The Commonwealth and ACT Government are trialling an Australian-first where parents can register the birth of their baby across federal and territory government agencies using myGov.

The final stage of the trial has been introduced at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children in Woden and at North Canberra Hospital in Bruce, where parents can register the birth of their baby with the ACT Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages using myGov.

The service uses a ‘tell us once’ approach, eliminating the need for parents to interact with government agencies on up to seven occasions and repeatedly provide the same information.

All parents need to do is check their information is correct in myGov, fill in any gaps, and hit submit, saving parents half-an-hour filling out paperwork.

The early stages of the trial use the details the parent provides at the hospital to register their baby for federal government services, supporting timely access to critical health services.

This includes enrolling their baby in Medicare, the Medicare Safety Net, My Health Record and the Australian Immunisation Register; and confirming the birth of their baby for the purposes of Centrelink Family Assistance claims.

The end-to-end digital service also reduces the risk of errors and ensures the baby’s information is consistent across platforms, a spokesperson said.

The Commonwealth and ACT Government will work with other state and territory governments to roll out the trial in stages nationally.