[damianx303]

Interesting read.

Interesting WORDS.

Birth Rego/Cert

Victorian Law Reform Commission

https://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Birth-registration-and-birth-certificates_Consultation-paper.pdf

Introduction

1.1 Birth registration is a significant life event which creates a relationship between the individual and the state. A child becomes a person before the law1 when their birth is registered.

1.2 Obtaining a birth certificate is a further step in creating an individual’s identity. This step can only occur once a birth is registered. A birth certificate is the ‘instrument universally recognised as the fundamental evidentiary document establishing personal identification’.2 Without a birth certificate a person is unable to invoke their full rights as a citizen.

1.3 These rights include: enrolling at school or to vote; obtaining a passport, Medicare card, driver licence or tax file number; and accessing various government benefits.

1.4 In short, birth registration establishes the legal identity of a child by placing them on the state’s records, and a birth certificate is the formal record of this status provided to the individual by the state.

1.5 Both birth registration and birth certificates are fundamental to our existence as citizens in a developed society. It is often taken as given that these events occur routinely in a developed country. The Commission is concerned that this may not be the case for all sectors of our community.