Adoption Act 2009

The court may make an order dispensing with the need for the relevant parent’s consent to the adoption if—

the court is satisfied of a matter stated in section 36(4)(a) to (e); or

QCAT has made a declaration that the relevant parent does not have capacity to give the consent; or

the relevant parent is not an adult and the court is satisfied, on the basis of an assessment mentioned in section 28, that the relevant parent does not have capacity to give the consent; or

the relevant parent is not in Queensland and the court is satisfied, on the basis of a declaration or assessment mentioned in section 29(3), that the relevant parent does not have capacity to give the consent; or

the court is satisfied the relevant parent—

is not, and will not be within a time frame appropriate to the child’s age and circumstances, willing and able to protect the child from harm and meet the child’s need for long-term stable care; and

is unreasonably—

withholding consent to the adoption; or

refusing to engage with the chief executive in relation to the issue of whether to give consent to the adoption; or

the court is satisfied there are other special circumstances for giving the dispensation.

However, if the relevant parent is or is believed to be the child’s father, the court may not give the dispensation—

within 30 days after notice is given to the relevant parent under section 33; or

if the court has reason to believe there is—

a current application under the Status of Children Act 1978, section 10, by the relevant parent or someone else, for a declaration of paternity for the child; or

a current application under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth) by the relevant parent for a parenting order for the child.

Also, the court must not give the dispensation unless satisfied it would be in the child’s best interests for arrangements for the child’s adoption to continue to be made.

Without limiting subsection (3)—

if the applicant is a person who has made an application under part 5, the court must be satisfied the grounds for making an adoption order in favour of the applicant are likely to exist; and

if the child is in the custody or guardianship of the chief executive (child safety) or someone else under the Child Protection Act 1999, the court must—

have regard to anything in a case plan in force for the child under chapter 2, part 3A of that Act about—

adoption as a way of meeting the child’s need for long-term stable care; or

re-uniting the child with the child’s family; and

consider whether there is another way of meeting the child’s need for long-term stable care that would better promote the child’s wellbeing and best interests.

If the child has any views about the relevant parent and is able to express the views, having regard to the child’s age and ability to understand, the court must consider the views.