It was 1984 and an Adult Adoption Information Act (AAI Act) was being discussed at the highest levels. A couple of years later, a new ‘original’ birth certificate arrived, the red branding replaced with a large black stamp. They further described my original birth certificate as ‘essentially ornamental’. An “essentially ornamental” endorsed original birth certificate. The 1985 Adult Adoption Information Act is an entire Act of Parliament with a singular purpose that does not deliver on that purpose.