Proof of birth or adoption

How to register a child’s birth

The hospital will give you a birth registration form after the birth of your baby. There are some payments we can’t give you until you register the birth of your child with your state or territory government.

Read more about registering your child's birth on the australia.gov.au website.

How to prove a child’s birth

Your hospital or midwife will give you a Parent Pack after the birth of your baby. 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 only need to give proof of your child’s birth once. Use the signed declaration to:

complete your claim for Family Tax Benefit, Parental Leave Pay or Dad and Partner Pay
enrol your child for Medicare and the Medicare Safety Net
register your child for a My Health Record
enrol your child on the Australian Immunisation Register.

Read about My Health Record on the Australian Digital Health Agency’s website.

If you misplace your Newborn Child Declaration, it can't be reissued. However, you can still claim the same payments and services by giving us either:

a birth certificate or certified extract
a letter from the doctor or midwife who attended the birth, including home births.

If you give us a letter from your doctor or midwife it must include:

your child’s name, date and place of birth
your details and the details of the other parent
the doctor's or midwife’s signature, qualifications and registration number.

You can also provide an Australian Government document that verifies your child's name and date of birth, such as a:

passport
naturalisation certificate.

How to prove adoption

When you adopt a child, you’ll get adoption papers to confirm the adoption process has started. Use these to:

give us proof of adoption of your child
complete your claim for Family Tax Benefit, Parental Leave Pay, or Dad and Partner Pay
enrol your child for Medicare and the Medicare Safety Net
register your child for a 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 claim for a payment 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 finish the claim after your child’s birth or adoption. You need to do this for:

To submit proof of birth or adoption online if you have started a claim before your child’s birth or adoption:

Sign in to your Centrelink online account through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
Select Add Newborn child in your online account or Add Newborn in the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
Answer all the questions and attach a scan or photo of either your child's:
- proof of birth - the signed Doctor/Midwife – Proof of Birth Declaration found on the back of your Newborn Child Declaration
- adoption papers, if you adopted your 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 the birth or adoption you can submit the proof of birth or adoption with your online claim for:

Your online claim will also:

enrol your newborn or adopted child in Medicare
enrol your newborn or adopted child for the Medicare Safety Net
register your newborn or adopted child for a My Health Record.

To submit proof of birth or adoption online:

Sign in to your Centrelink online account through myGov.
Select Make a Claim, then Start a new claim.
Under Families, select Get started.
Select Apply for Family Assistance (including Paid Parental Leave).
Answer all the questions and attach a scan or photo of your child's:

proof of birth - the signed Doctor/Midwife – Proof of Birth Declaration found on the back of your Newborn Child Declaration
adoption papers, if you adopted your child.

Submit your claim.

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 My Health Record using the Newborn Child Declaration.

If you have parental responsibility you can Register a child for a My Health Record.

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 newborn or adopted child in Medicare
enrol your newborn or adopted child for the Medicare Safety Net
register your newborn or adopted 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.

Page last updated: 17 February 2020