Reagan & Orton

This matter concerned an application by Ms Orton, the mother of a child named B Reagan, for authorisation to change the child's registered surname. The application sought to alter the surname from B Reagan to B Orton-Reagan. The court was asked to consider whether to grant this authorisation.

The central legal issue before the court was whether to permit the change of the child's surname as requested by the mother. This involved an interpretation of the relevant provisions of the *Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995* (NSW), specifically section 28(5), which governs the registration of names.

Foster J considered the application and, in exercising the court's discretion, authorised the mother to apply to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW to have the child registered with the surname Orton-Reagan. The court directed that pursuant to section 28(5) of the Act, the Registrar should register the child's name in the specified form. A sealed copy of the court's order was to be forwarded to the Registrar.