A & B v Director of Child and Family Services

Wakefield Quin Limited successfully represented a same-sex couple who had been told by the Department of Child and Family Services that they were unable to make a joint application to adopt a child on the basis that only married couples could make a joint application.  The plaintiffs sought relief from the Supreme Court, claiming that this was unlawful discrimination on the grounds of their marital status and sexual orientation. The court agreed and made a declaration that the Adoption of Children Act 2006 was discriminatory and must be read so as to allow unmarried couples (including same-sex couples) to adopt.

Peter Sanderson represented the plaintiffs in the proceedings.