Adopted Victorians are to have the choice to include both their birth and adoptive parents on their birth certificates under new legislation.
Introducing the legislation, Attorney-General, Jaclyn Symes said it would deliver on a recommendation of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Historical Forced Adoption in Victoria.
“This is a meaningful change we can start to make right now to help people who were adopted to tell their stories,” Ms Symes said.
“We know we can’t change the past, but we can try repair the damage caused,” she said.
“This is something that victims of forced adoption have asked for – we’re putting their voices and wishes at the centre of this process.”
Ms Symes said the legislation would create integrated birth certificates that allowed the names of an adopted person’s birth parents, adoptive parents and the date of their adoption to be included on their certificate.
The Attorney-General said under current law, the only legal birth certificate available to adopted people was a post-adoption certificate which only listed their adoptive parents.
“The change will enable adopted people aged 18 years and older who wish to update their records to access a certificate that better represents their own story,” she said.
Ms Symes said the Victorian Registry of Birth, Deaths and Marriages would begin work to develop integrated certificates, which were expected to be available by late 2023.
