Adoption Act 2000

The Court must not make an adoption order in favour of a step parent of a child unless—

the child is at least 5 years old, and

the step parent has lived with the child and the child’s birth or adoptive parent for a continuous period of not less than 2 years immediately before the application for the adoption order, and

specific consent to the adoption of the child by the step parent has been given in accordance with this Act by the appropriate persons, and

the Court is satisfied that the making of the adoption order is clearly preferable in the best interests of the child to any other action that could be taken by law in relation to the child.

Note.

Examples of other action that may be taken by law are the making of a care order under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 or a parenting order under the Family Law Act 1975 of the Commonwealth.

Subsection (1) (b) does not apply to the adoption of a child who is 18 years of age or more at the time of the application for the adoption order.