Here are some ways BDM services can assist mob:
Aboriginal Outreach, Policy and Strategy Team
Brenda McDermott is our Manager, Aboriginal Engagement, Policy and Strategy. Brenda is a proud Palawa woman living on Gunaikurnai Country.
Jessica Gobbo (née Dudley) is our Principal Advisor, Aboriginal Engagement and Programs. Jessica is a proud Wardandi & Bibbilmun (Noongar) woman working off-country.
Our Aboriginal Outreach, Policy and Strategy Team are here to support community to access BDM services.
You don't need to wait until you've applied for a certificate before you contact them.
To get in touch, email us at bdm.koori@justice.vic.gov.au (External link).
Community visits
The Aboriginal Outreach, Policy and Strategy Team can visit your community. These visits can help mob access our services including:
- Registering births
- Applying for birth, death and marriage certificates.
If you'd like the team to visit your community, please fill in our request form.
Support with fees (our fee waiver policy)
If you’re experiencing hardship, you can ask the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages not to charge the fee. This available only for certain certificates or registrations. This is called a fee waiver application.
You may be eligible for a fee waiver if you:
- Have a Centrelink Heath Care Card, Pension Concession Card or Disability Support Pension Card
- Are a family violence survivor
- Are experiencing homelessness.
For more information, please email bdm.koori@justice.vic.gov.au (External link)
Watch the Aboriginal Relationships Officer video
Watch the video above on the role of BDM's Aboriginal Relationships Officer. You can read the transcript of this video.
New engagement strategy - 2022
The Aboriginal Outreach, Policy and Strategy Team is developing a new engagement strategy. We are currently consulting with the Aboriginal community and the Victorian Government.
Acknowledgement of Country and language use
The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, who are the Traditional Owners of the land on which our office is located. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in Victoria have diverse cultures.
On this website we use these terms:
- ‘Koori’ and ‘Aboriginal’. Refers to the Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander people of Victoria
- ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’. Refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia.
- ‘Family’ has many different meanings. Use of the words ‘family’ and ‘families’ is all-encompassing. It acknowledges that a variety of relationships and structures can make up a family unit. These include family-like or care relationships and extended kinship structures.
- ‘Boorai’, meaning ‘baby’ or ‘child’, is used in many Aboriginal language groups.
- ‘Mob’. Refers to a group of Aboriginal people associated with a particular place or Country. It is used to connect and identify Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and where they are from. ‘Mob’ can represent a family group, clan group or wider Aboriginal community group.
Your voice is important to us.
Self Determination
BDM is guided by the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework and the Self-Determination enablers:
- Prioritise culture
- Address trauma and support healing
- Address racism and promote cultural safety
- Transfer power and resources to communities
To provide feedback, or suggest other ways we can support mob, please contact:
The Aboriginal Outreach, Policy and Strategy Team
Email: bdm.koori@justice.vic.gov.au (External link)
Making a complaint
To make a complaint about our Aboriginal services, see Feedback, complaints and review of decisions
About the photo on this page
Left to right: Colin Mitchell (Gunditjmara & Wemba-Wemba), Matilda Mitchell (Gunditjmara, Wemba-Wemba & Yorta-Yorta), Meerah Sehgal (Yorta-Yorta) and Marie Sehgal (Yorta-Yorta). Photo by Michael Jalaru Torres (Djugun & Yawuru).