(1)  Where, on application by the Secretary or the principal officer of an approved agency, the court is satisfied–

(a) that a person whose consent to the adoption of a child is required under this Division cannot, after reasonable inquiry, be found; or

(b) by a certificate signed by not less than 2 medical practitioners, that any such person is, and is unlikely to cease to be, incapable on psychiatric or other medical grounds of properly considering the question whether the person should give consent; or

(c) that any such person has abandoned, deserted, persistently neglected, or ill-treated the child; or

(d) that any such person has seriously ill-treated the child to the extent that it is unlikely that the child would accept, or be accepted by the person within, the family of that person; or

(e) that any such person has, for a period of not less than one year, failed, without reasonable cause, to discharge the obligations of a parent of the child; or

(f) that any such person has such a physical or mental disability or is otherwise so impaired that the person is unable to meet the needs of the child; or

(g) that for any reason the child is unlikely to be accepted into, or to accept, a family relationship with any such person; or

(h) that there are any other special circumstances by reason of which, in the interests of the welfare of the child, the consent of any such person may properly be dispensed with–

the court may dispense with the consent of that person to the adoption of the child unless that person is a guardian of the child as mentioned in section 29 (6) .

(2)  For the purposes of subsection (1) (a) , where, for the purposes of obtaining the consent of a person to the adoption of a child, the court is satisfied that–

(a) a letter seeking that consent has been sent by certified mail addressed to that person at his last known place of residence; and

(b) a letter seeking that consent has been sent by certified mail addressed to that person at the address of such other person (if any) as the Secretary or the principal officer of an approved agency believes may know where the first-mentioned person may be found; and

(c) the address of that person cannot be found on a roll of electors under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 of the Commonwealth; and

(d) notice to that person that consent of that person is sought has been published in a newspaper circulating generally in the area where the last known place of residence of that person is situated; and

(e) inquiries have been made of such persons, bodies, agencies, and government departments as might reasonably be expected to have known where that person may be found–

and the court is also satisfied that the Secretary or principal officer has been unable to find that person and that such other inquiries as the court may determine have been made, the court shall determine that reasonable inquiry has been made for that person and that the person cannot be found.

(3)  The court shall not make an order under subsection (1) dispensing with the consent of a person to the adoption of a child unless the court has received and taken into consideration a report from the Secretary or the principal officer of an approved agency as to–

(a) the circumstances in which the application for dispensation is made and the grounds for the application; and

(b) whether the dispensation of consent and the proposed adoption would serve the welfare and interests of the child concerned.

(4)  An order under subsection (1) dispensing with consent may, on application by, or on behalf of, the Secretary, the principal officer of an approved agency, or the person whose consent was dispensed with, be revoked by the court at any time before the making of the adoption order concerned.