Review of this area of law is timely. A new and dynamic computer system is soon to be installed. This will allow the Registry far greater flexibility. Information will be recorded and provided at a much greater speed, searches of registrations will be done with much less identifying information and the Registry will be able to produce different types of certificates for different purposes. A greatly improved service will be offered to the public. Delays in the processing of applications will be minimized and it will be possible to produce certificates while the applicant waits. The system will also have the capacity to issue new types of certificates which could omit some of the information on the register. For instance. a new abridged form of birth certificate will be available in addition to the extract or full birth certificate now provided. Thus where a certificate is required simply for the purposes of identification and proof of age, such details as the date of the parents' marriage, the place of marriage and their occupations need not be made available. All details will continue to be recorded, however, and will be available when requested in a full birth certificate.

While this new technology will undoubtedly expand the capacities of the Registry, it will also have implications for privacy. These are considered below in relation to specific problems brought to the Commission's attention.

The Commission has identified the following issues relating to the law and practice involved in the registration and certification of births and deaths in New South Wales:

• At present married and unmarried parents are required to follow different procedures to register a birth. This has led to claims that the rules requiring birth registration discriminate unfairly, if not unlawfully, between parents who are married and those who are not.

• At present birth certificates contain details of the marriage of the child's parents. The date of the marriage, or the fact that there has been no marriage, can cause embarrassment.

• The details on a death certificate, including cause of death and the place of death, can also cause embarrassment.

• At present the procedures for resolving disputes between parents who wish to register different surnames for their child seem unsatisfactory.

• The current system of birth registration does not accommodate the naming practices of some ethnic groups.

• Although the fact that the surgery has been performed may appear on the register, at present there are restrictions on the amendment of birth certificates to reflect sexual reassignment following transsexual surgery.

• There is debate whether the register should record information relevant to the genetic background of a child conceived by means of artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization. There is also debate as to the confidentiality to be accorded such information.

In this paper some tentative views, and in some cases specific options for reform, are set out.