Welcome to the Coolamon Strategy

I acknowledge the people of the Kulin Nation and the traditional custodians of the land BDM is based on.

We know that Aboriginal people can experience barriers when registering a birth or getting a birth certificate. This is outlined in research within the book Proof of Birth by Melissa Castan and Paula Gerber (2015). I am proud that we have addressed barriers such as cost and lack of identity documentation. We’ve done this through our financial hardship and fee waiver policy and proof of identity exception policy.

Our work with the Aboriginal community continues to be a journey of learning. It is about culture, identity and the importance of family and kinship connections.
 
To celebrate NAIDOC week 2019, we issued 327 free Aboriginal Heritage commemorative certificates. We promoted this through our stakeholders, and on outreach visits. The Aboriginal community were very supportive of this initiative.

I am pleased to present the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria (BDM) Coolamon Strategy 2019-21. It aligns with the self-determination principles in Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja (the Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement Phase 4). I remain committed to meaningful engagement with our stakeholders and the Aboriginal community. The community’s feedback continues to shape our approaches, policies and processes. Feedback to date has indicated that we are on the right track. I thank our stakeholders and Aboriginal community members for their contribution and insights.

We recently replaced our core business system. This new system enhances our capability to understand how Aboriginal people use our services. It also helps us to better plan for future needs. 

We encourage feedback from the Aboriginal community. You can send this to us at bdm.koori@justice.vic.gov.au (External link)

James Lawson
Director and Registrar
Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria

Note

In this strategy we use these terms:

• ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ when referring to Aboriginal people across Australia. 
• ‘Aboriginal’ when referring to Aboriginal people of Victoria. 
• Other terms such as Koori are retained in the names of programs, initiatives, publications titles and in reference to published data.

(This is as per advice from the Department’s Koori Justice Unit, 2017).

We value your feedback

We value your feedback. Please direct this to bdm.koori@justice.vic.gov.au (External link)