Birth certificate law change provides equality to same-sex couples
Lesbian couples in South Australia can now both be recognised as mothers on their children’s birth certificate following the passage of a bill in Parliament yesterday. One parent called the law change “affirming”.
Parents in lesbian same-sex relationships can both be listed as mothers on the birth certificates of their children, following the passage of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration (Birth Certificates) Amendment Bill 2026, which was introduced by Greens MLC Robert Simms.
For Jess Cronin and her partner Emma, who have two children together, the successful passage of the Private Members’ Bill yesterday is a step towards equality with heterosexual couples.
The couple’s two children, aged four and seven, were born through IVF with help from “donor dad” and Greens MLC Robert Simms.
Jess described her children as “both really kind, beautiful, caring and nurturing”, saying her kids love playing sports, dancing, music, reading books such as Harry Potter and spending time with their “big rainbow family”.
Because their children were born in the ACT, both Jess and Emma, who have been together for 12 years and are currently engaged, are listed equally on their children’s birth certificates.
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However, had their children been born in South Australia before the change, only one of them would have been listed as the mother.
Jess said that while the change was symbolic, it also had practical effects, including being treated as equal parents in the healthcare system.
“When you come together as a couple, and you want to create a family, you’re doing that together, right? You’re going through the ups and downs together, when your children are born, you have sleepless nights, the joys, the milestones,” Jess, who volunteers for Rainbow Families SA, said.
“Having that adequately reflected on one of their most important documents, which is a birth certificate, is really affirming in terms of our family structure.”
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Prior to the bill passing, where both parents are women, only the birth mother is listed as “mother”, while the other mother is only listed as a “co-parent”.
However, under the new bill, same-sex mothers can now choose to be listed as mother or parent on the birth certificate.
It would not impact same-sex male couples, with a court currently deciding what is on the birth certificate if they adopt a child or have a child through surrogacy.
The bill was introduced by Greens MLC Simms in the upper house on Wednesday, June 3 and was voted on in the lower house yesterday, where it was supported by Labor MPs but opposed by the Liberals and One Nation.
“More than a decade has passed since our state finally changed the law to allow women in same-sex relationships to both be included on their child’s birth certificate, but only as mother and co-parent,” Simms said.
“Irrespective of whether or not they give birth to the child, both parents should have the right to be acknowledged as mothers, reflecting the reality of their family structure and relationship with their child. Finally, we have changed the law to give these mothers that right.
“While there is still more work to do to modernise birth certificates in SA to better reflect the diversity of family structures, I know that this change will make a big difference to many rainbow families in our state.”
Nicola Centofanti, who is leader of the Liberals in the upper house, said in Parliament that while the Liberals’ opposition to the bill “is not about diminishing the love, commitment and care that any parent may provide to their child”, the bill “asks the Parliament to alter the biological reality recorded on a birth certificate”.
One Nation’s SA leader, Cory Bernardi, claimed that “the definition of a ‘parent’ is someone who has brought forth or given birth to a new life”.
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