Same-sex parenting presumption

The Status of Children Act 1978 has recently been amended to create a new parenting presumption. 

This new presumption will recognise the female de facto partner of a birth mother as the parent of the child in certain circumstances. These circumstances are when the child has been born through the use of a fertilisation procedure (such as in vitro fertilisation, assisted insemination or self insemination) with the consent of the birth mother’s female de facto partner.

The new provisions of the Status of Children Act that create this presumption are sections 19A to 19G. The new provisions will commence on 1 June 2010.

Parents will be recorded as ‘mother’ and ‘parent’ on the child’s birth certificate.

The new parenting presumption will also apply to those children who were born prior to the commencement of the new provisions (1 June 2010). The birth mother and her female de facto partner may apply to correct the birth register of the child to include the other parent’s name by lodging with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages an application in the approved form. The joint application is to include a statutory declaration signed by both parents that complies with the requirements set out in section 63 of the Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003. The application is to be lodged with the applicable fee.

Where the father’s name of the child has already been recorded in the child’s birth register, the legislation states that the child’s birth register may only be amended if there is a court order. An application made under section 10 of the Status of Children Act to the Supreme Court is required.