New South Wales Consolidated Acts

BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES REGISTRATION ACT 1995 - SECT 12

12 Notification of births

(1) When a child is born in the State, the responsible person must give notice of the birth to the Registrar in a form and manner required by the Registrar, specifying the particulars required by the regulations.

Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.

(2) The notice must be given:

(a) in the case of a child born alive-within 7 days after birth, or

(b) in the case of a stillbirth-within 48 hours after stillbirth.

(3) When notice of a stillbirth is given, the responsible person must also give the Registrar, in a form and manner required by the Registrar:

(a) a doctor’s certificate certifying the cause of foetal death, or

(b) if a doctor is of the opinion that it is impracticable or undesirable to certify the cause of foetal death at the time the notice referred to in subsection (2) (b) is given, a notice signed by a doctor stating the doctor’s intention to complete such a certificate.

(4) The certificate or notice referred to in subsection (3) must be completed by the doctor responsible for the professional care of the birth mother at the birth or a doctor who examined the body of the stillborn child after the stillbirth.

(5) In this section:
"responsible person" means:

(a) in the case of a child born in a hospital or brought to a hospital within 24 hours after birth-the chief executive officer of the hospital, or

(b) if the child was not born in a hospital or brought to a hospital within 24 hours after birth, and a doctor or midwife was responsible for the professional care of the birth mother at the birth-that doctor or midwife.