Registering a birth in Australia: the 60-day rule

What you have to do, and by when

Registering a birth in Australia is done by the state or territory Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages where the baby was born, not by the Commonwealth. There is no national birth register you can lodge with.

In every mainland state the deadline is the same: you must register the birth within 60 days. This is confirmed by the registries in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. Registration itself is free in all of them.

Two things surprise almost every new parent:

• The hospital does not do it for you. The hospital or midwife sends the registry a medical notification of the birth. That is a separate document. The birth registration statement is the parents' legal responsibility, and nothing happens until you lodge it.
• Registering a birth and getting a birth certificate are two different tasks. Registration is required by law and free. A certificate is optional, costs money, and can be ordered at the same time or later.

Registering the birth is what gives your baby a legal name

Until you register, your child has no legal name. Registration is what unlocks a birth certificate, and the certificate is what you need to access Medicare, enrol in childcare and school, join organised sport, open a bank account, get a passport or driver licence, and receive government benefits.

The Parental Leave Pay connection

This is the deadline that costs people money. Services Australia will not finalise Parental Leave Pay for a newborn unless you have registered, or applied to register, the birth with your state or territory registry. If you are claiming Parental Leave Pay, treat the 60-day registration window as the binding one, not an administrative afterthought.

State by state

New South Wales

Register within 60 days, or within 180 days if the baby's sex characteristics are difficult to assign. Free. The online form gives you 14 days to complete it and you can save your progress. Each applicant must supply at least three current identity documents. NSW is explicit that it is never too late to register and you will not get in trouble for missing the cutoff, though the registry may need to contact you for more information and processing takes longer.

Victoria

All births in Victoria must be registered within 60 days. There is no fee to register. Only a parent of the baby can register the birth; carers needing a certificate must have the birth registered first.

Queensland

You must register within 60 days. Registration is free and you can order and pay for a certificate in the same application, submitted online, by post or in person. An official birth certificate costs $58.10, or $75.60 for the commemorative package that includes one official certificate. Regular postage is free; registered post is $8.10.

Western Australia

The birth registration form must be lodged with the Registry within 60 days. Allow 28 business days for the registration to be processed. The hospital or midwife gives you the information on how to register securely. If the birth happened outside a hospital with no registered doctor or midwife present and the baby was not taken to hospital within 24 hours, you must contact the Registry directly within 60 days.

The Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory run their own registries on broadly the same model. Check the registry for the state or territory where the baby was born — not where you live.

What you need to hand

Registries ask for roughly the same information everywhere:

• About the baby: full name, date, time and place of birth, birth weight in grams, and sex
• About the parents: full names, address, contact details, places of birth, occupations, the address you lived at for most of the pregnancy, and, if married, the date and place of marriage
• Other children: full names, dates and places of birth of any earlier children
• Identity: three valid identity documents per applicant

Rules on the name you choose

Not every name can be registered. In NSW the registry will refuse a name that is obscene or offensive, is longer than 50 characters, includes numbers or symbols such as 1st, 2nd or Jnr, or could be confused with a title or rank such as colonel, judge, saint, queen or prince. Other states apply similar restrictions. Changing your mind after registration means a formal change-of-name application and a fee, so it is worth being certain before you lodge.

If you miss the deadline, or the situation is complicated

Late registration is always possible. NSW states plainly that it is never too late and there is no penalty; the registry may simply ask for more information and take longer to process it. Do it as soon as you can, because the delay flows straight through to your Medicare enrolment, your Centrelink payments and your child's passport.

Some situations need extra steps:

• Home birth or freebirth: registries may contact you for additional evidence. WA and NSW both publish specific homebirth requirements.
• The other parent cannot be identified or located: Victoria accepts a statutory declaration of unknown parent identity lodged with the application.
• Stillbirth or the loss of a newborn: every registry has a dedicated process, and WA also issues a free recognition certificate for early pregnancy loss before 20 weeks or where the baby weighed under 400 grams.

Where to get help

Go directly to the registry for the state or territory of birth — NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria, the Queensland Registry, or the WA Registry within the Department of Justice. Service NSW can be reached on 13 77 88 and the WA Registry on 1300 305 021. Your hospital's midwifery or social work team can usually point you to the right form on the day.