What it does
The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 (WA) establishes the statutory framework for recording and preserving information about births, deaths, marriages, changes of name, changes of registration of sex or gender, and certain parentage changes (adoptions and surrogacy orders) in Western Australia. Its primary mechanism is the Register maintained by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, which must contain the particulars required under the Act and may contain further information the Registrar considers appropriate (s. 49(1)-(2A)). The objects set out in s. 3 include the registration of these events, the perpetual keeping of registers, controlled access to information by government agencies and the public, the issue of certified and uncertified information, and the collection of statistical data. A notable addition by the 2024 amendments is the object of issuing acknowledgment documents that recognise the sex or gender of persons resident in Western Australia who were born outside Australia (s. 3(da)). The Act provides for reciprocal administrative arrangements with other States’ registering authorities (s. 11), allowing the Registrar to perform functions under corresponding laws and vice versa, including the establishment of shared databases. The Register may be held in computer database, documentary, or other appropriate form (s. 49(3)). The Registrar may also maintain records of additional information beyond registrable events (s. 49(2A)). The Act imposes obligations on doctors, funeral directors, parents, and others to provide timely notice and certificates, and creates criminal offences for false statements, unauthorised access, forgery, and unauthorised disclosure of Register information. It also provides for correction and amendment of the Register, court orders, and a right to seek review of Registrar’s decisions in the State Administrative Tribunal (s. 67). The 2024 amendments (commenced 30 May 2025) introduced a comprehensive Part 5A for changes of sex or gender registration and acknowledgment documents, replacing the former Gender Reassignment Act 2000 regime while preserving recognition certificates already issued (s. 70A).