Webinars for Digital Plan Lodgment in NSW LRS Connect
LRS will be running several webinar sessions providing a walkthrough of the NSW LRS Connect lodgment process, including a demonstration of the Digital Form builder for the creation of section 88B Instruments. The sessions scheduled for 6 and 13 April are designed for non-surveyor users, such as legal professionals and other workspace contributors, such as Government officers. Register here.

Reissued Practice Note SC EQ 13 – Adoptions
The Supreme Court has reissued Practice Note SC EQ 13 – Adoptions. Commencing 3 April 2023, preliminary, contested and uncontested Adoption hearings will be conducted with as little formality as the judge thinks appropriate. Other changes include emphasising the child-centred nature of proceedings, and clarifying the nature of evidence that may be adduced at a hearing, particularly in relation to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child. The reissued Practice Note SC EQ 13 – Adoptions is available here.

Family Law (Bilateral Arrangements – Intercountry Adoption) Regulations 2023
These regulations, commencing 23 March 2023, are intended to facilitate Australia’s bilateral arrangements for intercountry adoptions with "prescribed overseas jurisdictions". The regulations provide that adoptions made under the laws of a prescribed overseas jurisdiction are recognised for the purposes of Australian law. They also provide that an adoption compliance certificate issued by a competent authority in a prescribed overseas jurisdiction is evidence that the adoption was carried out in accordance with the laws of that jurisdiction.