Each registry, in its own words
Where a registry’s licence allows it, its words are quoted; where it does not, they are put plainly in this guide’s words.
| Registry | What it says |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | Its commemorative certificates are “keepsakes and not official proof of identity documents”. They can be bought on their own or in a package with an official certificate. NSW page |
| Victoria | “They’re not a legal document and can’t be used for official purposes.” Every birth certificate application includes a legal certificate, which can be used as official proof of identity. Victorian page |
| Queensland | “Commemorative certificates are keepsakes and not official proof of identity documents.” Only the person or their parent can order one, and anyone who also needs a certificate for identity is pointed to a package that includes the official one. Queensland page |
| Western Australia | Its commemorative certificates cannot be used for official purposes, and a certified birth certificate is issued with each one. WA page |
| South Australia | Commemorative certificates carry no security features, so they may not be accepted as proof of identity; the commemorative package adds an official certificate for that. SA page |
| Tasmania | Its decorative birth certificates are made for display, leave out the registration number, and are not suitable as evidence of identity. Tasmanian page |
| Northern Territory | Commemorative certificates, with pictures and colours, cannot be used for official purposes; they come alone or in a package with a standard certificate. NT page |
| Australian Capital Territory | Commemorative certificates use normal paper and decorative designs, and “They are not accepted as a Primary proof of identity.” ACT page |
What the security paper carries
The difference is in the paper. Access Canberra says its standard certificates use security paper that makes them “almost impossible to copy or tamper with”, and it names what that paper includes:
- “See-through Register”
- “Anti-Copy Screen Tapping”
- “Security Pattern”
- “Microtext – Positive/Negative”
- “Split Colour Rainbow”
- “Unique Serial Number”
- “UV Invisible Florescence”
- “UV Visible Florescence”
- “UV Rainbow.”
South Australia makes the same point from the other side: its commemorative certificates lack those features, which is why they may not be accepted. Tasmania’s decorative certificates go further and leave the registration number off altogether.
Other papers that are not for identity
Commemorative certificates are not the only registry papers made for something other than proving who you are.
- An extract of birth in Tasmania shows the name, date and place of birth only, and the registry says it is not suitable for most identity purposes.
- A photocopy of a birth registration statement in South Australia is not a certified copy and cannot be used for identification.
- The ceremonial marriage certificate handed over on the wedding day is not the official one. NSW says you need the official certificate to prove a marriage, and that ceremonial or commemorative certificates are not accepted when you update your surname.
- A certificate recognising an early pregnancy loss exists to acknowledge a loss. Western Australia and the Northern Territory both issue one free, and both say it cannot be used for official purposes.
Looking after the official one
NSW suggests not laminating a standard birth certificate, so the document stays as it was issued. That matters again if the certificate is ever needed abroad: DFAT, which legalises Australian documents for use overseas, cannot legalise documents that are laminated, framed or altered in any way.
Abroad, the line sits a little differently
DFAT’s list of documents it can legalise includes Australian birth certificates, “including commemorative certificates and extracts”, but marriage certificates “excluding ceremonial and commemorative certificates”. In this guide’s reading, an apostille on a keepsake does not turn it into an identity document. Whether an authority in another country will accept a particular certificate is for that authority to say, and DFAT itself says it cannot tell you what an overseas authority wants. The guide to apostilles and authentications covers the rest.