The Requirements of Court Ordered Paternity Tests
For DNA paternity or maternity test results to be admissible for legal purposes, such as for changing a birth certificate, Family Law Court proceedings, visa/citizenship applications, or child support claims, the process undertaken needs to comply with the Family Law Regulations 20244 (Cth). This legislation outlines the way in which samples must be collected, packaged and tested. Because samples collected for at home testing do not satisfy these requirements, the results obtained cannot be used for legal purposes.
Summarised parentage testing requirements of the Family Law Regulations 2024 (Cth)
The parentage testing procedure must be carried out:
“…at a laboratory that is accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities Australia for the purpose of carrying out parentage testing procedures; and in accordance with standards of practice that entitle the laboratory to be so accredited.”
The person collecting the bodily sample (the sampler) from a participant must be:
“…a registered medical practitioner…” or “…the person is employed by a hospital, a pathology practice, a parentage testing practice, or a registered medical practitioner, for the purpose of taking a bodily sample from a donor.””
The person providing a DNA sample (the donor) must have:
“…completed an affidavit on the same day that the sample is taken that is in accordance with Form 3 in Schedule 3, to which a recent photograph of the donor named in the affidavit is attached…” and “…provided to the sampler a recent photograph of the donor… that shows a full face view of the donor’s head and the donor’s shoulders…”
If the donor is under the age of 18 years, the affidavit must be completed by:
“…a parent of the donor, a guardian of the donor or a person who, under a parenting order, has responsibility for the donor’s long-term or day-to-day care, welfare and development.”
If the donor is a person who does not have decision-making ability, the affidavit must be completed by:
“…a trustee or manager in relation to the donor under a law of the State or Territory whose laws apply to the donor; or a parent of the donor, a guardian of the donor or a person who, under a parenting order, has responsibility for the donor’s long-term or day-to-day care, welfare and development.”
To satisfy the chain-of-custody requirements and ensure the samples aren’t tampered with:
“…the sampler must ensure that the sample is placed in a container immediately after it is taken; and in the presence of the donor.” The container must “be sealed in a way that, if it were opened after being sealed, that fact would be evident on inspection of the container.”
After taking the sample, the sampler must:
“…complete a statement in accordance with Form 4 in Schedule 3; and affix the photograph of the donor referred to in paragraph 61(2)(b) to the statement; sign the sampler’s name partly on the photograph and partly on the statement in a way that, if the photograph were later removed from the statement, the removal would be evident from inspection of the statement.”
Full instructions and all materials needed to fulfil these requirements are provided when purchasing our legally admissible test kits for parentage, immigration, kinship or DNA profiling.
As always, we’re here to help on 1300 114 294 or [email protected] if any of the requirements are unclear.
