June 15, 2016
A report released on Friday by the Queensland Ombudsman shows that between 15-18 per cent of Indigenous births in Queensland are not being registered.
This compares with an under-registration rate of only 1.8 per cent for non-Indigenous births.
Registering a birth in Queensland is free, however confusion has arisen because there is a cost involved in gaining a birth certificate.
Shadow Attorney-General David Janetzki has called on the State Government to act on the report.
He said that without a birth registration, a person was “legally invisible” and could suffer significant lifelong disadvantage.
“Without a birth certificate, a person can face difficulties enrolling in school, getting a driver’s licence, joining sporting clubs, and opening a bank account,” Mr Janetzki said.
The report identified a number of issues in registration and certification processes which may be contributing to the lower rates of indigenous birth registrations in Queensland.
These included:
- A perception that there is a cost involved in registering a birth
- The fees and penalties associated with late birth registration
- The fee for a birth certificate and the absence of a fee waiver policy
- The shift to online birth registration – particularly for remote Indigenous people as it requires computer literacy as well as access to a computer, the internet and a printer
- Methods of interacting with Indigenous clients that may not be culturally appropriate
External link: Queensland Ombudsman’s report (6Mb PDF)
