An individuals birth certificate is a private document whose main purpose is to establish the birth citizenship of the individual. It contains the name assigned at birth, the mother and father, the place of birth, a medically diagnosed sex, and the date of birth.
Some government organisations require access to this for the purpose of establishing identity and to assign additional documentation. The Passport Office requires access to an original copy of the birth certificate or identity documents so that they can establish the identity of the individual and confirm they are a citizen of that country. Section 53 of the Australian Passport ACT, states “The name of the person to whom an Australian travel document is issued must appear on the document.” and then includes “(a) the name on the person’s birth certificate; or” (Australian Passports Act 2005)
Beyond those organisations given legal permission to request access to these documents, no other business should make an attempt to access to it. As stated in Section 3, an individual has the right to protect themselves from identity theft, and the birth certificate is a very important document which is core for establishing identity.
Most Australian States do not require a birth certificate or identity document to establish identity and are happy to rely on alternate key identity documents like a passport or medicare card, which have already verified the identity using the birth
certificate. They use a 100 point check system and use other more readily accessible documentation (e.g. passport, drivers licence, credit cards, Medicare card).
Any individual who is requested to provide a birth certificate or identity document by an organisation should insist that the organisation provide legal proof that they are entitled to request access to it. As discussed in Point 3, the individual should do their best to ensure that when giving access to their birth certificate that they are not opening themselves up to identity theft. As the birth certificate is such a crucial document for establishing identity, access to it should be tightly controlled by the individual.
It is in an organisation's best interest not to request access to an individuals birth certificate or identity document unless they are willing to strictly conform to the Australian Privacy Act. An organisation could unwittingly open themselves up to potential
legal action if they request access to a birth certificate or identity document and keep copies of it without strictly following the guidelines in the Australian Privacy Act.
Like storing sex (and ensuring the safety and confidentiality of private medical information), storing information from a birth certificate or identity documents for most organisations is just not a cost effective solution.