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Aboriginal Law Bulletin

Aboriginal Law Bulletin (ALB)
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Toohey, Jill --- "Update: Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Amendment Act (WA) 1990" [1991] AboriginalLawB 14; (1991) 1(49) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 23


Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Amendment Act (WA) 1990

by Jill Toohey

A recent amendment to the Registrations of Births Deaths and Marriages Act (W.A.) means that Aboriginal people whose births have never been registered will be able to obtain birth certificates for the first time.

Although any person born in Western Australia will be able to take advantage of the amendment, it is aimed mainly at Aboriginal people who, for various reasons, have never had their birth registered and have never had a birth certificate.

Some Aboriginal people have no written record of their actual or estimated date of birth. In other cases, Aboriginal people had birth dates allocated to them, sometimes in groups.

Although in most cases, such as for Department of Social Security (DSS) purposes, authorities are prepared to come to an arrangement regarding dates of birth, there are cases where real problems arise. Without a birth certificate there is no official proof of existence. When applying for a passport, an Aboriginal person without a birth certificate is required to obtain a Declaratory Certificate of Citizenship (what used to be known as a "dog license"). The implications of this and the humiliation involved are clear.

The amendment to the Act provides a simple procedure whereby an application is made to the Registrar General supported by a statement signed by three people who have known the applicant for a "reasonable time". The Registrar General is required to search registers in W.A. and other states to ensure that the person is not already registered. Once this is completed, a complementary Extract of Birth is issued. There is no charge for the application. A person wanting to obtain a full certified birth certificate will be charged the usual fee of $17.50.

There has been some opposition to the amendment. There are arguments that it will encourage fraudulent applications for false identities. There is also an argument that the integrity of the birth registration system will be eroded. The second argument in particular does not stand up well when considering the "integrity" of a system which happily allocated birthdates to Aboriginal people in groups, as it does race horses.

Because of the considerable opposition to the amendment it will operate for only 2 years from proclamation (7 December 1990). Birth Certificate applications can be obtained from those offices or from the office of the Registrar General in Perth or the District Registrar in country towns.


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