Uncle Amy that was what did my head in and stressed me the most, the birth certificate and centrelink stuff! I guess people dont come forward because of the legal side of it all but id be more than happy to help anyone who finds themselves in our situation. Sure would have saved me a lot of tears along the way!

Im not sure where you live, but in victoria, its almost impossible to not have the fathers name on the birth certificate (and i totally understand this). I dont want to offend anyone who believes that in all circumstances the dad "must" be on the birth certificate, but it's not always as straightforward as that. Toby's dad is on his. He lives in Jamaica, the government doesn't collect child support from Jamaica, he has never and probably will never see Toby and has only e mailed twice this year. Yet, with his name being on the certificate, i have to now have permission from him for all sorts of things such as a passport. By the time Toby needs a passport, i can pretty much guarantee that i will have absolutely no idea how to track down his dad. Which means we will have to go to court to explain that i dont know where he is, to be able to obtain a passport without the fathers signature.

I may be wrong, but i've been told that this is the process.

At the end of the day, you just want whats best for your child.