Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) The CEO, or in the
case of a proposed adoption by a step-parent of the child, the prospective
adoptive parent, is to notify, in accordance with subsections (2), (2a)
and (2b) —
(a) any
man who might be presumed to be the child’s father because of a
presumption set out in section 188 or 189 of the Family Court
Act 1997 ; and
(b) if
applicable, any man (not being a man who could be presumed to be the
child’s father because of a presumption set out in Part 5
Division 11 Subdivision 3 of the Family Court Act 1997 ) who,
to the knowledge of the CEO or that prospective adoptive parent, is a person
who has been named as or has claimed to be the child’s father.
(2) The notification
referred to in subsection (1) is to inform the man —
(a) of
the consent or consents to the child’s adoption;
(b) that
if, before the proposed adoption proceeds, he wishes to apply under the
Family Court Act 1997 or the Family Law Act 1975 of the Commonwealth
(as is applicable to the case) for a parenting order in relation to the child
then he must do so within 21 days of service of the notice; and
(c) that
if, before the proposed adoption proceeds, he wishes to apply under
Division 3A for a determination of the matter of the child’s
parentage only then he must do so within 21 days of service of the
notice,
but nothing in this
section requires all the information to be served at the same time.
(2a) The notification
referred to in subsection (1) is to be in writing and served on the man
personally or by registered post at the man’s last known address.
(2b) The CEO, or in
the case of a proposed adoption by a step-parent of the child, the prospective
adoptive parent is to ensure that notification of all the information referred
to in subsection (2) is, or has been, served on the man no later than
7 days after the day on which the first completed form of consent to the
child’s adoption was received.
(2c) A person who has
been named as or has claimed to be a child’s parent under
section 6A of the Artificial Conception Act 1985 is to be notified
by the relevant person in accordance with subsection (1) and for that
purpose, subsections (2), (2a) and (2b) apply to and in respect of
that notification as if a reference in those subsections to “man”
was a reference to “person”.
(3) Notification under
subsection (1) is not required if —
(a) the
man has been convicted of an offence and the CEO, or in the case of a proposed
adoption by a step-parent of the child, the prospective adoptive parent, is
satisfied on reasonable grounds that the child’s conception resulted
from the offence; or
(b)
compensation has been awarded to the child’s mother under the
Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 2003 in relation to an offence within
the meaning of that Act that was committed by the man, and the CEO, or in the
case of a proposed adoption by a step-parent of the child, the prospective
adoptive parent, is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the child’s
conception resulted from the offence.
(4) Notification under
subsection (1)(b) is not required if the man is a lineal relative of the
child’s mother.
[Section 21 amended by No. 41 of 1997
s. 7; No. 3 of 2002 s. 9; No. 8 of 2003 s. 18;
No. 77 of 2003 s. 73; No. 34 of 2004 s. 251.]