re HES

The parties in this case were a couple who sought to adopt a child born in Taiwan, a country that is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. They applied for a consent dispense order under the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW), which permits the adoption of a child from a non-Hague Convention country if the birth parents have provided their consent in accordance with the Act. The central issue for the court was whether the evidence of the birth mother's consent met the requirements of the Act.

The court was required to determine if the evidence presented by the applicants regarding the birth mother's consent was sufficient under the Act. The applicants had obtained a record from a court in Taipei indicating that the birth mother had consented to the adoption. However, the court needed to ascertain whether this record complied with the legislative criteria for such consent. Furthermore, the court needed to examine whether the applicants had provided adequate evidence to establish the birth mother's address, as required by the Act. The applicants had not provided evidence of the birth mother's address, which was a critical aspect of the court's assessment.

The court concluded that the record of the birth mother's consent obtained from the Taipei court did not satisfy the requirements of the Adoption Act 2000. The court held that the evidence did not demonstrate that the consent was given in the manner prescribed by the Act. Additionally, the court found that the applicants had not provided sufficient evidence to establish the birth mother's address. Consequently, the court declined to make an adoption order. The applicants' failure to meet the statutory requirements for consent and evidence of address led to the court's decision not to proceed with the adoption.