Page 2002 - Week 07 - Thursday, 13 August 2020
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I am also pleased to speak in support of the changes to introduce integrated birth certificates. These amendments fulfil the government’s commitment to implement recommendation 6 of the Domestic Adoptions Taskforce, which we spoke about earlier today. Along with the Adoption Amendment Bill, these changes complete all recommendations that were agreed by the government in 2017.
These amendments will enable birth certificates of people who have been adopted to reflect, again, a person’s true life story. Currently, when an individual is adopted the birth certificate will recognise the adoptive parents only. This is no longer best practice and is a hangover from a time when adoptions were often undertaken with hushed tones. Under these changes, which reflect contemporary practice, birth certificates will state birth parents, where known, and adoptive parents. Having an official record of an individual’s true story will be hugely important to the adopted person but also to birth and adoptive parents.
This work has taken longer than we all would have liked, but I want to acknowledge Bernadette Blenkiron, who has been advocating on the importance of integrated birth certificates for some time. I know these amendments will bring her and her children comfort, along with other people in the community. I commend the bill.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (5.15), in reply: The government is committed to making Canberra the most inclusive city in Australia, a place where everyone is valued and respected and diversity is celebrated. The bill represents another step by this government to support individuals to live authentic lives and to recognise their true identity and history. The bill does this in two ways: it creates additional pathways for young people who do not have the benefit of the support of both parents to change their registered sex and given name, where they have sufficient maturity and understanding to make this significant decision. The bill also provides for integrated birth certificates for people who have been adopted, allowing them to request a certificate that shows the details of their birth parents as well as their adoptive parents.
Let me focus first on the change of registered sex and given name. These measures are being introduced to support and recognise the needs of transgender and gender diverse young people in our community and to promote their mental wellbeing. We need to acknowledge the real risks of depression, self-harm and suicide amongst transgender and gender diverse young people, especially when they do not have the family support to express their gender identity.
A study involving 859 transgender young people carried out by the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth showed that as high as 74.6 per cent of transgender young participants had at some time been diagnosed with depression. Almost 80 per cent of the participants admitted to having self-harmed and about half of them had attempted suicide at some point in their life.
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