1A discharge of an adoption order under s 77(6) of the Adoption Act 1994 (WA) operates ab initio — the legal position is as if the adoption order had never been made — so that the biological parent-child relationship is treated as having subsisted at all times, including at the date of the biological parent's death, even where the discharge post-dates the death.
2An interstate discharge of an adoption order is recognised in Queensland by operation of s 291 of the Adoption Act 2009 (Qld) and the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2023 (Qld); the discharge does not have effect only under the law of the state in which it was made.
3Where a biological parent left a bequest to the applicant and evidence demonstrates a close relationship of almost 40 years, the question whether a wise and just testator would have made greater provision is not so clearly untenable as to warrant summary dismissal and must proceed to trial.
