Australia | Get Every One in the Picture

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Australia

The registration of vital events (birth, deaths, marriages, adoptions, etc.) and the provision of certificates is the responsibility of the Registrars and Registrars-General for each of the eight different state and territorial governments in Australia. Birth registration is compulsory in each state/territory. Regarding cost, for example, in Victoria there is no fee for birth registration, but there is a fee for the issuance of certificates.

Each state or territory is also required to submit vital statistical information to the Australian Bureau of Statistics which produces dis-aggregated data for key statistics users, including the Commonwealth Department of Health and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

CRVS Focal Point:

Mr. James Eynstone-Hinkins, Director, Health and Vital Statistics Section, Australian Bureau of Statistics

RSG Member:

Mr. James Eynstone-Hinkins, Director, Health and Vital Statistics Section, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australia

Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events

Goal 1 Targets:

1.A

By 2024, at least 99 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered

1.B

By 2024, at least 99 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.C

By 2024, at least 99 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.D

By 2024, at least ... per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

1.E

By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.

Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights

Goal 2 Targets:

2.A

By 2024, at least ... per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.

2.B

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.

Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated

Goal 3 Targets:

3.A

By...(year), annual nationally representative statistics on births –disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision –are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.

3.B

By ...(year), annual nationally representative statistics on deaths –disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD, geographic area and administrative subdivision –are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.

3.C

By 2024, at least ...per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner havean underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD.

3.D

By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.

3.E

By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.

3.F

By ...(year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.

3.G

By ...(year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.

3.H

By ...(year), an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.

Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events

Goal 1 is an expression of the internationally accepted principle of the universal coverage of civil registration. The CRVS system should register all vital events occurring in the territory and jurisdiction of the country or area, including among hard-to-reach and marginalized populations.

National Targets:

1.A

By 2024, at least 99 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered

BASELINE

2014

96%

MIDTERM

2017

96%

TARGET

2024

99%

1.B

By 2024, at least 99 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

MIDTERM

2018

100%

TARGET

2024

99%

1.C

By 2024, at least 99 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

TARGET

2024

99%

1.D

By 2024, at least ... per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

baseline

2014

100%

MIDTERM

2017

100%

1.E

baseline

2014

100%

MIDTERM

2018

100%

Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights

Goal 2 reflects that CRVS systems provide legal documentation of civil registration to individuals and families for legal and administrative purposes. Legal documentation is strongly linked with a broad range of rights and activities, in particular legal identity. This goal addresses the distinction between the civil registration of a vital event and the possession of formal proof that it took place, in the form of legal documentation.

National Targets:

2.A

2.B

Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated

Goal 3 highlights the critical importance of civil registration being linked to the production and quality assurance of vital statistics on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events.

National Targets:

3.A

TARGET

Target achieved

3.B

TARGET

Target achieved

3.C

Note: This target was not monitored as part of the Midterm Questionnaire on the Implementation of the Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.

baseline

2014

100%

TARGET

Target achieved

3.D

By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.

baseline

2011

0.8%

MIDTERM

2018

1.4%

3.E

Note: In light of recent countries’ experiences, Verbal autopsy is not encouraged to be applied to a large population scale, but rather on a representative sample. To reflect this, Target 3E is not anymore monitored by the coverage percentage of Verbal autopsy, but by the use or not of Verbal autopsy and its different applications.

baseline

2014

No

MIDTERM

No

3.F

TARGET

Target achieved

3.G

TARGET

Target achieved

3.H

By ...(year), an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.

TARGET