Thanks everyone for your POV's. I really appreciate it.

I've spoken with my Midwife about it and mentioned that I was thinking about leaving it as it was. She has asked that I do as it makes things a tad easier for her. Plus with all the drama's going on with IM etc at the moment, I'd hate to make things hard for her in the future. So i'm going to go back to my GP and get her to send a referral to the Mater.

I'm not overly phased at this point as it only early days.

Completely your call, but I thought I'd let you know that the HB group was talking about a lot more than simply giving them your name and the fact you are pg. It's more about having test results, your current health status, health of the baby, etc, on hand in case you are admitted. I've given them all the paperwork I have from both my m/w and all tests (u/s, blood, etc). Plus, I went through their admissions process to be allocated a patient number, same as every other maternity patient.

The HB m/ws recommended it to all of us HBing Mums as making any transfer process much easier. I am also handing over at this stage my birth plan, for them to keep on file. It potentially means a lot less hassle in the unlikely event that I do need to transfer. A little bit of hassle now is giving me peace of mind that we won't have to face extra dramas down the track. I can deal with it and then forget about it, if that makes sense.

Another point is that I'll be taking the baby up to the hospital to have its hearing test done after birth. So it will be handy to be registered there for that reason too.

If you're worried about the reception you'll get as a HBer, I was so pleasantly surprised yesterday at how nice everyone was. The admissions lady was busy telling me that her sister had two HBs and the m/w was very encouraging of my decision. Not a single raised eyebrow or suggestion that I was causing them any difficulty at all. Completely accommodating.
Whilst I do see your point, I dont see why I should go out of my way to make things easier for them when its obvious they are making things difficult for me.

Recently, I had to visit the local ED (this hospital no longer offers Maternity services) as I was bleeding. The Dr in ED called and spoke to the head OB at Logan who told the ED Dr to tell me that I wasn't allowed to HB as it was too risky and that I had to come their. This comment reflects the attitude of the OB and therefore the environment of the hospital.

As i said, they know who I am now. I've been to their ED for another bleeding incident this pregnancy so they have me on file with patiend ID etc. If for some reason during the pregnancy I need to transfer care to a hospital, I'll go to the Mater (hopefully) and if I need to transfer during labour then my Midwife will be able to pass on any relevant information that the dont already have.

Thank you again for all of your replies. Its nice to read of others experiences.

I'll let you all know the outcome :-)