of abuse; that party must inform the court of the matter.
(2) If: (a) a person who is not a party to the proceedings is aware that the child, or another child who is a member of the child’s family, is or has been the subject of: (i) a notification or report (however described) to a prescribed State or Territory agency; or (ii) an investigation, inquiry or assessment (however described) by a prescribed State or Territory agency; and (b) the notification, report, investigation, inquiry or assessment relates to abuse, or an allegation, suspicion or risk of abuse; that person may inform the court of the matter.
(3) Failure to inform the court of the matter does not affect the validity of any order made by the court.
(4) In this section: prescribed State or Territory agency means an agency that is a prescribed State or Territory agency for the purpose of section 69ZW.
Subdivision BB — Best interests of the child: adviser’s obligations 60D Adviser’s obligations in relation to best interests of the child (1) If an adviser gives advice or assistance to a person about matters concerning a child and this Part, the adviser must: (a) inform the person that the person should regard the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration; and (b) encourage the person to act on the basis that the child’s best interests are best met: (i) by the child having a meaningful relationship with both of the child’s parents; and (ii) by the child being protected from physical or psychological harm from being subjected to, or exposed to, abuse, neglect or family violence; and (iii) in applying the considerations set out in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) — by giving greater weight to the consideration set out in subparagraph (ii).
(2) In this section: adviser means a person who is: (a) a legal practitioner; or (b) a family counsellor; or (c) a family dispute resolution practitioner; or (d) a family consultant.
Subdivision C–Interpretation and application of Part 60E Application of Part to void marriages This Part applies in relation to a purported marriage that is void as if: (a) the purported marriage were a marriage; and (b) the parties to the purported marriage were husband and wife.
Subdivision D — Interpretation — how this Act applies to certain children 60EA Definition of de facto partner For the purposes of this Subdivision, a person is the de facto partner of another person if: (a) a relationship between the person and the other person (whether of the same sex or a different sex) is registered under a law of a State or Territory prescribed for the purposes of section 2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as a kind of relationship prescribed for the purposes of that section; or (b) the person is in a de facto relationship with the other person.
60F Certain children are children of marriage etc.
(1) A reference in this Act to a child of a marriage includes, subject to subsection (3), a reference to each of the following children: (a) a child adopted since the marriage by the husband and wife or by either of them with the consent of the other; (b) a child of the husband and wife born before the marriage; (c) a child who is, under subsection 60H(1) or section 60HB, the child of the husband and wife.
(2) A reference in this Act to a child of a marriage includes a reference to a child of: (a) a marriage that has been terminated by divorce or annulled (in Australia or elsewhere); or (b) a marriage that has been terminated by the death of one party to the marriage.
(3) A child of a marriage who is adopted by a person who, before the adoption, is not a prescribed adopting parent ceases to be a child of that marriage for the purposes of this Act.
(4) The following provisions apply in relation to a child of a marriage who is adopted by a prescribed adopting parent: (a) if a court granted leave under section 60G for the adoption proceedings to be commenced — the child ceases to be a child of the marriage for the purposes of this Act; (b) in any other case — the child continues to be a child of the marriage for the purposes of this Act.
(4A) To avoid doubt, for the purposes of this Act, a child of a marriage is a child of the husband and of the wife in the marriage.
(5) In this section: this Act includes: (a) the standard Rules of Court; and (b) the related Federal Circuit Court Rules.
60G Family Court may grant leave for adoption proceedings by prescribed adopting parent (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Family Court, the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory or the Family Court of a State may grant leave for proceedings to be commenced for the adoption of a child by a prescribed adopting parent.
(2) In proceedings for leave under subsection (1), the court must consider whether granting leave would be in the child’s best interests, having regard to the effect of paragraph 60F(4)(a), or paragraph 60HA(3)(a), and of sections 61E and 65J.
Note: Sections 6 °CB to 6 °CG deal with how a court determines a child’s best interests.
60H Children born as a result of artificial conception procedures (1) If: (a) a child is born to a woman as a result of the carrying out of an artificial conception procedure while the woman was married to, or a de facto partner of, another person (the other intended parent); and (b) either: (i) the woman and the other intended parent consented to the carrying out of the procedure, and any other person who provided genetic material used in the procedure consented to the use of the material in an artificial conception procedure; or (ii) under a prescribed law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory, the child is a child of the woman and of the other intended parent; then, whether or not the child is biologically a child of the woman and of the other intended parent, for the purposes of this Act: (c) the child is the child of the woman and of the other intended parent; and (d) if a person other than the woman and the other intended parent provided genetic material — the child is not the child of that person.
(2) If: (a) a child is born to a woman as a result of the carrying out of an artificial conception procedure; and (b) under a prescribed law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory, the child is a child of the woman; then, whether or not the child is biologically a child of the woman, the child is her child for the purposes of this Act.
(3) If: (a) a child is born to a woman as a result of the carrying out of an artificial conception procedure; and (b) under a prescribed law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory, the child is a child of a man; then, whether or not the child is biologically a child of the man, the child is his child for the purposes of this Act.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is to be presumed to have consented to an artificial conception procedure being carried out unless it is proved, on the balance of probabilities, that the person did not consent.
(6) In this section: this Act includes: (a) the standard Rules of Court; and (b) the related Federal Circuit Court Rules.
60HA Children of de facto partners (1) For the purposes of this Act, a child is the child of a person who has, or had, a de facto partner if: (a) the child is a child of the person and the person’s de facto partner; or (b) the child is adopted by the person and the person’s de facto partner or by either of them with the consent of the other; or (c) the child is, under subsection 60H(1) or section 60HB, a child of the person and the person’s de facto partner.
This subsection has effect subject to subsection (2).
(2) A child of current or former de facto partners ceases to be a child of those partners for the purposes of this Act if the child is adopted by a person who, before the adoption, is not a prescribed adopting parent.
(3) The following provisions apply in relation to a child of current or former de facto partners who is adopted by a prescribed adopting parent: (a) if a court granted leave under section 60G for the adoption proceedings to be commenced — the child ceases to be a child of those partners for the purposes of this Act; (b) in any other case — the child continues to be a child of those partners for the purposes of this Act.
(4) In this section: this Act includes: (a) the standard Rules of Court; and (b) the related Federal Circuit Court Rules.
60HB