Re: Sarah

In the matter of Re: Sarah, the applicant parents sought declarations from the Family Court of Australia concerning medical treatments for their child, Sarah, who suffers from 45X/46XY Turner Syndrome. The dispute centred on whether certain medical procedures, specifically a gonadectomy and other treatments recommended for Sarah's condition, required the authorisation of the Family Court under section 67ZC of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Court was to determine whether a gonadectomy to remove gonadal tissue that had failed to develop into ovaries due to Sarah's 45X/46XY Turner Syndrome, along with other proportionate and appropriate surgical, hormonal, psychiatric, or psychological treatments recommended by a medical practitioner for the condition, constituted medical procedures requiring the Family Court's authorisation pursuant to section 67ZC of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth).

Macmillan J declared that the proposed medical treatments for Sarah's 45X/46XY Turner Syndrome, including the gonadectomy and other recommended interventions, were not medical procedures requiring the authorisation of the Family Court under section 67ZC of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The Court further ordered that the applicant parents be at liberty to provide a copy of the judgment and orders to all persons involved with Sarah's treatment and welfare. Strict provisions were made for the anonymisation of reasons for judgment and orders for publication, prohibiting the disclosure of identifying details of the child, family members, and involved professionals, in accordance with section 121(9) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The Court also ordered that no person could search the court file without judicial leave, that the orders could only be varied by further court order pursuant to section 64D(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), and that the initiating application be dismissed, with the matter removed from the list of cases awaiting hearing.