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How to register a child’s birth
The hospital will give you a birth registration form after the birth of your child. You can use this to register the birth of your child with your state or territory government. You can’t get Parental Leave Pay or the Newborn Supplement component of Family Tax Benefit Part A until you do this.
How to prove a child’s birth
Your hospital or midwife will give you a Parent Pack after the birth of your child. It will include a Newborn Child Declaration. A doctor or midwife must sign the Doctor/Midwife - Proof of Birth Declaration on the last page. Use this declaration to give us proof of your child’s birth.
You or the other parent only need to give proof of your child’s birth once.
You can use the signed declaration to do all of the following:
- complete your claim for Family Tax Benefit or Parental Leave Pay
- enrol your child for Medicare and the Medicare Safety Net
- enrol your child on the Australian Immunisation Register.
You can also use the declaration to register your child for a My Health Record. Read about My Health Record on the Australian Digital Health Agency website.
If you lose your Newborn Child Declaration, it can’t be reissued. However, you can still claim the same payments and services by giving us either:
- your child’s birth certificate or a certified extract
- a letter from the doctor or midwife who attended the birth, including home births.
If you give us a letter from the doctor or midwife, it must be on hospital letterhead and include all of the following:
- your child’s name, date and place of birth
- your name and date of birth
- the doctor’s or midwife’s signature, qualifications and contact number.
You can also provide an Australian Government document that verifies your child’s name and date of birth, such as either a:
- passport
- naturalisation certificate.
How to prove a child’s adoption
When you adopt a child, you’ll get adoption papers to confirm the process has started. Use these to do all of the following:
- give us proof of adoption of your child
- complete your claim for Family Tax Benefit or Parental Leave Pay
- enrol your child for Medicare and the Medicare Safety Net
- register your child for My Health Record
- enrol your child on the Australian Immunisation Register.
Read more about payments and services when adopting a child.
How to give us proof of birth or adoption to claim a payment
You can make a claim for Family Tax Benefit and Parental Leave Pay either before or after your child’s birth or adoption. In either case, you’ll need to submit proof of birth or adoption to finalise your claim.
Submit a claim before your child’s birth or adoption
You can start a claim before your child’s birth or adoption. You’ll then need to provide your child’s details to finalise your claim after your child’s birth or adoption.
If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov, you can submit a claim before your child’s birth or adoption online.
To do this:
- Sign in to myGov.
- Select Add Newborn.
- Answer all the questions and attach a scan or photo of your proof of birth or adoption. Proof of birth is the signed Doctor/Midwife - Proof of Birth Declaration. This is found on the back of your Newborn Child Declaration. If you adopted your child attach the adoption papers.
You can also use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app and select Add Child.
If you can’t do this online, you can submit your proof of birth or adoption at a service centre.
Submit a claim after your child’s birth or adoption
After your child’s birth or adoption, you can submit the proof of birth or adoption with your online claim.
Your online claim will also:
- enrol your child in Medicare
- enrol your child for the Medicare Safety Net
- register your child for a My Health Record.
If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov, you can submit proof of birth or adoption online.
To do this:
- Sign in to myGov.
- Select Make a claim or view claim status, then Make a claim.
- Under Families, select Get started.
- Select Apply for Family Assistance Payments (including Paid Parental Leave).
- Answer all the questions and attach a scan or photo of your child’s proof of birth or adoption. Proof of birth is the signed Doctor/Midwife - Proof of Birth Declaration. This is found on the back of your Newborn Child Declaration. If you adopted your child attach the adoption papers.
If you can’t do this online, you can submit your proof of birth or adoption at a service centre.
Register a child for a My Health Record
Only the birth mother can register a newborn child for a My Health Record using the Newborn Child Declaration.
If you have parental responsibility you can Register a child for a My Health Record.
How to give us proof if your baby is stillborn or died soon after birth
If your baby was stillborn or died soon after birth, also called neonatal death, we need proof of your baby’s delivery. The doctor or midwife at the birth would have given you a Newborn Child Declaration or a Claim for Bereavement Payment form, which includes the Proof of Birth declaration. The doctor or midwife must complete this declaration.
If you can’t provide the declaration you can give us a letter on hospital letterhead from the doctor or midwife who was at your baby’s birth. It must include all of the following:
- mother’s full name and date of birth
- baby’s date and place of birth
- baby’s date of death
- baby’s sex.
For stillbirths the letter must also include both:
- baby’s weight
- baby’s gestation period.
Read more about what stillborn means and deciding between Parental Leave Pay and Stillborn Baby Payment.
When you’re not claiming a payment
If you’re not claiming any payments, complete all pages of the Newborn Child Declaration to:
- enrol your child in Medicare
- enrol your child for the Medicare Safety Net
- register your child for a My Health Record.
Submit your completed Newborn Child Declaration at a service centre or by post. The postal address is on the declaration.