DNA Testing for Immigration, Relationship & Parentage

DNA testing is a general term that includes many specific tests
including immigration, relationship and parentage testing.

Your DNA is unique – it is not quite the same as anyone else’s
DNA – and because of this, DNA testing is an extremely
powerful means of identification.

Your DNA is inherited equally from both of your parents. This
means that a comparison of DNA from two or more people can
be used to establish or exclude genetic relationships.

Paternity Testing

Paternity testing is the most common type of DNA relationship testing. It is used to determine the biological father of the child.
In this test the child is compared with the mother to determine which DNA comes from the mother. The ‘father’ is then
compared to the child to confirm that the DNA which does not come from the mother is found in the father. If the ‘father’ does
not have that DNA, he is excluded as the father of the child. If the DNA profile of the ‘father’ matches the child, the probability
of paternity can be determined with a confidence of up to 99.9%.

Prenatal Testing

Prenatal paternity testing can be performed on amniotic fluid or chorionic villus samples from 10½ weeks of pregnancy.
Please consult with your obstetrician and gynaecologist regarding this test.

Relationship Testing

Other family relationship and identification issues can be resolved using DNA identification technology.

These include:

• Maternity
• Sibship
• Twin studies
• Deceased estates
• Genealogy

Immigration Testing

Sonic Clinical Institute (SCI) Genetics is recommended by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs as
a laboratory accredited for DNA testing for Immigration. SCI Genetics liaises internationally to arrange collection,
and to ensure all processes meet Australian standards.

Specimen Collection

SCI has a very large network of collection facilities and a secure transport infrastructure throughout Australia.
Collection personnel are all trained in the rigorous chain-of-custody procedures necessary for legal DNA testing.

Results

Results are available within 10 working days from receipt of samples. For security reasons and to ensure
correct interpretation of results, SCI sends reports to your doctor, lawyer or other nominated professional adviser.

Fees

Testing fees are all inclusive of booking, collection, secure transport, testing and reporting of results. Urgent testing can be
performed for an additional fee. Please note that these tests are not covered by Medicare. For a current list of fees please
contact SCI Genetics on 1800 010 447.

Legal Issues

All our reports are prepared to the highest standards to ensure that they are admissible to the Family Court, Department of Immigration,
Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages and child support agencies. This avoids the need for possible repeat testing.

In line with the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission Report “Essentially Yours: The Protection of Human Genetic Information in Australia for the Ethical Testing of Genetic Material”, SCI Genetics does not provide testing of children without their mother’s knowledge, nor does it test anonymous samples. In certain situations, however, the Family Law Court can intervene to provide consent.

Client Checklist for Parentage Testing

Consent

Although it is not illegal at the present time, the testing of minor children without the consent of their mother or legal guardian raises ethical problems. These ethical problems are threefold: there is a concern that a test should not be performed on a child without appropriate consent because the test may result in hardship or an adverse outcome for the child; there is a concern that non-biological and non-social fathers may be supporting a child that they are not responsible for; and there is a concern that non-ethical and non accredited laboratory services may perform paternity tests that do not have legal standing.

In line with the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission Report Essentially Yours: The Protection of Human Genetic Information in Australia for the Ethical Testing of Genetic Material, it is the policy of the Sonic Clinical Institute to obtain the consent of the mother or legal guardian before a minor child may be tested. Where consent is not granted, the putative father may obtain a court order. It is also the policy of this laboratory to perform all testing to the highest ethical, scientific and legal standards so that if the results have legal implications, they will be admissible to the Family Court, the Department of Immigration, and the Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

By conducting all testing to these standards, we overcome the need for repeat testing should a result be required for legal reasons at a later time, thereby minimising the emotional and financial impact of unaccredited testing.

Contact Details

For further information please contact:
SCI Genetics

Phone: 61 2 98 555 402
Toll Free (within Australia): 1800 010 447
Fax: 61 2 98 555 446