Legislation
The following items of legislation govern or inform the Registry's operation:
- Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996
- Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Regulations 2019
- Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration (Fees) Regulations 2019
- Adoption Act 1984
- Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008
- Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
- Coroners Act 2008
- Freedom of Information Act 1982
- Marriage Act 1961
- Marriage Regulations 2017
- Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014
- Relationships Act 2008
- Relationships (Fees) Regulations 2009
- Relationships Regulations 2016
- Status of Children Act 1974
- Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017
You can find Victorian State Government legislation online at Victorian legislation (External link). You can find the Commonwealth Marriage Act 1961 and the Marriage Regulations 2017 at the Federal Register of Legislation (External link).
Policies and practices
The following policies, in conjunction with the above legislation, govern the day-to-day operations of the Registry.
Access to Registry records
BDM's access policy outlines the restriction periods for event records held by BDM, who can apply for access, and the conditions they must meet for BDM to grant access.
Deceased indicator on birth certificates
This policy outlines when and why a deceased status is applied to a Victorian birth certificate.
Feedback and complaints practice
This policy outlines the difference between feedback and a complaint, how to contact BDM, what response you will receive and the timelines for responding.
Financial hardship and fee waiver
If you’re experiencing hardship, you can ask the Registrar not to charge the fee for certain certificates or registrations. This is called a fee waiver.
The Registrar may decide to waive fees in specific circumstances.
Name dispute policy
This policy outlines the options available to parents who disagree about their child's name (at the time of birth registrations), and the steps BDM will take to register the child's birth when the child's parents disagree about the name/s of the child.
Naming restrictions
This policy sets out what names are prohibited and the approach BDM takes when making a decision about whether to register a name.
Privacy policy
This policy outlines what information BDM collects, why we collect it, what we do with it and how we protect it.
Proof of identity
Find out what proof of identity you need to provide when applying for a certificate, and how to provide it.
Translated document policy
This policy outlines the requirements for documents that are translated to English.
Third party authority
This page outlines how a person can authorise someone else to access their information - for example, their birth or marriage certificate.