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.
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