115. Only adults can change the sex marker on their birth certificates, after undergoing surgery or meeting evidentiary requirements. 116. The inability to change the sex marker on birth certificates can make the experience of attending school, for example, difficult for transgender children. 117. The issue of birth registration for intersex children is complex. The Commission is currently conducting a project that considers how best to protect the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics in the specific context of non-consensual medical interventions.74 (d) Legal recognition of parentage for children born through surrogacy 118. Children born overseas through surrogacy can be granted citizenship by the Australian Government. However, it is the responsibility of parents to seek parentage orders. These orders are determined according to different criteria and processes in each state and territory. The Commission is of the view that these processes lack consistency and certainty. 119. Lack of recognition of legal parentage can affect the ability of children to access a variety of other rights relating to citizenship, medical treatment and benefits, intestacy, passports, child support and workers’ compensation entitlements. The Commission has previously recommended that the parents (biological or not) of children born through surrogacy arrangements should be legally recognised. 75 Recommendation 18: The Australian Government inserts a clearer definition of ‘parent’ into the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) for the purpose of clarifying the parent/child relationship for children born from surrogacy arrangements. 4.2 Freedom of expression and the right to seek, receive and impart information (a) Children with disability 120. Children with disability in Australia face particular accessibility issues in terms of online content, audio description and captioning levels. 21

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