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New South Wales - Glossary Term
Illegitimacy ( - 1976)
- To
- 1976
- Alternative Names
-
- Illegitimate
- Illegitimate Child
- Location
-
Illegitimacy was the status given to children born as a result of an out of wedlock, or ex-nuptial, pregnancy. The term 'illegitimate' replaced the even more pejorative term 'bastard'. The social stigma surrounding illegitimacy was a factor behind many children being relinquished by unmarried mothers, or being placed in out-of-home 'care'.
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In 1902 the Legitimation Act was passed. This allowed the birth of an illegitimate child to be reregistered if the parents had legally married. The new registration included the details of the father and the parents' marriage. This could only be done if there had been no legal impediment to the marriage of the parents at the time the child was born - that is, if both parents were unmarried and of age. In 1913 parents who had been unable to marry at the time of a child's birth were able to record their marriage details by way of a declaration, but these rules were not actually changed until the 1961 Commonwealth Marriage Act.
Attitudes to children born from ex-nuptial pregnancies started to shift from around the 1960s in Australia. This shift was later accompanied in more social security and childcare options for single mothers. The Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976 removed all legal disabilities suffered by ex-nuptial children and established that their rights regarding paternity and maternity are the same as children born within wedlock.
- Series Title
- Affiliation Files (c. 1963 - 1975)
- Date Range
- 1963 - 1975
- Reference
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14797
[State Records Authority of New South Wales Series Number]
- Contact
-
Please contact the Care Leaver Records Access Unit, Community Services:
Address: Care Leaver Records Access Unit, Community Services, Department of Communities and Justice, Locked Bag 5000, Parramatta NSW 2150
Phone: 1300 137 160 or (02) 9716 2500
Email: CareLeaverRecordsAccessUnit@facs.nsw.gov.au
Website: https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/families/out-of-home-care/about-out-of-home-care/were-you-in-out-of-home-care
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