The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) in New South Wales, Australia issues more than half a million certificates every year. This remarkably human place is a microcosm of modern multicultural Australian life, and through the eyes of a core cast of public officers, we document the experiences of ordinary Australians during the big turning points of life. The BDM is a melting pot of tradition, culture, emotion and religion, an institution where landmark events are documented every day. Here, lovers, young and old, get married on a budget, names are registered and changed, gender issues are explored, new family structures documented and identity fraudsters stopped.

The BDM also provides outreach services to indigenous communities and the homeless – many adult Australians still don’t have a birth certificate. And more than five percent of Australian children under the age of five are unregistered, and that means they can’t enter the education system. For adults, no birth certificate means no voting rights, no passport and no driver’s license. And without a certificate, you’re deprived the privileges of Australian Citizenship.

And then there’s death.

At the BDM, families are reunited over tears and testaments. Brokenhearted children, secret lovers and, sometimes, even pets are transformed into overnight millionaires – but in death, we also find warmth and affection as ordinary Australians celebrate extraordinary lives.