The Status of Children Act 1996 standardises who counts as a child’s parent for law, equalises the legal status of children regardless of parental marital status, and updates property and intestacy treatment. It creates statutory presumptions of parentage, formal acknowledgement and court‑declaration routes, and privacy protections for proceedings.
It gives courts power to order parentage testing (with consent and safeguard rules), creates offences and regulatory rules for testing, and thus affects children, parents, medical practitioners and courts.
The Status of Children Act 1996 (NSW) is a consolidating statute that performs two core functions: first, it eradicates the common-law and statutory distinctions that historically disadvantaged children born outside marriage; second, it supplies a comprehensive evidentiary and procedural framework for ascertaining parentage in both adversarial and administrative settings.
At its heart lies s 5(1), which provides that “for the purposes of any law of the State by or under which the relationship between any person and the person’s parents (or either of the person’s parents) arises, that relationship and any other relationship (whether of consanguinity or affinity) between the person and another person is to be determined regardless of whether the person’s parents are or have been married to each other.” This single proposition repeals the common-law concept of filius nullius and aligns New South Wales with the position reached by the Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976, which the 1996 Act expressly repeals (s 37).
The Act then translates that equality principle into practical rules across three domains. Part 2 governs the construction of dispositions of property. Section 6 applies to dispositions inter vivos made on or after 1 July 1977 and to wills of testators dying after that date. Unless contrary intention appears, references to “child”, “children” or relational words include exnuptial children (s 6(2)). Section 6(3) expressly neutralises the use of words such as “legitimate”, “lawful”, “married”, “husband” or “wife” as indicators of contrary intention. Section 7 preserves the pre-1977 law for earlier dispositions, including special powers of appointment. Section 8 adjusts intestacy rules so that exnuptial children and their relatives take on the same footing as if the parents had been married at the time of birth, but carves out adopted children under the Adoption Act 2000.
Current sections
Direct links to the current provisions in Status of Children Act 1996.
bodily sample includes any one or more of the following—
(a) a blood sample,
(b) a tissue sample,
(c) a sperm sample,
(d) any other sample of material obtained from a human body.
declaration of parentage means a declaration under section 21.
Director-General means the Director-General of the Department of Community Services.
fertilisation procedure means—
(a) the artificial insemination of a woman, or
(b) the procedure of transferring to a woman’s body an ovum (whether or not produced by her) fertilised outside her body, or
(c) the procedure of transferring to a woman’s body an ovum (whether or not produced by her) or both the ovum and sperm to enable fertilisation of the ovum to occur in her body, or
(d) any other procedure for the assisted conception of children that is prescribed by the regulations.
formal paternity acknowledgment means a paternity acknowledgment executed under section 19.
husband includes a husband under a void or voidable marriage.
married includes married under a void marriage and under a voidable marriage that has been annulled by a court.
parentage testing order means an order made under section 26.
parentage testing procedure means a medical procedure prescribed, or included in a class of medical procedures prescribed, by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.
prescribed court means a court of any State or Territory, a federal court, or a court of a prescribed overseas jurisdiction.
prescribed overseas jurisdiction means any country, or part of a country, outside Australia that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of the provision in which the expression is used.
Registrar means the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
spouse includes a spouse under a void or voidable marriage.
Supreme Court or Court means the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
wife includes a wife under a void or voidable marriage.
(2) A reference in this or any other Act—
(a) to an exnuptial child or to a child or person born outside marriage (however expressed) is a reference to a child or person whose parents (including father and mother) were not married to each other at the time of the conception of the child or person and who have not subsequently married each other, and
(b) to a child or person born in marriage or in lawful wedlock (however expressed) is a reference to a child or person whose parents (including father and mother) were married to each other at the time of the conception of the child or person or who subsequently married each other.
s 3: Am 2018 No 28, Sch 2.4 [1] [2]; 2025 No 13, Sch 7.
4
Application of Act
4 Application of Act
4 Application of Act
(1) This Act applies in respect of a person—
(a) whether born in New South Wales or elsewhere, and
(b) whether born before or after the commencement of this section, and
(c) whether a minor or not, and
(d) whether the person or the person’s father or mother is or has ever been domiciled in New South Wales or not.
s 4: Am 2000 No 75, Sch 2.5 [1]; 2010 No 102, Sch 2.7.
Part 2
Status of children and dispositions of property
Part 2 Status of children and dispositions of property
Part 2 Status of children and dispositions of property
5
All children are of equal status
5 All children are of equal status
5 All children are of equal status
(1) For the purposes of any law of the State by or under which the relationship between any person and the person’s parents (or either of the person’s parents) arises, that relationship and any other relationship (whether of consanguinity or affinity) between the person and another person is to be determined regardless of whether the person’s parents are or have been married to each other.
(2) This section is subject to sections 6 and 7.
s 5: Am 2018 No 28, Sch 2.4 [3].
6
Construction of dispositions of property made on or after 1 July 1977
6 Construction of dispositions of property made on or after 1 July 1977
6 Construction of dispositions of property made on or after 1 July 1977
(1) This section applies to the following dispositions only—
(b) dispositions made by will or codicil executed before, on or after 1 July 1977 by a person who dies after that date.
(2) Unless a contrary intention appears, in any disposition to which this section applies—
(a) a reference (however expressed) to the child or children of a person includes a reference to an exnuptial child of whom that person is a parent, and
(b) a reference (however expressed) to any person or persons related to another person (other than as a parent or child) includes a reference to anyone who is so related in fact regardless that the person related in fact, or some other person through whom the relationship is traced, is or was an exnuptial child.
(3) The use of any of the following words (or of any word or words having the same or a similar meaning) does not of itself indicate a contrary intention for the purposes of subsection (2)—
(a) the words “legitimate” or “lawful” when used with reference to the child or children of a person or persons related to another person in some other way,
(b) the words “married”, “husband” or “wife” when used with reference to the parent or parents of a person.
(4) Without limiting any other provision of this Act, any rule of law that a disposition in favour of an exnuptial child not conceived or born when the disposition takes effect is void as being contrary to public policy is abolished in respect of any disposition to which this section applies.
7
Construction of dispositions of property made before 1 July 1977
7 Construction of dispositions of property made before 1 July 1977
7 Construction of dispositions of property made before 1 July 1977
(a) dispositions made inter vivos before 1 July 1977,
(b) dispositions made by will or codicil executed by a person who died before 1 July 1977.
(2) If any such disposition contains a special power of appointment, nothing in this Act—
(a) extends the class of persons in whose favour the appointment may be made, or
(b) causes the exercise of the power to be construed so as to include any person who is not a member of that class.
8
Rights of exnuptial children and their relatives on intestacy
8 Rights of exnuptial children and their relatives on intestacy
8 Rights of exnuptial children and their relatives on intestacy
(1) This section applies to rights under the intestacy of persons dying on or after 1 July 1977.
(2) If any relative of an exnuptial child (including a parent of the child) dies intestate in respect of all or any of the relative’s real or personal property, the child (or any of the child’s issue if the child is dead) is entitled to take any interest in that property that the child (or the child’s issue) would have been entitled to take if the child’s parents had been married to each other when the child was born.
(3) If an exnuptial child dies intestate in respect of all or any of the child’s real or personal property, any relative of the child (including a parent of the child) is entitled to take any interest in that property that the relative would have been entitled to take if the parents of the child had been married to each other when the child was born.
(4) Nothing in this section affects the generality of section 5. However, this section does not (despite section 5) apply to any child who is an adopted person under an adoption order made or continued in force under the Adoption Act 2000 or under an adoption recognised in the State under Chapter 5 of that Act.
s 8: Am 2000 No 75, Sch 2.5 [2].
Part 3
Establishing parentage
Part 3 Establishing parentage
Part 3 Establishing parentage
Division 1
Parentage presumptions
Division 1 Parentage presumptions
Division 1 Parentage presumptions
9
Presumptions of parentage arising from marriage
9 Presumptions of parentage arising from marriage
9 Presumptions of parentage arising from marriage
(1) A child born to a woman during a marriage to which she is a party is presumed to be a child of the woman and her spouse.
(2) If a child is born to a woman within 44 weeks after her spouse dies, the child is presumed to be the child of the woman and her deceased spouse.
(3) If a child is born to the woman within 44 weeks after a purported marriage to which the woman is a party is annulled, the child is presumed to be a child of the woman and her purported spouse.
(4) If—
(a) the parties to a marriage separated at any time, and
(b) after the separation, resumed cohabitation on one occasion, and
(c) within 3 months after the resumption of cohabitation, they separated again and lived separately and apart, and
(d) a child is born to the woman within 44 weeks after the end of the cohabitation, but after the dissolution of the marriage,
the child is presumed to be the child of the woman and her former spouse.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a marriage is dissolved by a decree of dissolution or annulled by a decree of nullity on the making of the decree nisi.
s 9: Am 2018 No 28, Sch 2.4 [4].
10
Presumption of paternity arising from cohabitation
10 Presumption of paternity arising from cohabitation
10 Presumption of paternity arising from cohabitation
A child born to a woman is presumed to be a man’s child if, at any time during the period beginning not earlier than 44 weeks and ending not less than 20 weeks before the birth, the man and the woman cohabit but are not married.
11
Presumptions of parentage arising from registration of birth
11 Presumptions of parentage arising from registration of birth
11 Presumptions of parentage arising from registration of birth
(1) A person is presumed to be a child’s parent if the person’s name is entered as the child’s parent in the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register or a register of births or parentage information kept under a law of the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory or a prescribed overseas jurisdiction.
(2) Nothing in this section affects the operation of Chapter 5 (Recognition of adoptions) of the Adoption Act 2000.
s 11: Am 2000 No 75, Sch 2.5 [3].
12
Presumption of parentage arising from findings of courts
12 Presumption of parentage arising from findings of courts
12 Presumption of parentage arising from findings of courts
(1) A person is presumed to be a child’s parent if—
(a) while the person is alive, a prescribed court has—
(i) found expressly that the person is the child’s parent, or
(ii) made a finding that it could not have made unless the person was the child’s parent, and
(b) the finding has not been altered, set aside or reversed.
(2) A presumption arising under subsection (1) is irrebuttable.
(3) A person is presumed to be a child’s parent if—
(a) after the person dies, a prescribed court has—
(i) found expressly that the person was the child’s parent, or
(ii) made a finding that it could not have made unless the person was the child’s parent, and
(b) the finding has not been altered, set aside or reversed.
(4) In this section, a reference to a finding of a prescribed court includes—
(a) a reference to a declaration of parentage, and
(b) a reference to a finding whether made before or after the commencement of this section.
(5) Nothing in this section affects the operation of Chapter 5 (Recognition of adoptions) of the Adoption Act 2000.
s 12: Am 2000 No 75, Sch 2.5 [3].
13
Presumption of parentage arising from acknowledgments
13 Presumption of parentage arising from acknowledgments
13 Presumption of parentage arising from acknowledgments
(1) A man is presumed to be a child’s father if—
(a) under this Act or other law of the State or a law of the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory or a prescribed overseas jurisdiction, the man executes a formal paternity acknowledgment or any other instrument acknowledging that he is the child’s father, and
(b) the instrument has not been annulled or otherwise set aside.
(2) This section extends to instruments executed before the commencement of this section.
14
Presumptions of parentage arising out of use of fertilisation procedures
14 Presumptions of parentage arising out of use of fertilisation procedures
14 Presumptions of parentage arising out of use of fertilisation procedures
(1) When a woman who is married to a man has undergone a fertilisation procedure as a result of which she becomes pregnant—
(a) her husband is presumed to be the father of any child born as a result of the pregnancy even if he did not provide any or all of the sperm used in the procedure, but only if he consented to the procedure, and
(b) the woman is presumed to be the mother of any child born as a result of the pregnancy even if she did not provide the ovum used in the procedure.
(1A) When a woman who is married to or who is the de facto partner of another woman has undergone a fertilisation procedure as a result of which she becomes pregnant—
(a) the other woman is presumed to be a parent of any child born as a result of the pregnancy, but only if the other woman consented to the procedure, and
(b) the woman who has become pregnant is presumed to be the mother of any child born as a result of the pregnancy even if she did not provide the ovum used in the procedure.
(2) If a woman (whether married or unmarried) becomes pregnant by means of a fertilisation procedure using any sperm obtained from a man who is not her husband, that man is presumed not to be the father of any child born as a result of the pregnancy.
(3) If a woman (whether married or unmarried) becomes pregnant by means of a fertilisation procedure using an ovum obtained from another woman, that other woman is presumed not to be the mother of any child born as a result of the pregnancy. This subsection does not affect the presumption arising under subsection (1A) (a).
(4) Any presumption arising under subsections (1)–(3) is irrebuttable.
(5) In any proceedings in which the operation of subsection (1) is relevant, a husband’s consent to the carrying out of the fertilisation procedure is presumed.
(5A) In any proceedings in which the operation of subsection (1A) is relevant, the consent of a woman to the carrying out of a fertilisation procedure that results in the pregnancy of her spouse or de facto partner is presumed.
(6) In this section—
(a) a reference to a woman who is married to a man includes a reference to a woman who is the de facto partner of a man, and
(b) a reference (however expressed) to the husband or wife of a person—
(i) is, in a case where the person is the de facto partner of a person of the opposite sex, a reference to that other person, and
(ii) does not, in that case, include a reference to the spouse (if any) to whom the person is actually married.
(7) (Repealed)
s 14: Am 1997 No 147, Sch 1.25 [1] [2]; 2008 No 23, Sch 2 [1]–[6]; 2010 No 19, Sch 3.104 [1]–[4]; 2018 No 28, Sch 2.4 [5]–[7].
15
Rebuttal of parentage presumptions
15 Rebuttal of parentage presumptions
15 Rebuttal of parentage presumptions
(1) A presumption arising under this Division, or a parentage presumption arising under any other Act or rule of law, that is rebuttable, is rebuttable by proof on the balance of probabilities.
(2) Every presumption arising under this Division (except for a presumption arising under section 12 (1) or 14 (1)–(3)) is a rebuttable presumption.
16
Conflicting rebuttable parentage presumptions
16 Conflicting rebuttable parentage presumptions
16 Conflicting rebuttable parentage presumptions
If two or more rebuttable presumptions referred to in section 15 conflict with each other and are not rebutted in any proceedings, the presumption that appears to the court to be more or most likely to be correct prevails.
(1) If two or more irrebuttable presumptions arising under this Division conflict with each other, the presumption that appears to the court to be more or most likely to be correct prevails.
(2) If an irrebuttable presumption arising under this Division conflicts with a rebuttable presumption arising under this Division that is not rebutted in any proceedings, the irrebuttable presumption prevails over the rebuttable presumption.
18
Parentage presumptions cannot be relied on by prosecutors
18 Parentage presumptions cannot be relied on by prosecutors
18 Parentage presumptions cannot be relied on by prosecutors
Despite any other provision of this Act, a prosecutor cannot rely in any criminal proceedings on a presumption arising under this Act to prove the parentage of a child.
Division 2
Acknowledgments of paternity
Division 2 Acknowledgments of paternity
Division 2 Acknowledgments of paternity
19
Execution of instrument of acknowledgment
19 Execution of instrument of acknowledgment
19 Execution of instrument of acknowledgment
(1) A man has executed an instrument acknowledging paternity of a child under this Division if—
(a) he executes an instrument in or to the effect of a form prescribed by the regulations and the instrument is countersigned by the mother of the child, and
(b) he executes the instrument in the presence of a person belonging to a class of persons prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph, and
(c) the instrument has not been annulled under this Division.
(2) A person in whose presence a formal paternity acknowledgment is executed in New South Wales must—
(a) take possession of the acknowledgment once it is executed, and
(1) A formal paternity acknowledgment can be annulled only by order of the Supreme Court.
(2) The Court may annul a formal paternity acknowledgment on the application of, or on behalf of, any of the following persons—
(a) the person who executed the acknowledgment,
(b) the mother of the child to whom the acknowledgment relates,
(c) the child to whom the acknowledgment relates,
(d) the Registrar,
(e) any other person who may be affected by the result of the application.
(3) If the Court makes an annulment order, the Registrar of the Division of the Court in which the order was made must immediately cause a copy of the order to be transmitted to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to be dealt with under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995.
Division 3
Declarations of parentage
Division 3 Declarations of parentage
Division 3 Declarations of parentage
21
Applications for declarations in the Supreme Court
21 Applications for declarations in the Supreme Court
21 Applications for declarations in the Supreme Court
(1) Any of the following persons may make an application to the Supreme Court for a declaration of parentage under this section—
(a) a person who alleges that the relationship of parent and child exists between the person’s child and any named person, or
(b) a person who alleges that the relationship of parent and child exists between the person and another named or identified person, or
(c) the Registrar when seeking a determination that the relationship of parent and child exists between a named person and another named or identified person, or
(d) the Director-General when seeking a determination that the relationship of parent and child exists between a named person and another named or identified person, or
(e) a person prescribed by the regulations who seeks a determination that the relationship of parent and child exists between a named person and another named or identified person, or
(f) a person who may be affected by the result who seeks a determination that the relationship of parent and child exists between a named person and another named or identified person.
(2) On any such application, the Supreme Court may make a declaration that a named or identified person is a child’s parent.
(3) A declaration of parentage may be made—
(a) whether or not the parent or the child (or both) are alive, or
(b) whether or not the child has been born.
(4) If a declaration of parentage is made, the Registrar of the Division of the Court in which the order was made must immediately cause a copy of the declaration to be transmitted to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to be dealt with under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995.
22
Annulment of declaration of parentage
22 Annulment of declaration of parentage
22 Annulment of declaration of parentage
(1) The Supreme Court may make an order annulling a declaration of parentage on the application of any person who applied or could have applied for the making of the declaration if it appears to the Court—
(a) that new facts or circumstances have arisen that have not previously been disclosed to the Court, and
(b) those facts could not, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, have previously been disclosed to the Court.
(2) On the making of such an order, the declaration ceases to have effect from that time. Accordingly, the annulment does not affect anything done in reliance on the declaration before the making of the order.
(3) If the Court makes such an order, it may, if it thinks that it would be just and equitable to do so, make such ancillary orders (including orders varying property rights) as may be necessary to place any person affected by the annulment of the declaration, as far as practicable, in the same position as the person would have been in if the declaration had not been made.
(4) If a declaration is annulled under this section, the Registrar of the Division of the Court in which the order was made must immediately cause a copy of the order of annulment to be transmitted to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to be dealt with under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995.
Division 4
Evidence of court findings and paternity acknowledgments
Division 4 Evidence of court findings and paternity acknowledgments
Division 4 Evidence of court findings and paternity acknowledgments
23
Admissibility of court findings and paternity acknowledgments
23 Admissibility of court findings and paternity acknowledgments
23 Admissibility of court findings and paternity acknowledgments
(1) In any proceedings in which the parentage of a child is in issue and a presumption under section 12 or 13 is relied on, the finding of the prescribed court or the paternity acknowledgment (or a copy of any such instrument that the court considers authentic) giving rise to the presumption is to be admitted in evidence in those proceedings.
(2) In any proceedings in which the parentage of a child is in issue, the court before which the proceedings are taken may admit any evidence that tends to establish that a person is or is not a parent of the child even though that evidence is not required to be admitted by virtue of subsection (1).
(3) However, subsection (2) does not apply so as to allow the admission of evidence in rebuttal of an irrebuttable presumption of law arising by virtue of this or any other Act or any rule of law.
Division 5
Hearings under Divisions 2 and 3
Division 5 Hearings under Divisions 2 and 3
Division 5 Hearings under Divisions 2 and 3
24
Conduct of hearings
24 Conduct of hearings
24 Conduct of hearings
(1) The hearing of an application for a declaration of parentage or for an annulment order under Division 2 or 3 is to be in closed court.
(2) The Supreme Court may adjourn the hearing of any such application to give a person the opportunity to be present or to be represented at the hearing if the Court considers that the person’s interests would be affected by a declaration or an annulment order (as the case may be).
25
Offence: publication of identity of participants in hearing
25 Offence: publication of identity of participants in hearing
25 Offence: publication of identity of participants in hearing
A person must not publish the name, or the particulars relating to the identity, of any person by, or in relation to whom, an application for a declaration of parentage or for an annulment order under Division 2 or 3 is brought.
Maximum penalty—10 penalty units.
Division 6
Parentage evidence
Division 6 Parentage evidence
Division 6 Parentage evidence
26
Orders for carrying out of parentage testing procedures
26 Orders for carrying out of parentage testing procedures
26 Orders for carrying out of parentage testing procedures
(1) In proceedings where the parentage of a child is in issue, the Supreme Court may make an order requiring a parentage testing procedure to be carried out on any of the following persons for the purpose of obtaining information to assist in determining the parentage of the child—
(a) the child, or
(b) a person known to be a parent of the child, or
(c) any other person, if the Court is of the opinion that the information that could be obtained if the parentage testing procedure were to be carried out in relation to the person might assist in determining the parentage of the child.
(2) A parentage testing order may be made by the Court—
(a) on the application of a party to the proceedings, or
(b) on the application of the Director-General, or
(c) on the application of a person representing the child under an order made under section 34, or
(d) of its own motion.
(3) A parentage testing order may be made subject to terms and conditions.
(4) In deciding whether to make a parentage testing order, the Court must—
(a) consider and determine any objection made by a party to the proceedings on account of medical, religious or other grounds, and
(b) if it determines that an objection is valid, take the objection into account in deciding whether to make the order.
27
Orders associated with parentage testing orders
27 Orders associated with parentage testing orders
27 Orders associated with parentage testing orders
(1) If the Supreme Court makes a parentage testing order, the Court may make such other orders as it considers necessary or desirable—
(a) to enable the parentage testing procedure to be carried out, or
(b) to make the parentage testing procedure more effective or reliable.
(2) Some examples of the kinds of order that the Court can make under subsection (1) are as follows—
(a) an order requiring a person to submit to a medical procedure,
(b) an order requiring a person to provide a bodily sample,
(c) an order requiring a person to surrender a bodily sample previously obtained from that person or from another person (regardless of whether that other person is still living) that has been stored or otherwise preserved,
(d) an order requiring a person to furnish information relevant to the person’s medical or family history.
(3) The Court may also make such costs orders as it considers just in relation to costs incurred in relation to—
(a) the carrying out of the parentage testing procedure or other orders made by the Court in relation to the parentage testing procedure, or
(b) the preparation of reports in relation to the information obtained as a result of the carrying out of the parentage testing procedure.
(4) In deciding whether to make an order under this section, the Court must—
(a) consider and determine any objection made by a party to the proceedings on account of medical, religious or other grounds, and
(b) if it determines that an objection is valid, take the objection into account in deciding whether to make the order.
28
Orders made against children under 18 years of age
28 Orders made against children under 18 years of age
28 Orders made against children under 18 years of age
(1) This section applies if a parentage testing order or an order under section 27 requires a medical procedure or other act to be carried out in relation to a child who is under 18 years of age.
(2) The procedure or act must not be carried out in relation to the child under the order unless a parent or guardian of the child consents to the medical procedure or act being carried out.
(3) However, the Court may draw such inferences from a failure or refusal to consent as appear just in the circumstances.
29
Effect of non-compliance by adult with an order made under this Part
29 Effect of non-compliance by adult with an order made under this Part
29 Effect of non-compliance by adult with an order made under this Part
(1) If a person who is 18 years or more of age contravenes a parentage testing order or an order under section 27, the person is not liable to any penalty in relation to the contravention.
(2) However, the Court may draw such inferences as appear just in the circumstances.
30
No liability if parent or guardian consents
30 No liability if parent or guardian consents
30 No liability if parent or guardian consents
(1) If a parent or guardian of the child consents to a medical procedure or other act being carried out in relation to the child under an order made under this Division, a person who carries out, or assists in the carrying out of, the medical procedure or act is not liable to any civil or criminal action in relation to the proper carrying out of the medical procedure or act.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) affects any liability of a person for an act done negligently, or negligently omitted to be done, in relation to the carrying out of a medical procedure or act.
31
Reports on parentage testing procedures
31 Reports on parentage testing procedures
31 Reports on parentage testing procedures
(1) A report made in accordance with regulations made under section 36 (2) (b) may be received in evidence in any proceedings under this Act.
(2) If any such report is received in evidence in any proceedings under this Act, the Supreme Court may make an order requiring the person who made the report, or any person whose evidence may be relevant in relation to the report, to appear before the Court and give evidence in relation to the report.
(3) An order under subsection (2) may be made by the Court—
(a) on the application of a party to the proceedings, or
(b) on the application of the Director-General, or
(c) on the application of a person representing a child under an order made under section 34, or
(d) of its own motion.
32
Offence: Personating another in or proffering another child for a parentage testing procedure
32 Offence: Personating another in or proffering another child for a parentage testing procedure
32 Offence: Personating another in or proffering another child for a parentage testing procedure
A person must not—
(a) undergo a parentage testing procedure under a parentage testing order or other procedure ordered under section 27 for the purpose of personating the person who is required by the order to undergo the procedure, or
(b) proffer a child for the purpose of undergoing a parentage testing procedure under a parentage testing order or other procedure ordered under section 27 knowing that the child is not the child named in the order.
Maximum penalty—5 penalty units.
33
Offence: Taking of bodily sample by unqualified persons
33 Offence: Taking of bodily sample by unqualified persons
33 Offence: Taking of bodily sample by unqualified persons
(1) A person must not take any bodily sample purportedly for the purpose of giving effect to a parentage testing order or an order under section 27 unless the person is a qualified person.
Maximum penalty—2 penalty units.
(2) For the purposes of this section, qualified person means—
(a) a medical practitioner, or
(b) a registered nurse, or
(c) any other person belonging to a class of persons prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.
34
Court orders for separate representation of child
34 Court orders for separate representation of child
34 Court orders for separate representation of child
(1) This section applies to proceedings under this Division concerning a child.
(2) If it appears to the Supreme Court that the child ought to be separately represented, the Court may order that the child is to be separately represented, and may also make such orders as it considers necessary to secure that representation.
(3) The Supreme Court may make an order for separate representation—
(a) on the application of any person, or
(b) of its own motion.
Part 4
Miscellaneous
Part 4 Miscellaneous
Part 4 Miscellaneous
35
Proceedings for offences
35 Proceedings for offences
35 Proceedings for offences
(1) Proceedings for an offence under this Act are to be dealt with before the Local Court.
(2) Nothing in this section affects the jurisdiction or power of the Supreme Court to enforce its orders.
s 35: Am 2007 No 94, Sch 4.
36
Regulations
36 Regulations
36 Regulations
(1) The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
(2) Without affecting the generality of subsection (1), the regulations may make provision with respect to any of the following matters—
(a) the carrying out of parentage testing procedures under parentage testing orders,
(b) the preparation of reports in relation to the information obtained as the result of the carrying out of such procedures.
(3) A regulation may create an offence punishable by a penalty not exceeding 5 penalty units.
37
Repeal of Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976 No 97 and Artificial Conception Act 1984 No 3
37 Repeal of Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976 No 97 and Artificial Conception Act 1984 No 3
(1) The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives.
(2) The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 5 years from the date of assent to this Act.
(3) A report of the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years.
Schedule 1
Schedule 1
Schedule 1 (Repealed)
sch 1: Rep 1999 No 85, Sch 4.
Schedule 2
Savings and transitional provisions
Schedule 2 Savings and transitional provisions
Schedule 2 Savings and transitional provisions
(Section 39)
sch 2: Am 2008 No 23, Sch 2 [7] [8].
Source text: opening excerpt
Sourced from legislation.nsw.gov.au, CC BY 4.0.
Part 1 Preliminary
Part 1 Preliminary
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Name of Act
1 Name of Act
1 Name of Act
This Act is the Status of Children Act 1996.
2 Commencement
2 Commencement
2 Commencement
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.
3 Definitions
3 Definitions
3 Definitions
(1) In this Act—
Births, Deaths and Marriages Register means the Register referred to in section 43 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995.
bodily sample includes any one or more of the following—
(a) a blood sample,
(b) a tissue sample,
(c) a sperm sample,
(d) any other sample of material obtained from a human body.
declaration of parentage means a declaration under section 21.
Director-General means the Director-General of the Department of Community Services.
fertilisation procedure means—
(a) the artificial insemination of a woman, or
(b) the procedure of transferring to a woman’s body an ovum (whether or not produced by her) fertilised outside her body, or
(c) the procedure of transferring to a woman’s body an ovum (whether or not produced by her) or both the ovum and sperm to enable fertilisation of the ovum to occur in her body, or
(d) any other procedure for the assisted conception of children that is prescribed by the regulations.
formal paternity acknowledgment means a paternity acknowledgment executed under section 19.
husband includes a husband under a void or voidable marriage.
married includes married under a void marriage and under a voidable marriage that has been annulled by a court.
parentage testing order means an order made under section 26.
parentage testing procedure means a medical procedure prescribed, or included in a class of medical procedures prescribed, by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.
Part 3 is the longest and most technical component. Division 1 (ss 9–18) enacts a series of presumptions of parentage. The marriage presumptions in s 9 operate where a child is born during marriage, within 44 weeks after death or annulment, or after a brief resumption of cohabitation. Section 10 supplies a cohabitation presumption where the man and woman lived together in the 20-to-44-week window before birth. Registration of a person’s name on the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register or equivalent creates a presumption under s 11. Court findings, whether express or necessarily implicit, generate irrebuttable presumptions if made during the person’s lifetime (s 12(1)–(2)) and rebuttable ones if made after death (s 12(3)). Formal paternity acknowledgments executed under s 19 give rise to a presumption under s 13. The fertilisation-procedure presumptions in s 14 are especially intricate. Where a married or de-facto opposite-sex couple uses assisted conception, the husband or male de-facto partner is presumed father if he consented (s 14(1) and (6)); a female de-facto partner is presumed parent on the same basis (s 14(1A)). The donor of sperm or ovum is presumed not to be a parent (s 14(2)–(3)). These presumptions are declared irrebuttable (s 14(4)). Sections 15–17 resolve conflicts: rebuttable presumptions are displaced on the balance of probabilities; irrebuttable ones prevail over rebuttable ones; where two irrebuttable presumptions clash, the court prefers the one that appears more likely. Prosecutors may not rely on any presumption in criminal proceedings (s 18).
Divisions 2 and 3 provide formal mechanisms to create or displace the presumptions. A man may execute a prescribed form of paternity acknowledgment before an authorised witness; the witness must forward it to the Registrar within 14 days (s 19). The Supreme Court alone may annul such an acknowledgment (s 20). Applications for declarations of parentage may be brought by a wide class of applicants (s 21(1)), including the Registrar and the Director-General. Declarations may be made whether or not the child has been born or is alive (s 21(3)). Annulment is available only on fresh evidence that could not have been discovered earlier (s 22).
Division 6 regulates scientific proof. The Supreme Court may order parentage testing procedures on the child, a known parent or any other person whose test results might assist (s 26(1)). Ancillary orders can compel the provision of bodily samples, medical histories or even stored samples from deceased persons (s 27). Children under 18 require parental consent, but the court may draw adverse inferences from refusal (s 28). Non-compliant adults face no penalty but adverse inferences (s 29). Reports prepared in accordance with the regulations are admissible (s 31). Offences target personation, proffering the wrong child, and the taking of samples by unqualified persons (ss 32–33).
Part 4 contains miscellaneous provisions: offences are summary (s 35), regulations may prescribe forms, procedures and reports (s 36), and Schedule 2 contains transitional rules that treat pre-commencement acknowledgments and declarations as made under the new Act.
In short, the legislation converts a once-simple equality rule into a sophisticated, multi-layered system that accommodates marriage, de-facto relationships, assisted reproduction, scientific testing, court declarations and property law consequences while maintaining strict procedural safeguards.
Who it affects
The Act casts a wide net. Section 4(1) states that it applies to any person whether born in New South Wales or elsewhere, before or after commencement, whether a minor or adult, and regardless of domicile. In practice the statute therefore touches every individual whose parentage is relevant to any State law.
Primary addressees are parents (biological, presumed, adoptive or intending), children, and those who claim through them. Spouses and de-facto partners appear throughout the presumptions in ss 9, 10 and 14; the 2008 amendments that inserted s 14(1A) and expanded the definitions of “spouse” and “de facto partner” (by reference to s 21C of the Interpretation Act 1987) brought same-sex female couples squarely within the presumptive framework.
Medical practitioners, registered nurses and other qualified persons authorised by regulation are affected by the offence in s 33 and the immunity in s 30. Witnesses before authorised officers executing paternity acknowledgments must comply with transmission duties (s 19(2)). The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages receives presumptions (s 11), instruments (s 19), declarations (s 21(4)) and annulment orders (ss 20(3), 22(4)), and may himself apply for declarations (s 21(1)(c)).
The Director-General of the Department of Community Services (now Communities and Justice) holds standing to seek declarations (s 21(1)(d)) and parentage testing orders (s 26(2)(b)). Courts—particularly the Supreme Court—are given detailed jurisdiction over declarations, annulments, testing orders, ancillary orders, costs, closed hearings and publication offences (ss 20–34). Legal representatives appointed under s 34 to represent children become officers of the Court subject to its directions.
Intestate estates, testators, beneficiaries and trustees must apply the construction rules in ss 6–8. Prosecutors are expressly barred from relying on presumptions in criminal matters (s 18), which affects charging decisions in affiliation or maintenance proceedings that retain a quasi-criminal character.
Finally, any person “who may be affected by the result” of a declaration application may be joined or heard (s 21(1)(f)) and may seek annulment (s 22(1)). The breadth of that class—future spouses, siblings, creditors, insurers—means the Act’s reach is effectively unlimited in contested family or succession litigation.
Key duties and rights
Rights flow principally from the equality rule in s 5. Every child has the right to have his or her relationships with parents and other relatives determined without regard to the marital status of the parents. That right translates into equal entitlement on intestacy (s 8), equal construction as a beneficiary under wills and settlements (s 6), and equal standing to seek or resist declarations of parentage.
A presumed parent enjoys the benefit of the statutory presumptions unless and until they are displaced on the balance of probabilities (s 15). Irrebuttable presumptions—those arising under s 12(1) (lifetime court findings) and s 14(1)–(3) (assisted reproduction)—confer certainty that cannot be litigated away. A person named on the register or in a formal paternity acknowledgment gains a rebuttable but formal status that shifts the evidentiary burden.
Children and adults alike have the right to apply for declarations (s 21) or annulments (s 22) and to seek or resist parentage testing orders. Where testing is ordered, a child’s representative appointed under s 34 has the right to be heard on ancillary orders and costs.
Duties are more procedural. A witness to a paternity acknowledgment must transmit the document to the Registrar within 14 days or face a 2-penalty-unit fine (s 19(2)). A person executing a testing order or associated order who is 18 or over must comply or risk adverse inferences (s 29). Parents or guardians of children under 18 must decide whether to consent to invasive procedures; refusal may found an adverse inference (s 28). Those carrying out testing procedures must be qualified (s 33) and must follow the regulatory code for reports (s 36(2)).
The Supreme Court is under duties to conduct hearings in closed court (s 24(1)), to consider objections to testing on medical, religious or other grounds (s 26(4)), to weigh the child’s interests before ordering separate representation (s 34), and to restrict publication of identities (s 25). Prosecutors are under a statutory duty not to rely on presumptions in criminal proceedings (s 18).
The Registrar must update the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register upon receipt of declarations, annulments and acknowledgments, thereby affecting the public record that itself generates a presumption under s 11.
Penalties and enforcement
The Act creates a modest suite of criminal offences, all summary and triable in the Local Court (s 35(1)). The maximum penalties are low: 10 penalty units for publishing the identity of participants in declaration or annulment hearings (s 25); 5 penalty units for personating another or proffering the wrong child for testing (s 32); 2 penalty units for failing to transmit a paternity acknowledgment (s 19(2)) or for an unqualified person taking a bodily sample (s 33(1)). Regulations may create further offences not exceeding 5 penalty units (s 36(3)).
Enforcement of the substantive parentage and status rules is not by prosecution but by civil proceedings. The Supreme Court’s inherent jurisdiction is expressly preserved (s 35(2)). Adverse inferences from non-compliance with testing orders (ss 28–29) operate as the principal practical sanction. Costs orders under s 27(3) can be used to discipline unreasonable refusal.
Declarations and annulments are enforced through the registration machinery: the Registrar of the Court must forward orders to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages (ss 20(3), 21(4), 22(4)). Once registered, the entry itself becomes evidence giving rise to a presumption under s 11. Annulment orders operate only prospectively (s 22(2)), protecting reliance on the earlier declaration and permitting ancillary orders to unwind property or other rights (s 22(3)).
The Director-General may initiate proceedings, giving the State a direct enforcement role in child-protection or maintenance contexts. There is no general offence of making a false declaration of parentage; instead, fraud would be addressed under general criminal law or by annulment on fresh-evidence grounds.
How it interacts with other laws
The Act is expressly subject to the Adoption Act 2000 (ss 4(2), 8(4), 11(2), 12(5)) and the Surrogacy Act 2010 (s 4(2)). Chapter 5 of the Adoption Act governs recognition of adoptions and overrides conflicting presumptions. The Surrogacy Act supplies its own parentage transfer regime that sits outside these presumptions.
The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 is the administrative partner: registration creates a presumption (s 11), while the Registrar receives and acts upon court orders and acknowledgments. Amendments in 2018 updated cross-references to that Act (s 3).
The Interpretation Act 1987 supplies the definition of “de facto partner” used in s 14(1A) and (6). The Act also interacts with the Succession Act 2006 (intestacy and family provision) and the Wills, Probate and Administration Act (construction of wills), although the 1996 Act supplies its own specific construction rules in ss 6–8 that prevail.
Federal law is engaged through the Commonwealth Births, Deaths and Marriages register (s 11(1)) and prescribed overseas jurisdictions (s 3(1)). The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) parentage presumptions are not directly displaced, but State courts may make declarations that have evidentiary force in federal proceedings. The Act’s irrebuttable presumptions under s 14 interact with Commonwealth Medicare and Centrelink rules that rely on State registration.
In criminal law, s 18 prevents reliance on presumptions to prove parentage, preserving the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt. In evidence law, the admissibility rules in s 23 supplement the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW).
Transitional provisions (Schedule 2) ensure continuity with the repealed Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976 and Artificial Conception Act 1984, treating earlier instruments as made under the new Act.
Recent changes and why
The most significant recent amendments occurred in 2008 via the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act 2008. That statute inserted s 14(1A), which presumes a female de-facto partner to be a parent if she consented to the fertilisation procedure, and expanded the definitions in s 3 and the application rules in s 14(6). It also added transitional clause 7 to Schedule 2, applying the new presumption to procedures undertaken before commencement provided no vested property rights were disturbed. The change reflected the policy decision to equate same-sex and opposite-sex de-facto relationships in parentage law, removing discrimination that had left lesbian couples reliant on adoption or second-parent adoption to secure legal status for the non-biological parent.
In 2010 the Surrogacy Act 2010 inserted the carve-out in s 4(2), ensuring that surrogacy parentage transfers under that Act are not overridden by the presumptions. The 2018 amendments (2018 No 28, Sch 2.4) were largely technical: they updated language from “exnuptial” to more neutral terms in s 5, amended cross-references to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register, and made minor adjustments to s 9 and s 14 to maintain consistency with Commonwealth and other State legislation.
The 2025 amendment noted in s 3 is the most recent but appears limited to updating defined terms. These changes collectively modernise the Act for contemporary family formation while preserving the core equality principle established in 1976.
Court challenges and controversies
Because the legislation is largely procedural and evidentiary, reported challenges have centred on three areas: the proper interpretation of conflicting presumptions, the limits of irrebuttable presumptions in assisted reproduction, and the scope of the Supreme Court’s power to draw adverse inferences.
The statutory text itself resolves many conflicts (ss 16–17), yet courts have had to determine which presumption “appears to the court to be more or less likely to be correct”. Disputes have arisen where registration, acknowledgment and cohabitation presumptions point in different directions. The irrebuttable character of s 14 presumptions has been upheld, preventing sperm donors from asserting parental rights where the statutory conditions are met.
Controversy also surrounds the closed-court rule (s 24) and the publication offence (s 25). Media organisations have argued that these provisions unduly restrict open justice, particularly where declarations affect significant estates. The Supreme Court has generally maintained the statutory prohibition, citing the privacy interests of the child.
The interaction between State declarations and federal family law has produced jurisdictional skirmishes. A declaration of parentage under s 21 is not a parenting order under the Family Law Act, yet it carries significant evidentiary weight. Courts have cautioned that s 21 orders should not be used as a de-facto substitute for federal parenting litigation.
On the testing side, objections on religious or cultural grounds have tested the balancing exercise required by ss 26(4) and 27(4). The legislation gives the Court no power to compel an adult to undergo an invasive procedure; the only sanction is an adverse inference. This has led to debate about whether the inference can ever be strong enough to displace a strong contrary presumption.
No provision of the Act has been found constitutionally invalid. Challenges have instead focused on statutory construction, with courts emphasising that the legislation must be read as a coherent whole that prioritises the child’s right to legal clarity about parentage.
Gotchas
Most practitioners assume that a name on a birth certificate is conclusive. It is not; it merely creates a rebuttable presumption under s 11 that can be displaced on the balance of probabilities. Conversely, many believe that DNA evidence always trumps statutory presumptions. Where an irrebuttable presumption under s 14(1)–(3) or s 12(1) applies, even conclusive genetic evidence is legally irrelevant.
The 44-week and 20-week windows in ss 9–10 are unforgiving. A birth occurring on the 45th week after the end of cohabitation falls outside the cohabitation presumption yet may still engage the marriage presumption if the parties remained legally married. Calculating these periods with leap years and the exact meaning of “within 44 weeks after” has produced more than one expensive mistake.
Section 14(5A) presumes consent of a female de-facto partner. That presumption is itself irrebuttable once the child is born, yet the underlying consent must have existed at the time of the procedure. Practitioners acting for separating lesbian couples have been caught attempting to rebut the presumption by later-denied consent; the statute does not permit it.
The annulment power in s 22 is narrow: new facts must not have been discoverable by reasonable diligence. Courts have rejected “I changed my mind” or “new emotional evidence” as insufficient. Once a declaration is relied upon to transfer property or create a will, s 22(3) ancillary orders may be the only remedy, yet they are discretionary and must be “just and equitable”.
Transitional clause 7 of Schedule 2 applies the same-sex presumption retrospectively to pre-2008 procedures, but only if no property has vested. A will executed before 2008 that leaves residue to “my children” may therefore produce unexpected beneficiaries if a child was born through assisted reproduction to a same-sex couple before the amendments.
Finally, the prohibition on prosecutors using presumptions (s 18) is absolute. In maintenance or affiliation proceedings that retain a criminal character, the State must prove parentage without statutory assistance—an outcome many charging officers overlook until the first mention.
How to comply
Compliance begins with accurate identification of the relevant presumption or presumptions. For any new birth, practitioners should map the facts against ss 9–14 before advising on registration or acknowledgments. Where assisted reproduction is involved, written consent records should be created contemporaneously; the statute presumes consent but contemporaneous evidence prevents later factual disputes that could engage s 22 annulment proceedings.
When drafting wills or advising on estates, the date of the disposition and the date of death must be checked against the 1 July 1977 bright line. For post-1977 instruments, “child”, “issue” and relational words should be assumed to include exnuptial and donor-conceived children unless an express contrary intention is drafted that satisfies s 6(2)–(3). Intestacy advice must apply s 8 without regard to marital status, subject only to the adoption carve-out.
In contested parentage matters, a formal s 21 application or s 26 testing order should be considered early. Before seeking testing, map every applicable presumption and determine whether any is irrebuttable; if so, testing may be futile. When obtaining a testing order, anticipate ancillary orders under s 27 and address costs at the outset. For children under 18, secure parental consent or prepare submissions on why an adverse inference would be just.
Paternity acknowledgments must use the exact prescribed form, be witnessed by an authorised person, and be transmitted within 14 days. Failure at any step prevents the presumption under s 13 from arising. Once executed, an acknowledgment can be annulled only by Supreme Court order; therefore, advise clients of the permanence of the step.
Institutions—fertility clinics, hospitals, registrars—should maintain protocols that capture the consent required by s 14(1A) and (5A) and that ensure only qualified persons perform sampling (s 33). Court staff must forward orders to the Registrar on the day they are made.
Finally, keep the Act’s interaction with the Adoption Act 2000 and Surrogacy Act 2010 at the forefront. Where a surrogacy arrangement complies with the 2010 Act, the presumptions in the Status of Children Act are displaced; attempting to rely on them risks professional negligence and wasted costs. Regular file audits that ask “which presumption applies, is it rebuttable, and have all transmission and registration steps been completed?” will avoid the majority of compliance failures.
prescribed court means a court of any State or Territory, a federal court, or a court of a prescribed overseas jurisdiction.
prescribed overseas jurisdiction means any country, or part of a country, outside Australia that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of the provision in which the expression is used.
Registrar means the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
spouse includes a spouse under a void or voidable marriage.
Supreme Court or Court means the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
wife includes a wife under a void or voidable marriage.
(2) A reference in this or any other Act—
(a) to an exnuptial child or to a child or person born outside marriage (however expressed) is a reference to a child or person whose parents (including father and mother) were not married to each other at the time of the conception of the child or person and who have not subsequently married each other, and
(b) to a child or person born in marriage or in lawful wedlock (however expressed) is a reference to a child or person whose parents (including father and mother) were married to each other at the time of the conception of the child or person or who subsequently married each other.
s 3: Am 2018 No 28, Sch 2.4 [1] [2]; 2025 No 13, Sch 7.
4 Application of Act
4 Application of Act
4 Application of Act
(1) This Act applies in respect of a person—
(a) whether born in New South Wales or elsewhere, and
(b) whether born before or after the commencement of this section, and
(c) whether a minor or not, and
(d) whether the person or the person’s father or mother is or has ever been domiciled in New South Wales or not.
(2) Nothing in this Act affects the operation of sections 95–99 of the Adoption Act 2000 or Part 3 of the Surrogacy Act 2010.
s 4: Am 2000 No 75, Sch 2.5 [1]; 2010 No 102, Sch 2.7.
Part 2 Status of children and dispositions of property
Part 2 Status of children and dispositions of property
Part 2 Status of children and dispositions of property
5 All children are of equal status
5 All children are of equal status
5 All children are of equal status
(1) For the purposes of any law of the State by or under which the relationship between any person and the person’s parents (or either of the person’s parents) arises, that relationship and any other relationship (whether of consanguinity or affinity) between the person and another person is to be determined regardless of whether the person’s parents are or have been married to each other.
(2) This section is subject to sections 6 and 7.
s 5: Am 2018 No 28, Sch 2.4 [3].
6 Construction of dispositions of property made on or after 1 July 1977
6 Construction of dispositions of property made on or after 1 July 1977
6 Construction of dispositions of property made on or after 1 July 1977
(1) This section applies to the following dispositions only—
(a) dispositions made inter vivos on or after 1 July 1977 (being the date on which the Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976 commenced),
(b) dispositions made by will or codicil executed before, on or after 1 July 1977 by a person who dies after that date.
(2) Unless a contrary intention appears, in any disposition to which this section applies—
(a) a reference (however expressed) to the child or children of a person includes a reference to an exnuptial child of whom that person is a parent, and
(b) a reference (however expressed) to any person or persons related to another person (other than as a parent or child) includes a reference to anyone who is so related in fact regardless that the person related in fact, or some other person through whom the relationship is traced, is or was an exnuptial child.
(3) The use of any of the following words (or of any word or words having the same or a similar meaning) does not of itself indicate a contrary intention for the purposes of subsection (2)—
(a) the words “legitimate” or “lawful” when used with reference to the child or children of a person or persons related to another person in some other way,
(b) the words “married”, “husband” or “wife” when used with reference to the parent or parents of a person.
(4) Without limiting any other provision of this Act, any rule of law that a disposition in favour of an exnuptial child not conceived or born when the disposition takes effect is void as being contrary to public policy is abolished in respect of any disposition to which this section applies.
7 Construction of dispositions of property made before 1 July 1977
7 Construction of dispositions of property made before 1 July 1977
7 Construction of dispositions of property made before 1 July 1977
(1) The following dispositions are to be construed as if the Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976 and this Act had not been enacted—
(a) dispositions made inter vivos before 1 July 1977,
(b) dispositions made by will or codicil executed by a person who died before 1 July 1977.
(2) If any such disposition contains a special power of appointment, nothing in this Act—
(a) extends the class of persons in whose favour the appointment may be made, or
(b) causes the exercise of the power to be construed so as to include any person who is not a member of that class.
8 Rights of exnuptial children and their relatives on intestacy
8 Rights of exnuptial children and their relatives on intestacy
8 Rights of exnuptial children and their relatives on intestacy
(1) This section applies to rights under the intestacy of persons dying on or after 1 July 1977.
(2) If any relative of an exnuptial child (including a parent of the child) dies intestate in respect of all or any of the relative’s real or personal property, the child (or any of the child’s issue if the child is dead) is entitled to take any interest in that property that the child (or the child’s issue) would have been entitled to take if the child’s parents had been married to each other when the child was born.
(3) If an exnuptial child dies intestate in respect of all or any of the child’s real or personal property, any relative of the child (including a parent of the child) is entitled to take any interest in that property that the relative would have been entitled to take if the parents of the child had been married to each other when the child was born.
(4) Nothing in this section affects the generality of section 5. However, this section does not (despite section 5) apply to any child who is an adopted person under an adoption order made or continued in force under the Adoption Act 2000 or under an adoption recognised in the State under Chapter 5 of that Act.
s 8: Am 2000 No 75, Sch 2.5 [2].
Part 3 Establishing parentage
Part 3 Establishing parentage
Part 3 Establishing parentage
Division 1 Parentage presumptions
Division 1 Parentage presumptions
Division 1 Parentage presumptions
9 Presumptions of parentage arising from marriage
9 Presumptions of parentage arising from marriage
9 Presumptions of parentage arising from marriage
(1) A child born to a woman during a marriage to which she is a party is presumed to be a child of the woman and her spouse.
(2) If a child is born to a woman within 44 weeks after her spouse dies, the child is presumed to be the child of the woman and her deceased spouse.
(3) If a child is born to the woman within 44 weeks after a purported marriage to which the woman is a party is annulled, the child is presumed to be a child of the woman and her purported spouse.
(4) If—
(a) the parties to a marriage separated at any time, and
(b) after the separation, resumed cohabitation on one occasion, and
(c) within 3 months after the resumption of cohabitation, they separated again and lived separately and apart, and
(d) a child is born to the woman within 44 weeks after the end of the cohabitation, but after the dissolution of the marriage,
the child is presumed to be the child of the woman and her former spouse.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a marriage is dissolved by a decree of dissolution or annulled by a decree of nullity on the making of the decree nisi.
s 9: Am 2018 No 28, Sch 2.4 [4].
10 Presumption of paternity arising from cohabitation
10 Presumption of paternity arising from cohabitation
10 Presumption of paternity arising from cohabitation
A child born to a woman is presumed to be a man’s child if, at any time during the period beginning not earlier than 44 weeks and ending not less than 20 weeks before the birth, the man and the woman cohabit but are not married.
11 Presumptions of parentage arising from registration of birth
11 Presumptions of parentage arising from registration of birth
11 Presumptions of parentage arising from registration of birth
(1) A person is presumed to be a child’s parent if the person’s name is entered as the child’s parent in the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register or a register of births or parentage information kept under a law of the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory or a prescribed overseas jurisdiction.
(2) Nothing in this section affects the operation of Chapter 5 (Recognition of adoptions) of the Adoption Act 2000.
s 11: Am 2000 No 75, Sch 2.5 [3].
12 Presumption of parentage arising from findings of courts
12 Presumption of parentage arising from findings of courts
12 Presumption of parentage arising from findings of courts
(1) A person is presumed to be a child’s parent if—
(a) while the person is alive, a prescribed court has—
(i) found expressly that the person is the child’s parent, or
(ii) made a finding that it could not have made unless the person was the child’s parent, and
(b) the finding has not been altered, set aside or reversed.
(2) A presumption arising under subsection (1) is irrebuttable.
(3) A person is presumed to be a child’s parent if—
(a) after the person dies, a prescribed court has—
(i) found expressly that the person was the child’s parent, or
(ii) made a finding that it could not have made unless the person was the child’s parent, and
(b) the finding has not been altered, set aside or reversed.
(4) In this section, a reference to a finding of a prescribed court includes—
(a) a reference to a declaration of parentage, and
(b) a reference to a finding whether made before or after the commencement of this section.
(5) Nothing in this section affects the operation of Chapter 5 (Recognition of adoptions) of the Adoption Act 2000.
s 12: Am 2000 No 75, Sch 2.5 [3].
13 Presumption of parentage arising from acknowledgments
13 Presumption of parentage arising from acknowledgments
13 Presumption of parentage arising from acknowledgments
(1) A man is presumed to be a child’s father if—
(a) under this Act or other law of the State or a law of the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory or a prescribed overseas jurisdiction, the man executes a formal paternity acknowledgment or any other instrument acknowledging that he is the child’s father, and
(b) the instrument has not been annulled or otherwise set aside.
(2) This section extends to instruments executed before the commencement of this section.
14 Presumptions of parentage arising out of use of fertilisation procedures
14 Presumptions of parentage arising out of use of fertilisation procedures
14 Presumptions of parentage arising out of use of fertilisation procedures
(1) When a woman who is married to a man has undergone a fertilisation procedure as a result of which she becomes pregnant—
(a) her husband is presumed to be the father of any child born as a result of the pregnancy even if he did not provide any or all of the sperm used in the procedure, but only if he consented to the procedure, and
(b) the woman is presumed to be the mother of any child born as a result of the pregnancy even if she did not provide the ovum used in the procedure.
(1A) When a woman who is married to or who is the de facto partner of another woman has undergone a fertilisation procedure as a result of which she becomes pregnant—
(a) the other woman is presumed to be a parent of any child born as a result of the pregnancy, but only if the other woman consented to the procedure, and
(b) the woman who has become pregnant is presumed to be the mother of any child born as a result of the pregnancy even if she did not provide the ovum used in the procedure.
Note.
“De facto partner” is defined in section 21C of the Interpretation Act 1987.
(2) If a woman (whether married or unmarried) becomes pregnant by means of a fertilisation procedure using any sperm obtained from a man who is not her husband, that man is presumed not to be the father of any child born as a result of the pregnancy.
(3) If a woman (whether married or unmarried) becomes pregnant by means of a fertilisation procedure using an ovum obtained from anot
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