ACT birth registration data is sourced from birth registration systems administered by RBDM. Information about the birth is supplied to RBDM based on information provided on a birth notification form provided by the hospital where a child is born, and a birth registration form completed by the parent(s) of the child. The Birth Registration Statement contains the details prescribed by Regulation, including, but not limited to: details of the baby such as sex, birth weight and whether a multiple birth; date and place of birth; and details of the parents and previous children. The parents of a child are jointly responsible for having the child's birth registered.

The Register includes all children born and subsequently registered in ACT. Stillbirths (deaths in utero that occur after 20 weeks gestation or at greater than 400 grams) are recorded in the Births Register. In addition to the administrative Birth Registration information additional information is collected for stillbirths on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Perinatal Death. Where there is sign of life at birth, but the neonate subsequently dies, the birth is recorded in the Births Register and the death is recorded in the Deaths Register. Although stillbirths are registered as a birth, for reporting purposes these are accounted for in perinatal death statistics.

The ACT RBDM birth registration data are based on year of registration of the birth, rather than the year of the birth. It is advisable to request an additional year of data if you require all births within a given year/time period. Approximately 90 percent of births occurring in any one year are registered in the same year, but the remaining 10 percent may not be recorded until the following year. Birth registration data represents the family structure at the time the birth was registered, which is not necessarily the family structure at the time of the birth. Not all births are registered within 6 months of the birth. Late birth registrations are accepted. The other parent on the ACT RBDM birth registration file is not necessarily the biological parent. The ability to assign family links is only as good as the available data. It is not possible to contact participants to confirm information about relationships or explain gaps in the family structure.

Administrative. The ACT Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages (ACT BDM) keep a permanent record of all registered births.

ACT state data

Births, Death and Marriages Registration Act 1997
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Regulation 2011