new baby paperwork & administration
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When a new baby is born, there are a number of important administrative tasks that need to be done. It is easy to forget them and hard to find the time to do them. The list below is intended to help, it is a general list, not all items may apply to you, and you may have additional ones depending on your circumstances. You may find it useful to print off the list and complete the details relevant to you prior to the birth and then get somebody else to help you at the time! Not all the items need to be carried out straightaway.

This page also contains further information about the processes involved and contact details if you should require advice. The symbol provides a quick link to the relevant 'further information' section of this page. There is also a more information section at the bottom of the page with links to websites for government organisations. These websites contain location details for customer service centres and postal addresses.

before baby is born

  • contact your private health insurers (if applicable) 
       to check that your baby will be covered from birth

  • buy or hire and fit a baby capsule into your car
       for more information, see separate page on child restraints


as soon as possible after the birth

  • arrange health checks for your child & follow up checks for yourself 
       your baby's health checks can be carried out by your GP or
       free of charge at your local child health centre
       for more information on child health clinics, click here

       the recommended check-ups are:
    • if baby is discharged at less than 72hrs old, check-up with GP within 5-10 days old
    • initial assessment with GP or child health nurse between 0-4 weeks.
      You will be advised on recommended check-ups after that
    • visit for mum to the GP at 6 weeks

       phone number & name of GP ................................................................

       phone number & location of local child health centre: .......................................................
  • register your baby's birth with the Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages 
       form provided in hospital
  • add your child to Medicare
       form provided in hospital
  • add your child to your Private Health Insurance 
       ph: ...................................   membership no: .............................................
  • add your child to the Medicare Family Safety Net 
       form available from medicare offices
  • complete application forms for government financial benefits 
    • Family Tax Benefit A & B
    • Maternity Payment (must be done within 26 weeks of birth)
    • Maternity Immunisation Allowance

    Forms are usually provided in hospital, otherwise obtained from Family Assistance Office or Centrelink

at 2 months

  • arrange 2 month immunisations
    for more information, see separate page on immunisation

general

  • check out child care options and book if necessary
    Child care and family day care centres can get very booked up and have
    long waiting lists. If you know that you will have to return to work on, or
    about, a particular date it would be advisable to register your interest with
    your chosen child care facility(s) as soon as possible. For more information on
    child care options, see separate section here

  • sign up for Independent schools and/or kindergartens, if applicable 
    see separate section on school education

registering your baby's birth
The hospital will provide you with a form to complete for registering your baby's birth. This copy has an official section which will have been completed by the hospital. For this reason, it is best that you use this copy of the form. Once completed, the hospital will often accept the form on your behalf. If you forget to hand the form in at the hospital, or your hospital don't accept the form, you can lodge it with the Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages or a local Magistrates Courts office. The details for your local Registry are shown below in the more information section. The birth must be registered within 60 days or you may be liable for a fine.

If you lose the registration form supplied by the hospital, you can obtain another copy from your hospital, most Magistrate Courts offices or by calling the Registry. The registry have records of all births if you lose the copy with the official stamp.

The birth is registered at no charge, however, copies of birth certificates are not issued automatically. If you wish to receive a copy, complete the relevant section of the registration form at the time of birth and enclose the correct payment (credit card details are acceptable).

If you require a copy of the certificate and did not complete the required section on the form at the time of birth, a separate application form is available from the following web page.

adding your child to Medicare
New mums are usually provided with a Medicare Application for Enrolment of a Newborn Child form at the hospital. This needs to be completed and either mailed to Medicare or taken to your nearest Medicare Office. The hospital may even accept the form on your behalf.

If you do not receive a form from the hospital, it is possible to either obtain a further form from Medicare or register your child over the counter at a Medicare Office by taking one of the following items:

  • your child's Personal Health Record book
  • a certification of birth from Centrelink
  • the baby's crib card from the hospital
  • the baby's identification bracelet from the hospital

A child is covered under their parents' Medicare (if eligible) should any treatment be required within the first few days. It is however, advisable to register your child at the earliest opportunity. Once enroled in Medicare, your child's details will automatically be added to the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register. For more information on immunisation, see separate section here.

adding your child to your Private Health Insurance
Some private health policies (for example, 'family cover') generally cover newborns from birth, even if you haven't had an opportunity to call and advise the insurer of the baby's details. It's peace-of-mind should your child require medical treatment at birth. To check your cover, or change your policy type, contact your policy holder as soon as possible (particularly if your pregnancy is not covered by your policy).

After the birth, contact your policy holder to advise them of your baby's details. Many will allow you to make these changes over the telephone.

Medicare Safety Net
The Medicare Safety Net is a facility that covers your 'gap' payments for out-of-hospital services once you have reached a certain limit. (a 'gap' payment is the difference between what Medicare pays and the Schedule Fee). It is possible to group family members together so that all family members' payments count towards the same limit. For further information, visit the following page of the Medicare website.

To register your family for the Safety Net, complete a Family Safety Net application form. You may be given a copy of the form at the hospital at the time of birth, if not, copies are available from Medicare offices.

If your family is already registered for the Safety Net and you wish to add another child, you may be given an appropriate form at hospital to complete, if not, you can add the child over the counter at a Medicare office once the child has been enroled in Medicare.

complete application form for Government benefits
An application form for Family Tax Benefit A & B, the Maternity Payment and Maternity Immunisation Allowance will usually be provided in hospital. This copy will contain an official stamp from the hospital and it is important to use this copy for any benefit claims.

A claim for Maternity Payment must be made within 26 weeks of the child's birth.

For further information, go to the government family benefit payments page of this site or go to the Family Assistance website.


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more information

ACT - Registrar-General's Office, Birth Death and Marriage Registry

NSW - Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages

NT - Registrar-General's Office, Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages

  • website
  • ph: Darwin (08) 8999 6119
  • ph: Alice Springs (08) 8951 5338

QLD - Register of Births, Deaths & Marriages

SA - Births, Deaths & Marriages Registration Office

TAS - Registrar-General's Office, Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages

VIC - Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages

WA - Births, Deaths & Marriages Registration Office


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