Public Trustee v Arnold

The Public Trustee, acting in relation to a small estate, sought a declaration that a child was not the offspring of a deceased putative father, and sought an order for the correction of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register. The putative father had joined in the registration of the child's birth, but later participated in DNA parentage testing, which resulted in a report excluding him as the child's father with 100% certainty. The putative father died shortly after the testing and the mother acknowledged that he was not the child's father. The legal issues before the court were whether the putative father's participation in the DNA testing could be regarded as an admission that he was not the father, and whether the court had the power to order a correction of the register. The court held that the putative father's participation in the DNA testing could be regarded as an admission that he was not the father, and that the court did have the power to order a correction of the register under section 45 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995. The court made the declaration and order sought by the Public Trustee.

The court held that the putative father's participation in the DNA testing was an admission that he was not the father, as it was clear from the testing that he could not be the father and he died before he could challenge the results. The court also held that it had the power to order a correction of the register under section 45 of the Act, as the court has the power to make orders that are necessary or desirable for the purposes of the Act. The court noted that the Act provides for the correction of errors in the register, and that the court's order was necessary to correct the error in this case. The court made the declaration and order sought by the Public Trustee, declaring that the child was not the child of the putative father, and requiring the correction of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register.