Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) The following
persons may apply to the Court for an order to discharge an adoption
order —
(a) the
Attorney General;
(b) the
CEO;
(c) an
adult adoptee who has notified the CEO of the adoptee’s intention to so
apply.
(2) On an application
under subsection (1), the Court may make an order to discharge an
adoption order if it is satisfied that —
(a) the
adoption order was obtained by fraud, duress or other improper means;
(b) a
consent relied on for the making of the adoption order was not an effective
consent because it was obtained by fraud, duress or material inducement; or
(c)
there is some exceptional reason why the order should be made.
(3) The Court is not
to make an order under subsection (2) —
(a) if
to do so would not be for the welfare and in the best interests of the
adoptee; and
(b)
unless the Court is satisfied that reasonable efforts have been made to notify
all the parties to the adoption of the application.
(3a) Any person may
apply for leave to intervene in an application under subsection (1) and
the Court may make an order entitling the person to intervene in the
application.
(3b) A person who,
under subsection (3a), intervenes in an application under
subsection (1), is to be treated as a party to the application with all
the rights, duties and liabilities of a party, unless the Court orders
otherwise.
(4) Where an order is
made under subsection (2) in relation to an adoption in which the
adoptive parent was not specified in the forms of consent to the adoption, the
consents to the adoption continue to have effect unless the Court orders
otherwise.
(5) Where an order is
made under subsection (2), the Court may make such consequential or
ancillary orders as it thinks fit in the interests of justice or the welfare
and best interests of the adoptee, including orders relating
to —
(a) the
name of the adoptee;
(b) the
ownership or possession of property;
(c)
guardianship of the adoptee or any other matter affecting the adoptee in
relation to the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which, by law,
parents have in relation to children; or
(d) the
domicile of the adoptee.
(6) Where an order is
made under subsection (2), the rights, duties, liabilities and
relationships of persons under the law of the State are to be as if the
adoption order had not been made.
(7)
Subsection (6) —
(a) is
subject to orders made under subsection (5) and to section 75(5);
and
(b) does
not otherwise affect —
(i)
anything lawfully done;
(ii)
the consequences of anything lawfully done; or
(iii)
any proprietary right or interest that became vested in
any person while the adoption order was in force.
(8) An adoption order
cannot be appealed against, reviewed, called in question or affected by any
court on any account, except —
(a)
under this section; or
(b)
under section 211(3) of the Family Court Act 1997 .
[Section 77 amended by No. 41 of 1997
s. 20; No. 8 of 2003 s. 41; No. 34 of 2004 s. 251.]