After a historic debate in NSW Parliament, in June 2008 the Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby finally broke the stalemate on parenting reforms in NSW.

The Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act 2008 provides equal parenting rights to co-mothers of children born through assisted reproduction and allows both mums to be listed on their child's birth certificate.

Before this reform children born into heterosexual relationships through donor insemination or assisted reproductive technologies had two legally recognised parents, but those in lesbian relationships only had one.

An estimated 1000 children in NSW who have two mums will now have both parents recognised in the eyes of the law. This recognition is important for protecting children’s rights in areas such as inheritance, workers compensation and health care, as well as custody and contact in the event of relationship breakdown.

The legislation attracted majority support in the Legislative Assembly with 64 votes in favour and 11 votes against. The legislation had support from the Labor and the Greens. A significant number of Coalition members, using their conscience vote, also supported the reform.

What did the Bill do?

The proposed amendments built on 1999 and 2002 same-sex relationship reforms. This was the third Act in the set, and fixed up some of the last remaining "missing pieces", including:

• Parenting rights for co-mothers. Extended parenting presumptions in the Status of Children Act 1996 to ensure female partners of women with children born through donor insemination would be legally recognised as parents. This change generally applies retrospectively so that children born before the changes are also covered.
  
  
• Birth certificates. Amended the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act and regulations to provide for birth certificates which recognised both mothers. Procedures were put in place to ensure old birth certificates could be reissued with both mothers' names.
  
  
• Parental leave for female partners. Changed the definition of parental leave under NSW industrial relations laws to ensure female partners have the right to take leave upon the birth of a child to their partner.
  
  
• Protection from discrimination on the basis of marital or domestic status, including same-sex relationship status. This change generally made it illegal to discriminate against same-sex couples on the basis of their relationship status in accomodation, employment, education, registered clubs and the provision of goods and services.
  
  
• Consisent definitions of "de facto partner", including same-sex partners. Same-sex partners are now recognised in all laws in NSW except for adoption laws.
  
  

Campaign Highlights

The first recognition of same-sex families in NSW was only won after years of consultation, campaigning and lobbying. Here are some of the key highlights on how the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act came about:

1992-94 - Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby leads broad public consultation and community debate and publishes two editions of The Bride Work Pink, a report recommending the legal recognition of same-sex relationships and other personal relationships. Brides leads to five years of intensive lobbying before law reforms are won to recognise same-sex partners in a range of areas in NSW.

1994 - Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby and Lesbian and Gay Legal Rights Service submit extensive submission to the NSW Law Reform Commission review into the practice of adoption.

1997 - NSW Law Reform Commission recommends same-sex couples should be considered eligible to apply for adoption in NSW. Recommendations not accepted by Government in Adoption Act 2000. Gay and lesbian individuals are able to adopt yet same-sex couples cannot.

1999 - Attorney General Jeff Shaw introduces same-sex relationship reforms, modelled on aspects of the Lobby's original proposal. The Bill passes without Coalition opposition. Same-sex couples are recognised for the purposes of property division, inheritance, medical consent, NSW workers' and accident compensation, stamp duty and issues relating to incapacity. The reforms signal the first broad recognition of same-sex relationships across laws in Australia.

2000/1 - The Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby flags the recognition of same-sex families as the next major priority in relationship law reform. Focus groups and consultations are held with lesbian mums, gay dads and donors, leading to the release of a consultation report.

2002 - The Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby releases Meet the Parents: A review of the research on lesbian and gay families. Authored by Jenni Millbank, the review considered over 200 separate studies on lesbian and gay families over a 25 year period and concluded that family processes not family structure determined a child's well being. The sexuality of a parent did not determine their parenting style.

2002 - WA includes parenting reforms and adoption in relationship reforms similar to the 1999 NSW reforms. NSW passes the Miscellanous Acts Amendment Act to further extend same-sex relationship recognition into more than 20 statutes.

2003 - The Gay & lesbian Rights Lobby releases And Then... The Brides Changed Nappies report after a series of consultations with parents in Sydney, Newcastle and Lismore. Authored by Jenni Millbank, the report made 11 recommendations to recognise lesbian and gay families in state and federal law. Tasmania passes limited adoption reforms, allowing people in registered significant relationships (including same-sex couples) to adopt a biological child of their partner.

2004 - ACT pass adoption and parenting reforms. NT extends parenting presumptions to lesbian partners of mothers who have children through donor insemination. Lobby begins parenting postcard campaign.

2005 - Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby's "Our Families First" float, concieved by Jenny Mann and Kathy Sant and based on Sponge Bob Square Pants, takes the Most Outstanding Political Comment award at Mardi Gras Awards.

2006 - The Daily Telegraph attacks Learn to Include books, which feature same-sex families, used by a child care centre in Tempe as examples of child "abuse" and "GayCare". NSW Law Reform Commission completes its Relationships report recommending further same-sex relationship and parenting reforms and adopts almost every recommendation from our Nappies report.

2007 - On re-election of the Iemma Government, Lobby meets Attorney-General John Hatzistergos for the first time in May 2007. Lobby (re-)begins intensive lobbying of state politicians on the need for parenting reform. Victorian Law Reform Commission and Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission inquiries recommend parenting and adoption reforms to include lesbians and gay men, and their families.

2008 - The Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationship) Bill is introduced to extend parenting presumptions to lesbians co-mothers, amend birth certificates and fix up the missing pieces in same-sex de facto relationship reforms. Adoption reforms remain outstanding. It passes the Legislative Council at 11:28pm on Tuesday 3 June. At 8:24pm on Wednesday 4 June, the Bill passed the Legislative Assembly with 64 votes in favour and only 11 against.