a child, L Wheaton, born in April 2005. The dispute concerned the ability of the applicants to proceed with the adoption, which was evidently hindered by existing orders and the child's presence on an Airport Watch List.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether leave should be granted to commence adoption proceedings under section 60G of the *Family Law Act 1975*, whether prior consent orders made on 13 September 2005 should be discharged, and whether the child should be removed from the Australian Airport Watch List.

Murphy J granted leave to the applicants to commence adoption proceedings, finding it appropriate under section 60G of the *Family Law Act 1975*. Consequently, the Court discharged the consent orders made on 13 September 2005. Furthermore, in recognition of the adoption proceedings, the Court directed the Australian Federal Police to remove the child's name from the Airport Watch List at all Australian international arrival and departure points.