Papua New Guinea has an independent Civil and Identity Registry that is responsible for birth and death registration in terms of the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024. It is headed by a Registrar-General appointed by the Head of State for a five-year renewable term of office. The law does not set out the powers of staff members in Registry offices at provincial and district levels, but the Registrar-General has broad powers to delegate functions to senior registry officials, including the power to register civil events and issue civil event certificates, and the power to correct clerical errors. Mobile registration is not covered by the law, but is utilized in practice for birth registration. A person whose interests are affected by a decision of any member of the staff of the Registry may apply to the Registrar-General for review of the decision, and decisions of the Registrar-General are reviewable by a court. The law establishes a National CRVS Coordinating Committee that brings together representatives from different government agencies to monitor policy and ensure that the civil registration system is effectively coordinated.
Summary
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Civil Registration System
Does the law designate a national level agency responsible for civil registration?
Does the law provide for a uniform process to complete civil registrations across the country?
At what level of civil division are primary registration offices located?
Does the law establish, or authorize the establishment of, secondary civil registration offices under the jurisdiction of the primary civil registration office?
Is the local civil registrar empowered by law to register vital events? If yes, do they have the power to issue certificates of registration?
Does the law require the local civil registration office to transmit registration records to the national civil registration authority on a regular and timely basis?
Does the law provide for a right and a process to appeal a decision of a civil registrar?
Does the law authorize the local civil registrar to use mobile registration to reach remote or rural areas?
Does the law require that the civil registration authority share data with the agency responsible for producing vital statistics, on a regular and timely basis?
Does the law block the use of technology, such as electronic collection, transmission and storage of data, within the civil registration system?
Is there a national coordinating committee to address issues on the functioning of the civil registration system and its integration with other systems, such as the health sector, vital statistics, national identity system, medicolegal death investigation, and others?
Birth Registration
Birth registration is governed by the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024. It is universal, compulsory, and free, and original birth certificates are also free of charge. The primary informant for births that take place at a health facility is the head of the health facility. The primary informant for births that occur at a place other than a health facility is the medical attendant who assisted at the birth, or, where there was no medical attendant, the mother or father, followed by any other relative who assumes guardianship of the child. Births can be reported at any office of the Civil and Identity Registry. Late registrations are those that take place more than 21 days after the birth. Newborn infants may be initially registered without a name, or under a temporary name, with the name to be provided within 28 days. If a child born outside marriage is registered without anyone being named as the father, a father can be added if it is demonstrated that the mother and the person acknowledging himself as the father are in agreement on paternity.
Is birth registration available and compulsory for all births occurring within the country's jurisdiction?
Does the law provide a clear definition of live birth? If yes, does the definition accord with international guidelines?
Where must births be reported?
What are the reporting periods for birth registration specified in law?
Are there any fees for on-time birth registration?
Is the original birth certificate provided free of charge?
Who is designated as the primary informant for births occurring in health facilities?
Who is designated the primary informant for births occurring outside health facilities?
Are there additional or alternative documents required for late or delayed birth registration?
Is a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) assigned at birth registration for every child born in the country?
Death Registration
Death registration is governed by the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024. It is universal, free and compulsory. The primary informant for deaths that occur at a health facility is the head of the health facility. The primary informant for deaths that occur outside a health facility is the medical attendant who was present to confirm the death, or, where there was no medical attendant, the mother or father, followed by any other relative. Deaths can be reported at any office of the Civil and Identity Registry. Late registrations are those that take place more than 21 days after the birth. The law does not provide for burial permits, but a minister of religion who conducts a funeral service or a person responsible for the disposal of the remains must request proof of notification of death from the deceased’s next of kin and report the death to the Registrar-General within 21 days of the date of the disposal if no proof of death registration is provided.
Is death registration available and compulsory for all events occurring in the country's jurisdiction?
Where must deaths be reported?
Does the law provide a clear definition of death? If yes, does the definition accord with international guidelines?
What are the reporting time periods for death registration specified in the law?
Who is designated as the primary informant for natural deaths that occur in a health facility?
Are there any fees for on-time death registration?
Who is designated primary informant for natural deaths occurring outside a health facility?
Are there additional or alternative documents required for late or delayed death registration?
What role do local leaders or local authorities have in the registration process for deaths that occur in the community?
Does the law link retirment of a UPI and/or identity credential to death registration?
Is the original death certificate provided free of charge?
Medicolegal Death Investigation
Papua New Guinea has a coroner system for medicolegal death investigations, and the procedures for conducting medicolegal death investigations are governed primarily by the Coroners Act 1953. The types of cases that should be referred to the coroner are clearly stated in the law, and include death of a person who was killed, drowned, died a sudden death of unknown cause, or died under suspicious or unusual circumstances; or where there is no medical certificate of the cause of death from a medical practitioner. Any person who is aware of the finding of a body or a death in suspicious or unusual circumstances must immediately give notice to the nearest coroner, directly or via a commissioned officer of the Police Force.
Who is designated as the primary informant for unnatural or suspicious deaths?
What type of medicolegal death investigation (MLDI) system does the country have?
Does the law clearly state what types of cases must be referred to the MLDI authority and is this in accordance with international guidance?
Does the law mandate that law enforcement and/or heads of custodial institutions report all deaths in custody to the medicolegal death investigation authority?
For a death referred to the MLDI system, does the law specify how cause of death information is transmitted to the civil registrar and/or statistics agency?
Cause of Death
Medical certification of cause of death is addressed in the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024 and the Coroners Act 1953. For deaths in health facilities, or where the remains were brought to a health facility, the head of the health facility must provide a medical certificate of cause of death to the Registrar-General. For other deaths, if the deceased was attended by a medical attendant within three months prior to death, that medical attendant must provide a medical certificate of cause of death to the Registrar-General. Where a death is referred to a coroner for investigation, the coroner must provide the medical certificate of cause of death to the Registrar-General, or authorize a medical practitioner who knows the immediate cause of death, whether as the result of a post-mortem examination or otherwise, to provide the certificate. However, death registration is mandatory even in the absence of a medical certificate of cause of death.
Does the law require a cause of death (CoD) to register a death?
Does the law clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death, for natural deaths occurring in a health facility?
Does the law designate a certifier of cause of death, for natural deaths occurring under medical supervision but outside a health facility?
Does the law provide a form to certify cause of death? If yes, does the form accord with WHO Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Form?
Does the law clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death when deaths are unnatural or suspicious, or otherwise referred to the MLDI authority?
Does the standard form death certificate include cause of death information?
Does the law allow for the use of verbal autopsy when there is no MCCD?
Stillbirth Reporting
The Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024 requires the reporting of all fetal deaths in the civil registration system, for fetuses of at least 20 weeks gestation or weighing more than 500 grams. The duty of notification for fetal deaths is the same as for live births and the primary informant for a fetal death that takes place at a health facility is the head of that health facility. The primary informant for a fetal death that occurs outside a health facility is the medical attendant who assisted, or, where there was no medical attendant, the mother or father. Reporting must take place within 21 days from the date of the fetal death, at any office of the Civil and Identity Registry. If a fetal death occurred with medical attendance, the informant must provide the Registrar-General with a medical certificate certifying the cause of the fetal death, completed by the medical attendant. However, the Registrar-General can register any fetal death upon being satisfied that the information provided is adequate for the purpose of registration.
Does the law provide a definition of fetal death? If yes, does the definition of fetal death accord with international guidelines?
Does the law provide a definition of, or criteria for stillbirth? If yes, does the definition of or criteria for stillbirth accord with international guidelines?
What system(s) are used to report stillbirths?
Is stillbirth registration available and compulsory for all stillbirths occurring within the country's jurisdiction?
Who is the designated primary informant for declaring stillbirths to the civil registrar?
What is the role of the health sector in stillbirth registration?
Where must stillbirths be reported?
Are there any fees for stillbirth registration?
Does the civil register contain a separate register for stillbirths, distinct from birth and death registers?
Does the law mandate reporting of all stillbirths through the health sector?
Does the law require or request medical certification of cause of death for stillbirths? If yes, does the medical certificate of cause of death used, accord with the WHO MCCD form?
Vital Statistics
The Statistical Services Act 1980 establishes the National Statistical Office as the central statistical authority of the State, responsible for providing statistical information services that produce information to guide policy, planning and management decisions. There is no legal requirement for the sharing of civil registration data with the National Statistical Office, but the National Statistics Office has a general power to access the records of any State agency. A representative of the National Statistics Office sits on the National CRVS Coordinating Committee established by the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024.