Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration (Birth Certificates) Amendment Bill

The Hon. H.J. GUMBYS (16:05): I rise to speak on the Birth, Deaths and Marriages Registration (Birth Certificates) Amendment Bill 2026 put forward by the Hon. Rob Simms and indicate the government will be supporting this bill. At its heart, the proposed amendment bill is about something quite simple, allowing parents to be described on their child's birth certificate in the way that actually reflects their relationship with that child. Under the current law, a co-parent, someone who is legally recognised as the parent of a child, may be recorded in the register as a co-parent but cannot choose to be described as a mother, a father or parent on the birth certificate itself. This proposed amendment fixes that.

Birth certificates matter. They are not just administrative documents. For many people they are bound up with identity, with family and with the way a relationship between a parent and a child is recognised by the world. The registrar has received feedback from co-parents who want to be referred to as a mother, a father or parent on that document and they simply could not be. This amendment gives them that option.

I want to be clear about what this amendment does and does not do. It does not change who is legally recognised as a parent, that is already established, and it does not impose any description on anyone. It simply allows parents who make a request in their own time, in a manner determined by the registrar, to have the label on the birth certificate that reflects their identity as a parent. It will be applied to both new and existing records, so families who have been waiting for this change are not left behind.

I am aware that, for some, any change to how birth certificates are recorded will attract scrutiny. I do not dismiss that. These are documents that carry legal and historic weight and it is right that we consider changes to them carefully. However, I would put it to anyone with reservations that the effect of this bill is not to undermine the integrity of the register. The legal record of who the parents are does not change. What changes is the label a parent can use to describe their own relationship with their own child. That is a reasonable and compassionate thing to allow.

South Australia has a strong record of leading on reforms that extend recognition and dignity to families in all their forms. This amendment bill sits comfortably in that tradition. Families across the state will benefit from it and I have a genuine belief that most South Australians would find this change entirely reasonable. I note that the government will also be working with the Attorney-General on any consequential amendments needed to ensure the smooth administration of the act more broadly.

I congratulate the Hon. Rob Simms on bringing this bill forward. It is a straightforward change and it will make a real difference to real families. I commend the bill to the council and once again indicate the government's support of the proposed changes to the current legislation.