Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) A person must not
publish material that identifies or is likely to identify a person —
(a) who
is, or was but is no longer, a party to an adoption or a proposed adoption, as
a party to the adoption or proposed adoption; or
(b) who
is a party to proceedings in any court in relation to an adoption, a proposed
adoption or the discharge of an adoption order, as a party to the proceedings;
or
(c)
whose consent to the adoption of a person is or was required, (whether or not
the requirement for consent has been dispensed with), as a person whose
consent was so required; or
(d) who
is, or is likely to be affected by an adoption order or an adoption plan, as a
person so affected; or
(e) who
is a relative of a person to whom paragraph (a) or (b) applies, as a person
who is such a relative,
where the adoption is
under this Act or a law of another State or a Territory.
Penalty: a fine of $10 000 and imprisonment for 12
months.
(2) This section does
not apply to —
(a)
material approved by the CEO, a private adoption agency or a court for
publication; or
(b) a
communication to a person or body that, under the Family Court Act 1997
section 236D(1), is not a communication to the public for the purposes of
sections 236B(1)(a) and 236C(1) of that Act; or
(c) a
communication that, under the Family Court Act 1997 section 236D(2), is not a
communication to the public.
(2A) In subsection (2)
—
communicate has the meaning given in the
Family Court Act 1997 section 236A(1).
(3) This section does
not apply to the identification or likely identification of —
(a) an
adoptee or prospective adoptee who is 18 or more years of age and consents in
writing to being identified; or
(b) an
adoptee or prospective adoptee who is less than 18 years of age where consent
in writing to the identification of that person has been given by a person
with parental responsibility for the adoptee or the prospective adoptee; or
(c) a
person, other than an adoptee or prospective adoptee, who is 18 or more years
of age and consents in writing to being identified, unless the identification
of the person identifies or is likely to identify an adoptee or prospective
adoptee who has not consented to being identified,
where the
identification is in accordance with any conditions or restrictions attached
to the consent.
(4) In subsection (3)
—
adoptee includes a person who was but is no longer
an adoptee.
[Section 124 amended: No. 41 of 1997 s. 23; No. 8
of 2003 s. 72; No. 34 of 2004 Sch. 2 cl. 2(8); No. 15 of 2012 s. 62 and 70;
No. 49 of 2024 s. 83.]