Reynolds v Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages [2024] NSWCATAD 255 | Case summary

NCAT Administrative and Equal Opportunity|2024-08-29

REASONS FOR DECISION

David Reynolds' birth certificate records his place of birth as Royal Hospital for Women, Paddington. At the beginning of this year he applied to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to correct his birth place on the certificate. He asked that his place of birth be recorded as "Sydney".
Mr Reynolds' mother, Jannette Brennan, who acted on his behalf, explained that Mr Reynolds (who is now an adult) has a mild to moderate intellectual disability. At the time she made the application she stated that Mr Reynolds was about to apply for a new passport and that changing his birthplace from Paddington to Sydney would contribute to the ease of use during his travel. Mr Reynolds' existing passport records his place of birth as Paddington.
The request to amend Mr Brennan's place of birth was refused on the basis that the Birth Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 and the Birth Deaths and Marriages Registration Regulation 2017 require the inclusion of a place of birth when a birth is registered. Section 13 of the Act states that this is the geographical location where a child was born. As the registration form completed at the time of Mr Reynolds birth confirmed that his place of birth was Royal Hospital for Women, Paddington, this was the information that was required to be recorded on his birth certificate.
Mr Reynolds has sought review of that decision by the Tribunal. Before the Tribunal, Ms Brennan acted on his behalf.

Consideration

At issue is whether the correct and preferable decision is for the Registrar to correct the register by deleting Royal Hospital for Women, Paddington as the place of birth of Mr Reynolds and replacing it with Sydney. The reasons put forward by Ms Brennan relate to Mr Reynolds' intellectual disability and that it would be easier for him to travel if his passport records his place of birth as Sydney, rather than Paddington, as he would not be able to recall that his place of birth is Paddington. Ms Reynolds states that she was advised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) that she would need to obtain a change to Mr Reynolds' birth certificate in order for his passport to record his place of birth as Sydney.
In an email dated 18 April 2024 Ms Brennan states that, while her birth certificate states she was born in Darlinghurst, her passport records her place of birth as Sydney. She asks that Mr Reynolds' details be updated so they are consistent with her own. The Registrar has provided a copy of Ms Brennan's birth certificate which records her place of birth as St Margaret's Hospital, Darlinghurst. No copy of her passport has been provided, but I accept that it nominates Sydney as her place of birth. The fact that Ms Brennan's passport nominates Sydney as her place of birth and does not reflect the entry on her birth certificate, is not a matter for the Registrar or this Tribunal. As the Registrar notes, this a matter for DFAT.
The term "place of birth" is not defined in the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act or Regulation. "Place" is defined in The Oxford English Dictionary to mean "A particular part or region of space; a physical locality, a locale; a spot, a location. Also: a region or part of the earth's surface." The Macquarie Dictionary defines place as "a particular portion of space, of definite or indefinite extent." Neither definition is particularly helpful but both indicate that "place" has a geographical context and limit.
There is no suggestion that an error was made when Mr Reynolds' birth was registered or that his birth certificate otherwise contains any incorrect information. There is no requirement that the Registrar's powers to correct the register can only be utilised in circumstances where the Registry itself must have made an error: Sklavos v NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages [2017] NSWCATAD 29 at [13]. However, the sole reason for the request in this case is to simplify travel arrangements for Mr Reynolds who has an intellectual disability. No detail has been provided about any difficulties encountered in the past or what might be likely to be encountered in the future as a result of his birth certificate and passport recording his place of birth as Paddington. At this stage the claim that he may encounter difficulties is speculative at best.
In any event, I am not satisfied that the power to correct the Register should be exercised on this occasion. While it would not be inaccurate to refer to Mr Reynolds' birthplace as Sydney as Sydney is the city in which Paddington is a suburb, that is not what occurred upon registration of his birth. As set out above, one of the functions of Registrar is to preserve the integrity of the register. There is no dispute that Mr Reynolds' place of birth was the Royal Hospital for Women in Paddington and that his birth certificate correctly reflects that fact based on information supplied to the Registrar at the time by his mother.
While I am mindful that Mr Reynolds has an intellectual disability, I do not consider that the power to correct the register should be used simply for the convenience of a holder of a birth certificate. That would not be a purpose in keeping with the objects of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act set out in s 3 or with the functions of the Registrar set out in s 6: see Minister for Foreign Affairs v Lee [2014] FCA 927 in relation to similar considerations under the Australian Passports Act 2005 (C'wealth). Furthermore, the Registrar's power to correct the register, while it is discretionary, is confined to the circumstances set out in s 45. In the circumstances of this case it cannot be said that changing the place of birth from Paddington to Sydney would bring the entry into conformity with the most reliable information available to the Registrar as required by s 45(1)(b).
The correct and preferrable decision is to affirm the decision of the Registrar.

Orders 1. The decision under review is affirmed.

I hereby certify that this is a true and accurate record of the reasons for decision of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales. Registrar DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated. Decision last updated: 29 August 2024

Reynolds v Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages

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