A reform of ACT adoption laws could see adoptees issued with birth certificates that reflect both sets of parents.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A taskforce convened to scrutinise the ACT's arduous adoption processes has recommended the territory government consider introducing integrated birth certificates.
Currently, birth certificates are cancelled and reissued when a person is adopted.
Adopt Change chief executive Renee Carter said there were a number of problems with that.
"If you're given a new certificate as if you were born into this family, obviously then it almost wipes some of your heritage away," Ms Carter said.
"I think if you're looking at balancing the needs of the child, the new family and the birth family, having a certificate that actually recognises your heritage, where you've come from and where your family is now, that's actually quite important."
Integrated certificates record details of both the adopted and birth parents and are available on request in NSW.
In the Review of the Domestic Adoption Process in the ACT, tabled in the Legislative Assembly this month, the taskforce advocated exploring the possibility of introducing these certificates as an aside.
The report noted integrated birth certificates helped to maintain "the identity and heritage of children who are adopted."
It said the current practice of producing two birth certificates caused confusion and difficulty in accessing records and could cause anxiety and distress for children involved.
"Access Canberra should explore whether the ACT could issue integrated birth certificates to better support recognition of both birth parents and adoptive parents to maintain the identity and heritage of children who are adopted," the report said.
"This may include understanding other jurisdictions' policy, assessing the practical implications of introducing integrated birth certificates and whether integrated birth certificates would be a viable option in the ACT context."
In the ACT, all adoptions are open, which means children can retain a connection to their biological identity and original language, culture and religion.
It would make sense then that their birth certificate reflects that, Ms Carter said.
"A key aspect of open adoption is retaining birth family heritage and connection so the logical link is to either have an addendum or an integrated birth certificate, something that recognises where you've come from," she said.
"Because of past practices where we've had some pretty horrific cases with the Stolen Generation and forced adoption, we still have a large number of people who were hurt from those practices so there's a lot of hesitancy, not just from the people who were directly impacted but in the sector of people not wanting to cause more pain and I think birth certificates are one of those hangovers ."
The government is due to respond to the report's findings and recommendations by the end of March.
