By deed poll
When the name you want is one you have not held before, Australia treats it as a formal change. The word people search is deed poll, though here it is done by registering with Births, Deaths and Marriages. Once your certificate is issued, we handle everything after.
To take a new name by choice, you register the change with the Births, Deaths and Marriages office in your state, and they issue a change of name certificate. That certificate is then your proof everywhere else.
The path
You generally apply to the registry in the state or territory you were born in; if you were born overseas, a residency route applies where you live now. Your state registry's website is the right office.
You will usually need several identity documents, including at least one with a photo. The registry lists exactly what your state asks for.
Fees vary by state, generally between $130 and $220. You lodge the application directly with the office.
Once your change of name certificate is issued, you are ready. From here, Surname Switch updates everyone else for you.
None of this needs to be daunting. Once your certificate arrives, the rest of your switch runs on the same easy plan everyone else gets.
Deed poll questions
Straight answers to what people actually ask about changing to a brand new name in Australia.
Not in the British sense. "Deed poll" is the term most people search, but in Australia you change your name by registering the change with the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry in your state or territory. They issue an official change of name certificate, and that certificate, not a deed poll document, is your legal proof everywhere else.
There are four steps: apply in the state or territory you were born in (or, if you were born overseas, where you have lived recently - usually 12 months, or 3 consecutive years in NSW); provide your identity documents, including at least one with a photo; pay the fee and lodge the application; then receive your change of name certificate. Once it is issued, you use it to update every organisation, which is the part Surname Switch handles for you.
A formal change of name costs roughly 130 to 220 AUD, depending on your state or territory, paid directly to the registry. As a guide, it is around 190 AUD in NSW, 155 AUD in Victoria and 220 AUD in Queensland. Always check your state Births, Deaths and Marriages website for the current fee.
Once you lodge a complete application, most registries issue the change of name certificate within a few weeks, and several offer a faster priority service for an extra fee. Updating everyone else afterwards is the longer part, which is why having every message drafted and the order mapped out saves the most time.
Yes. A formal change of name lets you change any part of your name, including your first name, middle names and surname, or replace the whole name. The same single change of name certificate then serves as proof for all of it.
In most states you can register a change of name once every 12 months and up to three times in your lifetime, with some exceptions. Your state registry's website confirms the exact rule.
Registries can refuse names that are obscene or offensive, impractical (such as ones with symbols or numbers), or that could be used to mislead, for example a name implying a rank or title. Ordinary new names are fine.
Yes, a child's name is changed through the same Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, but it generally needs the consent of both parents or people with parental responsibility, or a court order if there is no agreement. The exact rules vary by state.
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