A birth certificate is more than a piece of paper. It's an essential first step to accessing life-changing services and support.
Too many children are not registered at birth in Australia. Across the country, an average of 12,600 babies a year are not getting their births registered in their first year of life. Without birth registration, a child is unable to receive a birth certificate and access essential services like early childhood education, school, sport and specialised healthcare. Later in life, birth registration and certification are crucial to obtaining a passport, driver's license, tax tile number and a bank account.
While birth registration is free, for many families, the cost of a birth certificate (approx. $55-75) is too high, with other major barriers being the complexity of the process, remoteness and not having the proper identification. One or more of these barriers means the current birth registration and certification process just doesn’t work for some families. The children most impacted are those born in remote areas, areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies, and babies born to mothers under the age of 25.
"I tried to apply online and it was really, really difficult for me, I just found that there was so many different document, photo ID documents that they wanted me to supply, things I didn’t have."
Certify Hope – The Social Return on Birth Registration
To better understand the potential benefits of addressing these barriers, UNICEF Australia and Social Ventures Australia have worked together on Certify Hope – The Social Return on Birth Registration to identify the potential social and economic value that could be generated if all children had a birth certificate in their first year of life. We want to ensure every child in Australia – no matter where they are born – has the best start in life.
A smart investment
Universal birth registration is a smart investment. The Certify Hope – Social Return on Birth Registration report details that for an $11 million investment targeted at the children and families who face the greatest barriers, increasing birth registration and certification could generate $67 million in social and economic returns for children, their families and the government. This equates to a potential return of $6.10 for every $1 invested.
READ THE REPORTWhy birth certificates matter
Based on extensive consultations directly with families, community sector and government partners, and existing research, we identified four key social and economic benefits to improved access to birth registration and certificates:
1. Increased access to education
2. Greater fitness and improved health for children and young people
3. Improved mental health and wellbeing for carers and children
4. Reduced pressure on health and welfare systems
What action is needed?
UNICEF Australia is calling on the Federal Government to work with State and Territory Governments to:
Recommendation 1.
Introduce free first birth certificates for babies facing the greatest barriers – those born in remote areas, areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies, and babies born to mothers under the age of 25.
Recommendation 2.
Increase investments in targeted outreach for families who face the greatest barriers delivered by Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages and community-based organisations.
Recommendation 3.
Strengthen systems integration and embed birth registration processes more fully within health and education systems.
Recommendation 4.
Position universal birth registration as a core commitment within the Early Years Strategy 2024–2034’s Outcomes Framework and action plans.
Two lives, one piece of paper
Head to our "Two lives, one piece of paper" interactive journey to explore how a birth certificate can shape a child’s life.
Report
UNICEF and Birth Registration
UNICEF has worked around the world to help governments strengthen their birth registration systems. For over 3 years we’ve been working in Australia with community partners and government agencies to learn about the situation, speak with impacted families, develop practical solutions and advocate for reform with decision makers.
