(1) The court may make an order dispensing with the need for the relevant
parent’s consent to the adoption if—
(a) the court is satisfied of a
matter stated in section 36(4) (a) to (e) ; or
(b) QCAT has made a
declaration that the relevant parent does not have capacity to give the
consent; or
(c) 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
(d) 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
(e) the court is
satisfied the relevant parent—
(i) 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
(B) refusing to engage with the chief executive in relation to the issue of
whether to give consent to the adoption; or
(f) the court is satisfied there
are other special circumstances for giving the dispensation.
(2) However, if
the relevant parent is or is believed to be the child’s father, the court
may not give the dispensation—
(a) within 30 days after notice is given to
the relevant parent under section 33; or
(b) if the court has reason to
believe there is—
(i) 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
(ii) a current
application under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth) by the relevant parent for a
parenting order for the child.
(3) 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.
(4) Without
limiting subsection (3) —
(a) 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
(i) have regard to anything in a case plan in force for the child
under chapter 2 , part 3A of that Act about—
(A) adoption as a way of
meeting the child’s need for long-term stable care; or
(B) re-uniting the
child with the child’s family; and
(ii) 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.
(5) 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.
