The Need for Reform of Australia's Birth Registration Systems
Ron Levy et al, New Directions for Law in Australia: Essays in Contemporary Law Reform (ANU Press 2017)
Monash University Faculty of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2018-6
11 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2018
Date Written: September 5, 2017
Abstract
Having a birth certificate is a key to accessing the rights of citizenship. Most Australians take it for granted that they can prove who they are by producing their birth certificate. But there are a number of Australians – predominantly Indigenous people and those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities – who miss out on the rights and benefits of citizenship and struggle to fully participate in society because their birth has never been registered or, if it was, they cannot produce a birth certificate to prove it. We seek to identify the areas where law reform will provide measurable improvements and contribute to the debate about how best to address the diverse range of issues that prevent Australia achieving universal birth registration.
Keywords: Birth registration, legal identity, Indigenous Rights, Birth Certificate
JEL Classification: I18, K10
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation