The Secretary, NSW Department of Family & Community Services by his delegate, Principal Officer, Barnardos Australia and MLA

In the matter of the Care and Protection of a Child, the parties involved were the Secretary of the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services, Barnardos Australia, and an unnamed mother and child. The primary dispute centred on the adoption of the child by a non-Aboriginal couple, with the mother objecting to the adoption due to concerns about the child's Aboriginal heritage and the failure to adhere to the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle. The case was heard in the Family Court of Australia.

The legal issues before the court included whether the proposed adoption would promote the best interests of the child, whether dispensing with the consent of the birth parent was in the best interests of the child, and whether the best interests of the child would be promoted by the making of an adoption order and preferable to any other action. Additionally, the court had to determine if the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle was applied or mandatory in the circumstances.

The court found that the proposed adoption would indeed promote the best interests of the child, despite the objections of the mother. The court ruled that the adoption would provide the child with a stable and loving environment, which was in the child's best interests. The court also concluded that dispensing with the consent of the birth parent was in the best interests of the child, as the mother had not provided a safe or stable environment for the child. Furthermore, the court determined that the best interests of the child would be promoted by the making of an adoption order, as it would provide the child with a permanent and secure family. The court found that the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle was not mandatory in the circumstances, as the child's best interests were the paramount consideration.

The final orders of the court included granting the adoption application, thereby allowing the non-Aboriginal couple to adopt the child, and directing the parties to take all necessary steps to finalise the adoption proceedings. The court also ordered that the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle be taken into account in any future decisions regarding the child's care and placement.