Australia AUSTRALIA - 4YO AUGUST (GUS) Missing from rural family home in Outback, Yunta, South Australia, 27th Sept 2025

[seasideForest]

Sorry, I should have spelled out Birth Certificate.

I wondered because they are not married so Josh would have to be on the BC if he wants to have equal say about parental decisions about living conditions and schooling, etc.

Is there any reason to suppose Josh is not on the BC? I don't suppose young unmarried parents are particularly unusual these days. DNA proof of paternity would work as well.

 

[SouthAussie]

Sorry, I should have spelled out Birth Certificate.

I wondered because they are not married so Josh would have to be on the BC if he wants to have equal say about parental decisions about living conditions and schooling, etc.

Unmarried means very little in South Australia.

Both parents are jointly responsible for registering the birth of their child with Births, Deaths and Marriages, and both must sign the birth registration statement.

Parenting presumptions and birth registration

www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au

 

[katydid23]

Unmarried means very little in South Australia.

Both parents are jointly responsible for registering the birth of their child with Births, Deaths and Marriages, and both must sign the birth registration statement.

Parenting presumptions and birth registration

www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au

Yes, I understand. But doesn't the father have to be on the Birth Certificate ?

A man can't just register himself and claim paternity though, can he?

 

[SouthAussie]

Yes, I understand. But doesn't the father have to be on the Birth Certificate ?

A man can't just register himself and claim paternity though, can he?

Yes, the father has to be on the birth certificate. He has to be part of the birth registration, from which the birth certificate is produced. Jointly with the mother.

If that is what you are asking.

There doesn't need to be any DNA paternity test, or other proof, if Jess and Josh were considered to be in a defacto relationship 10 months prior to Gus being born. (Not sure why they say 10 months and not 9 months, maybe to allow for pregnancies that are a bit longer than 9 months.)

imo

 

[katydid23]

Yes, the father has to be on the birth certificate. He has to be part of the birth registration, from which the birth certificate is produced. Jointly with the mother.

If that is what you are asking.

There doesn't need to be any DNA paternity test, or other proof, if Jess and Josh were considered to be in a defacto relationship 10 months prior to Gus being born. (Not sure why they say 10 months and not 9 months.)

imo

I'm just trying to figure out what happened, in that he supposedly had concerns about the safety of his kid's living situation.

But why couldn't he do something about it other than voice his complaints?

So I thought maybe he was not on the BC?

 

[SouthAussie]

I'm just trying to figure out what happened, in that he supposedly had concerns about the safety of his kid's living situation.

But why couldn't he do something about it other than voice his complaints?

So I thought maybe he was not on the BC?

The authorities are pretty strict about one parent only being on the birth certificate.
And we know that the police consider Josh to be Gus' father - presumably legally.

I don't know why Josh wouldn't have done more about it, if he felt strongly that his children shouldn't be there due to unsafe conditions. There should have been nothing stopping family court action.

Maybe it was more of a fairly private matter between him and Jess. Maybe they argued about it, and Josh told his friend about the argument.

imo


The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages may accept a statement signed by only one parent if satisfied it is impossible, impracticable or inappropriate for the other parent to sign whether because of death, disappearance, ill health, unavailability or the need to avoid unwarranted distress [Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 (SA) s 15]. This might include circumstances involving family violence.

If only one parent signs the birth registration statement, they must attach an explanation of why the other parent has not signed. The Registrar has the authority to make further enquiries if not satisfied with the explanation given.

Parenting presumptions and birth registration

www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au

 

[JLZ]

Do we know if Josh was on the BC or not?

I wondered more about his relationship to the other child. In connection with my thought that the grandparents may have killed Gus to detach Jess from Josh.

 

[gerardo20]

why couldn't he do something about it other than voice his complaints?

<modsnip>

The following is relevant to the thread for readers wondering why Josh did not push his safety concerns more, especially for overseas readers.....

Family law in Australia is worse than in much of the US, but not quite as bad as Japan. <modsnip>

If Josh or any parent wanted to do more than voice complaints, and the other parent did not agree, they would need to invest $20000 to $150000 on legal and other fees and be prepared to wait two to ten years for an outcome. That much is probably similar to the US.

They may also risk retaliatory legal actions, including losing all legal parental responsibility, which is quite common here, especially where family members who are used to threatening people to get their way (aka Josie).. <modsnip>

Things that are worse here:
1) family court procedings here do not require evidence to come to conclusions, many decisions are just he said/she said and who the judge sympathises with, which is a complete lottery. In the US there seems to be a little more need for some basis in reality and following clear rules of evidence. (I am not saying that many cases do not provide evidence, but in many cases that evidence of DV or similar may be ignored) <modsnip>
"In many parenting cases in Australia, certain provisions of the Evidence Act do not apply." due to provisions in the Family Law Act.

2) family courts in Aus cannot do much to enforce their orders if the other parent ignores this. If the parent complains that a court order relevant to a child's safety is being contravened, then it could take years for the case to get to court.... <modsnip>

Can Police Enforce Family Court Orders In Australia?

This guide will help you understand the role police play in enforcing family court orders, the limits of their involvement, and how they can assist in specific circumstances.

www.mondaq.com

"Police enforcement of family court orders is limited to situations where safety is at risk or where there are immediate concerns about family violence or child abduction."

In Japan, all one parent has to do is abduct/remove the child from the other parent if they disagree with a complaint that is voiced, and the other parent loses all rights to see the child (although that is changing a little recently).

So, in Australia, a parent needs to be very careful how they voice complaints about parenting of their child to the family of the other parent, especially if that family are the type who have a member who is in the habit of waving a gun and threatening you to shut up. The police are not well positioned to deal with situations of concerns about child safety and they and the courts often get it wrong, sometimes by not believing when there is a serious problem, but sometimes making the opposite mistake.

<modsnip: Stop with the excessive emojis.>

I don't think Josh had much choice regarding doing more than voicing a concern, and even that has its risks.

<modsnip>

 

[Kemug]

Wasn't it only going to be for a short time anyway, lambing season or something?

 

[BreakingNews]

Unmarried means very little in South Australia.

Both parents are jointly responsible for registering the birth of their child with Births, Deaths and Marriages, and both must sign the birth registration statement.

Parenting presumptions and birth registration

www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au

It's the same all over Australia. No stigma on parents who are not married at all. That stopped about 1973.

 

[Ruminations]

Not to be a complete idiot, but I’m in the US. What is the BC?

The birth certificate.

It's not idiotic.

MOO

 

[BreakingNews]

I cringe every time I hear of a dog attacking someone, especially a child.

Dogs sometimes do what dogs instinctly do. So do children. It's usually all about the training.

 

[Ruminations]

I'm just trying to figure out what happened, in that he supposedly had concerns about the safety of his kid's living situation.

But why couldn't he do something about it other than voice his complaints?

So I thought maybe he was not on the BC?

We don't know that he HAD complaints, or was concerned about his children's safety. That is just a rumor.

His allowing the arrangement suggests he did not have complaints. His joint statement asking for information suggests he did not have complaints; the parents appear to have agreed on the living plan for the children.

MOO

MOO

 

[gerardo20]

We don't know that he HAD complaints, or was concerned about his children's safety. That is just a rumor.

Agreed, all we have is a friend of Josh saying he thought Gus was not fully safe on the property.

His allowing the arrangement suggests he did not have complaints. His joint statement asking for information suggests he did not have complaints; the parents appear to have agreed on the living plan for the children.

We do NOT know that he allowed the arrangement. The joint statement talks about their current agreement and does NOT suggest he did not have any complaints or was previously in agreement about the living plan. jmo

 

[Ellery84]

We don't know that he HAD complaints, or was concerned about his children's safety. That is just a rumor.

His allowing the arrangement suggests he did not have complaints. His joint statement asking for information suggests he did not have complaints; the parents appear to have agreed on the living plan for the children.

MOO

MOO

I think sadly, it has taken the disappearance and potential death of Josh’s son Gus, for anyone to listen to and act on Josh’s concerns.

IMO

 

[ReadySet]

Having trouble quoting tonight; re: gerardo20 post upthread:

I have missed the information about Josie threatening family members?

 

[gerardo20]

Having trouble quoting tonight; re: gerardo20 post upthread:

I have missed the information about Josie threatening family members?

Thanks for asking for the clarification, ReadySet, and the opportunity to respond ....
What I wrote was ....

especially where family members who are used to threatening people to get their way (aka Josie).

So I am referring to Josie threatening (the media intruder), and assuming it is not the first time Josie has threatened others, and also referring to anyone who has to walk on eggshells because there is a family member who will resort to threats ....

(You haven't missed any instances of Josie threatening family members, I was referring to the one incident we know of with the media...)

Similarly for the other time reference to Josie, and any family where someone uses serious threatening behaviour to get their way, whether it is to another family member, or to an outsider (as we saw with Josie shaking the gun while telling the intruder from the media to shut up and go).....

especially if that family are the type who have a member who is in the habit of waving a gun and threatening you to shut up.

Unfortunately my phrasing wasn't clear enough, and I have even said "threatening you" as if referring to another member of the family. However, I did not mean that, I simply met "you" as anyone interacting with a family with a member who resorts straightaway to threatening with a gun... or similar....
Thanks for the opportunity to clarify....

 

[Hexe]

They may also risk retaliatory legal actions, including losing all legal parental responsibility, which is quite common here, especially where family members who are used to threatening people to get their way (aka Josie).. jimo imo omo moo imho jmho

There is no evidence Josie uses threats to get their way, so please, stop suggesting that. Also, the only evidence Gus's parents separated legally are tabloid articles, so I would take it with a huge grain of salt.

It's also the first time I hear you can lose parental rights (or responsibilities as they are called in Australia) at a drop of the hat becayse the other parent decided to retaliate. For my best knowledge it requires severe neglect/abuse, abandonment, substance abuse or criminal behaviour to get stripped of the parental laws.

family court procedings here do not require evidence to come to conclusions, many decisions are just he said/she said and who the judge sympathises with, which is a complete lottery.

Family courts absolutely do require evidence, it's just that what is evidence is not defined entirely by the Evidence Act but by the Family Law Act.

MOO

 

[Hexe]

So I am referring to Josie threatening (the media intruder), and assuming it is not the first time Josie has threatened others, and also referring to anyone who has to walk on eggshells because there is a family member who will resort to threats ....

I'd say basing such assumptions from one incident happening in extreme circumstances is in it's actuality, creating a work of fiction.

MOO

 

[Kemug]

I am still a bit worried about that toilet with the fresh concrete around it at the neigbouring property. Yes I know it was checked out, even with sniffer dogs. These drop toilets can be very deep (I grew up with one). I well remember the time when one of the cats jumped up onto a family member's lap just as they stood up! And down it went. There was a hole at the back covered by a slab of concrete, which was removed, a ladder was placed down into the pit, and poor pussy was eventually coaxed up with a piece of meat tied onto a piece of string. I remember my poor mother had to give poor puss a bath. But I digress.
I don't like to say it, but if a body was down there, then it would soon/eventually (depending on usage) be covered, and dogs might only be able to smell one thing.