18 February 2021
45 Pipitea Street, Wel ington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
Email
[email address]
Sean Marshall
Websit
e www.dia.govt.nz
fyi-request-14500-
[email address]
Dear Sean
Official Information Act 1982 request 2021-0400
I refer to your request received by the Department of Internal Affairs (Department) on 21
January 2021. This response is provided to you under the Official Information Act 1982 (Act).
You requested—
-
for each of the last 10 years, how many preliminary notices of birth were
given other than by an occupier of a hospital, a doctor or a midwife. In other
words, how many notices were given under section 5A(3)(c) of the Births,
Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995?
In response to your request I can provide you with the fol owing information:
When an individual is completing the notice of birth, the request for the organisation and
profession of the notifier is a free text field, meaning they do not have to provide this
information. As the birth notice does not hold this information, it is not possible to provide
an accurate figure to indicate who has submitted the notice of birth under section 5a(3)(c) of
the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995.
Therefore, I must refuse your request under Section 18(g) of the Act; that the information
requested is not held by the department or another agency.
However, I can provide you with general information in relation to our findings, that you
might find useful. With the data gathered, we can estimate the number of births given by a
non-medical professional to be anywhere between 1 and 4,000 in any one of the last 10
years.
There has also been an increase in birth notices given by medical professionals in the year
2020. It is important to note that from as of mid-2019, the Department has started advising
any parent requesting a birth notice to consult a medical professional before we provide
them with a form.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
David Philp
General Manager Partners And Products
Service Delivery and Operations
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