Under the Bill's provisions, if the birth parents had lodged an objection to the disclosure or their identity, the adopted adult would not be able to obtain his or her birth certificate.

The rights of the child and the adult should be finely balanced. In some circumstances it may be important for the identity of the birth parents to remain undisclosed. At other times, it may be the case that it is important for the identity to be known. Therefore, it is our view that the adoption agency should have discretion in deciding whether to disclose this information after taking the welfare of the birth parent and adopted adult into account.