Before the birth

There are various payments available to help with the cost of having a baby. Some of them can be claimed 3 months before the baby is due. 

Centrelink provides a handy tool to help you find the payments that you might be eligible for.

All employees, including casual employees, are entitled to 12 months of unpaid parental leave.

Register a birth

All babies born in NSW need to be registered within 60 days of the birth – the hospital doesn't do this for you. The parents of the baby can register the birth online.

You can still register a birth after 60 days but it requires more proof of the child's identification and can result in the application taking longer to process.

The biological parents of a child are able to add a father's details to a birth registered in NSW.

Where women are in a married or de facto relationship, the other mother can be added to the birth registration.

Birth certificates

Before you can apply for a birth certificate, the birth needs to have been registered (see above). 

You can resume an online birth certificate application that you've already started, or check the status of your online birth certificate application.

To commemorate a loss, you can apply for a Recognition of Early Pregnancy Loss certificate.

Last updated: 11 January 2024