For the first time in the NSW’s history adopted people are to be able to have both their birth and adopted families included on their birth certificate.
Announced by Attorney General Mark Speakman, the new integrated birth certificates (IBC) modernise the legal identity document by including an adopted person’s full history.
“For many adopted people, their current birth certificate does not reflect their life story, who they are and where they came from,” Mr Speakman said.
“These reforms will give adopted people across the State the choice to use a birth certificate that includes information about their parents and siblings at birth, as well as their parents and siblings after they have been adopted,” he said.
“We have listened to the calls from adopted people and legal experts, and are delighted to be introducing the first change to birth certificates for adopted people in 55 years.”
Mr Speakman said that under the current law, a birth certificate issued by the Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages (BDM) could only record the child’s adoptive parents and any adoptive siblings after a person was adopted, and made no reference to birth parents.
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, Gareth Ward said the availability of an integrated birth certificate was in step with contemporary open adoption practices.
“Open adoption means that adoptive and birth families now know about each other, exchange information and often have direct contact to enable children to connect with and understand their background,” Mr Ward said.
He said people adopted prior to the commencement of the reforms could contact the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to find out how they can apply for an IBC.
