WELCOME Welcome to the inaugural Rainbow Families Council newsletter for 2009. The Rainbow Families Council will be sending quarterly updates to keep rainbow families and prospective rainbow families updated on social events, law reform updates, Special Projects and details of our upcoming conference. Please feel free to pass this onto to other rainbow families to also keep them in the loop.
In this issue:
Rainbow Families Inclusive Project
Assisting Early Childhood Services become inclusive of Rainbow Families The Rainbow Families Council received funding from the City of Darebin Community Grants round 2008/2009 to develop a new resource to assist early childcare services (i.e.Maternal & Child Health, Kindergartens, Child Care Centres) become more inclusive of same sex parented families. We are seeking your ideas, personal stories and experiences to assist us in developing this new resource. The new resource may include an online booklet, posters, stickers; fact sheets… the ideas are endless. If you would like to share your ideas about how to assist these services become more inclusive or share your personal experience of early childhood services being inclusive or not being inclusive we would love you to fill in our online survey click on this link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ETl74NFvK5UJ18JATOqJIQ_3d_3d Contributions will be accepted until the end of June. The Rainbow Families Council hopes to finalise the new resource which will include information about the use of inclusive language and sample inclusive policies by the end of 2009. A similar booklet developed in 2002 by the parents at the Fairfield Playgroup and the Darebin Community Health Centre called We're Here ....a resource for child care worker is currently out or print but you can still get an online copy from the Rainbow Families Council website at www.rainbowfamilies.org.au If you would like more information please e-mail Sam @ info@rainbowfamilies.org.au
Rainbow Families Conference Under Construction  The next Rainbow Families Conference will be held on Saturday 27 February 2010. If you would like to suggest topics for workshops, presentation or special sessions click on this link and fill in our Conference Suggestion Form.
http://eepurl.com/bAB2
Federal Law Reform Update  Through members of a federal committee dedicated to looking at the implementation of the federal same sex reforms to social security, Rainbow Families Council made a representation to the federal government calling for a grace period beyond July 1 to allow for people to get their heads around the changes and to ensure no one is fined or financially disadvantaged for failing to comply by that date. We also argued that having just over six months (the federal changes were announced on November 24 last year) is not enough time for families to find appropriate childcare nor for stay-at-home parents to look at returning to work or study, particularly in this economic climate. Unfortunately our concerns were only noted and no changes to the implementation have been made.
What do you need to do?
Anyone currently collecting a sole parent payment , Family Tax Benefit A & B and/or Childcare Benefit but who is living in a same sex partnered relationship has just one month to register the relationship with Centrelink before July 1, 2009.
By June 31 you need to have called Centrelink on 13 62 80 and registered your relationship. Once you have called, Centrelink will send you a “Becoming partnered” form - interestingly also called the “Parenting Payment – Change of marital status” form (maybe Centrelink knows something we don’t!) . You are required to complete the form and send it back by June 31. Failure to register by June 31 could mean you incur a debt to Centrelink over time. Other issues may arise when your relationship is acknowledged for purposes such as tax. Centrelink has informed Rainbow Families Council that all federal government departments do ‘talk’ to each other and cross reference information. More information on all social security changes can be found on: http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/individuals/same_sex.htm As well as social security reforms, the Federal same sex law reforms cover a broad range of areas including superannuation, PBS, health and Medicare. On July 1 2009 changes to tax, aged care and child support come into effect, while changes to the Medicare Safety Net commenced on January 1 2009 with changes to citizenship starting on March 15 2009. Information on all these changes can be found on the Federal Attorney-General’s website on
http://www.ag.gov.au/samesexreform
Victorian Law Reform Update Many of the state law reforms outlined in the ART Act 2008 are due to be implemented during 2009 with all changes to be made by January 1, 2010. Rainbow Families Council have been talking to Births, Deaths and Marriages as well as several clinics to determine just what changes are being made and to find out when we can expect to change existing children’s birth certificates or access ART services. Changes to surrogacy regulations which will allow gay men to engage a surrogate and become legal parents are also due by January 1, 2010. As more information comes to hand on timelines and processes, Rainbow Families Council will update our website.
A brief update on Victorian birth certificates
 Birth Deaths and Marriages intend to implement the retrospective changes to existing birth certificates for children born into and living in rainbow families sometime later this year! No specific timeline has been set but it was hoped that these regulations be introduced on 1 July 2009. They are waiting for regulations to be made guiding the Register on federal and state requirements to ensure a smooth transition.
The Attorney General’s Office notified RFC last Wednesday that the ART Act implementation has been delayed including the implementation of birth certificates for same sex families. The January 1 2010 date still stands as the date that all reforms outlined in the ART Act will need to be in place. There have been a few hiccups with getting the correct regulations finished so that things such as BDM taking over records from ITA can happen properly as well as some delays in clinics getting started on collecting criminal records checks. While this delay is very disappointing, it’s important that the implementation goes smoothly and no one is disadvantaged by bungles in bureaucracy and disorganised paperwork. The Registrar has again reiterated her wish to hold a public celebration on the first day that we can make changes to our children’s birth certificates. Rainbow Families Council will be working with BDM closer to the introduction date on just what the party might look like and will keep you all informed! Rainbow Families Council have also requested that, if required, the Death Certificates for children born into rainbow families may also be retrospectively amended to allow recognition of both parents at the time of the child’s birth and death. The Registrar has agreed and a process for doing this is being organised. Again, the Council will keep you posted via our website.
A brief update on access to Victorian clinics Clinics are busily organising forms and processes to allow single and lesbian women access to all Assisted Reproductive Treatment. The new ART Act also requires new and existing clients to complete a police check and a criminal records check which are just two of the new requirements. Both Melbourne IVF and Monash IVF have indicated that they are currently working on changes which will ensure fertile women who wish to access assisted reproductive treatment through a clinic are able to do so by 1 January 2010. As indicated above the Attorney General’s Office informed us of some delays in the implementation of the ART Act 2008 . This means that the expected start date of July 1 for access to ART services will not now occur and all other reforms ( changing existing Birth Cert's, for example) will also be delayed for a few months. Contact the clinics for more information. The intention of most clinics is to have every sorted out to start by July 1 so some clinics will allow you to start making appointments and other arrangements to get started. If you have a known donor you might want to see if you can get him to donate as soon as possible so that the six month quarantine period can start.
 
Be a Donor!  There is a donor drought! All major clinics across Australia are reported low to no sp * rm available for donation and use in ART. If you or anyone you know – brother, friend, workmate - who would be interested in becoming a donor in Victorian Clinics now is the time to encourage them to do so. Victorian Legislation does require that the donor makes his contacts details available on a register and agrees to be contacted by any child born through his donation when that child reaches 18. Clinics can provide more information to prospective donors sch as tests and number of donations required.
Website Would you like your group listed on the Rainbow Families Website? If so we are currently updating our website including the groups listing. If you have a group that you would like to be listed, an event or any information relating to rainbow families e-mail info@rainbowfamilies.org.au with the information. Images can also be included. We know from our membership survey last year that our website is a really important way for new and prospective parents to link up with other families. We need your help to make sure people can do this when they come to our website.
Membership As you probably know, the Rainbow Families Council is run entirely by volunteers without any source of recurrent funding other than your membership fees. Membership is just $5 annually and we have deliberately kept the price low to be as accessible as we can to most people. We are currently working on streamlining our membership processes so that we can make it easy for you to renew your membership each year. We can now accept credit card and PayPal payments and will soon be able to email you a reminder notice each year with an easy link to electronic payment methods. If you have never become a financial member – or even if you are unsure – please fill in the form at http://www.rainbowfamilies.org.au/pages/membership.php and we will contact you with details for payment.
Social Events
 In our survey last year, we heard loud and clear that you’d like more social events for families to mix together. We also know that we have families and prospective parents right across Victoria – not just in Melbourne. We’d love the help our members to organise some family events, both in Melbourne and beyond. It doesn’t take much to organise – just pick a date with plenty of notice and choose a venue that’s kid-friendly and inexpensive. If you think you could help us to do this, please contact us on info@rainbowfamilies.org.au and one of our committee members will work on it together with you. Looking forward to seeing some new faces, and some old friends.
What’s Coming Up? - Plenary presentation and "Working with Rainbow Families" workshop at the ALSO Rural Forum – 25 & 26 June 2009 in Ballarat. See www.also.org.au for more info or to register.
What the Rainbow Family Council Committee have been up to… 
The year started with our usual flurry of rainbow family fun during Midsumma - hot on the heels from our wonderful victory with the passing of the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act on 4 December 2008. Since Midsumma you may not have seen as much of us out and about, but the committee has been keeping busy working towards communicating about the legislative changes, educating the community and our members, continuing to advocate for our families and planning upcoming events… in between managing toddler tantrums, breastfeeding and conjuring up school lunches. For a full list of what we have been up to go to www.rainbowfamilies.org.au Thank you for reading our inaugural Rainbow Families Council Newsletter, the next newsletter will be out in September 2009 unless there is a need for a special notice edition sooner.
If you have any events or information that you would like included in the September Edition please e-mail info@rainbowfamilies.org.ar by the end of August.
|
