A parentage order is a court order that transfers parentage from the birth mother (and her partner if she has one) to the intended parents, as part of a surrogacy arrangement.
This means that the intended parents now become the child's legal parents. Once you have a parentage order, you must apply to register it with us and pay a fee.
A discharge order transfers the legal parentage back to the birth mother and her partner (if she has one).
Once you register a parentage order with us we will:
close your child’s original birth record and create a new one that includes your details
make a note in the registers linking the new record to the original record
create a new birth certificate for your child that contains your details, your child’s name, and other necessary information, if purchased; the name of the birth parent(s) will no longer appear.
Registering a discharge order
If you have a discharge order we will:
close the birth records showing the intended parent (as stated on the parentage order) and create a new birth record that shows the birth mother and her partner (if she has one)
make a note in the registers linking the new record with the original record
create a new birth certificate that contains the birth parent(s), your child’s name and other necessary information, if purchased; the name of the intended parent(s)—stated on the parentage order—will no longer appear.
How to apply
To register a parentage or discharge order, you need to:
You will need to work out the total cost of your order and make sure you pay the correct amount.
You can pay:
at the customer service centre
by EFTPOS or credit card
with a business account cheque
with a bank cheque
with a money order
through the mail
within Australia
by credit card
with a business account cheque
with a bank cheque
with a money order
from overseas
by credit card.
We will accept cash at the customer service centre but prefer contactless payments such as EFTPOS or credit card.
We do not accept personal cheques or cheques issued from outside Australia (in any currency).
Make Australian-drawn cheques and money orders payable to 'Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages'.
Application fees
Item
Cost
Register a parentage or discharge order
$126.10
Official birth certificate (standard postage included)
$54.40
Commemorative birth certificate package (1 official birth certificate and standard postage included)
$70.70
Postage fees
Standard postage is included in the price when you order a certificate to be sent by mail.
You can choose to have your certificate sent by express or registered post for a fee.
Item
Cost
Express post
$7.45
Registered post
$5.55
International registered mail
$17.70
We value identity protection, so we recommend that you choose registered post to ensure the delivery of your certificate can be tracked and delivered to you more securely within Australia.
International registered mail is used for overseas deliveries. However, this can’t be tracked and signing on delivery is only available in some countries.
The fee you pay is for you to submit your application and for us to review it.
You will lose the fee paid if we refuse your application or you cancel it after we have started to review it.
