Frequently asked questions
Common questions about changing your name and gender marker in Australia. Each answer links to the official source.
General information, not legal advice. Rules, fees and processing times change. Always check the official page. If your situation is complicated, a community legal centre can help. See community resources.
How much does it cost?
Fees are different in each state and territory, they can change, and there are different fees for registering a change and for each certificate. So we don’t list amounts. Use the official fee pages:
- BDM Victoria’s fee page lists no fee for altering a record of sex, and says this includes the legal birth certificate (or recognised details certificate if you were born outside Victoria). BDM Victoria: Fees.
- From 1 July 2026, the ACT Government removed fees for updating your registered sex, and waives fees for changing your name or other details for gender affirmation. Access Canberra: forms and fees.
- Updating your details with Medicare, Centrelink, the ATO and the AEC is done through those agencies. See the paperwork helper.
Last checked 14 Nov 2026.
How long does it take?
We only list times that an official page gives. Check each page for when the time starts. Postage time is usually extra.
- NSW: change of name, online, standard service: up to 5 weeks, and security checks can take up to 10 business days before processing starts. Change of sex, online: up to 4 weeks; by post: up to 7 weeks. NSW BDM: Fees and processing times.
- Victoria: change of name, and change of record of sex (adult born in Victoria): up to 42 days (6 weeks). BDM Victoria: Change your name · Change your record of sex.
- Queensland: change of name, and change of record of sex: standard applications up to 10 business days. qld.gov.au: Change your name · Change your record of sex.
- Tasmania: gender registration: approximately 2 weeks. Tasmanian BDM: Gender registration.
- SA: Consumer and Business Services has a processing times checker. It says processing is currently taking longer than usual.
- WA, ACT and NT: the official pages we checked don’t give a processing time. Contact the registry if you need to know.
- Child passports: allow at least 6 weeks. Australian Passport Office: Child passport.
Last checked 14 Nov 2026.
Do I need surgery or a doctor’s letter?
- NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT: the official pages for adults don’t require surgery or a doctor’s or psychologist’s letter. NSW says a medical procedure is no longer required from 1 July 2025, and BDM Victoria says “You don’t need to have surgery.”
- WA, SA and the NT: you need a statement from a doctor or psychologist about clinical treatment (in the NT, or evidence that you’re intersex). The official pages don’t say surgery is required.
- Passport: you can use an updated registry document, or a statement from a registered doctor or psychologist.
The details and sources are in each state and territory guide. Rules for under 18s are on the under-18 page.
Do I have to change my name legally to use it?
Not always. The WA Government says there’s no legal requirement to formally change your name if you are using, or want to use, a name other than your registered name. It also recommends changing your name officially, for identification and as evidence of the change. Many organisations will still ask for a change of name certificate before they update their records. This WA statement may not apply in other states and territories.
Source: WA Government: Changing your name. Last checked 14 Nov 2026.
Some services let you set a preferred name. For example, Centrelink lets you update your preferred name online in myGov if your account is linked (Services Australia). Our letter templates include a version asking an organisation to use your name where it can.
I was born overseas. What can I do?
An Australian registry can’t change a birth certificate issued in another country. But if you live here, many states and territories offer their own documents. Rules depend on where you live:
- NSW: adults born overseas can apply for a recognised details certificate. You need proof of Australian citizenship or permanent residency and at least 12 months’ continuous residency in NSW. NSW: Change of sex.
- Victoria: if you were born outside Victoria and live there, you can apply for a recognised details certificate. BDM Victoria.
- Queensland: you can apply to change your name or record of sex if you were born overseas and have lived in Queensland for the past 12 months. qld.gov.au.
- WA: if you were born outside Australia and have lived in WA for at least 12 months, you can apply for an acknowledgement document. WA Government.
- SA: if you were born overseas, have lived in SA for at least 12 consecutive months and your birth isn’t registered in another state or territory, you can apply for an identity acknowledgement certificate. SA application form (PDF).
- ACT: people born elsewhere who live in the ACT get a recognised details certificate. Access Canberra.
- Tasmania: the Act only lets you register your gender if your birth is registered in Tasmania. If you were born overseas, check with Tasmanian Births, Deaths and Marriages. Tasmanian law does recognise gender recognition certificates from other states and territories. Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1999 (sections 28A and 28E).
- NT: the NT page says adults applying must have been born in the NT. It doesn’t list an option for people born overseas. NT.GOV.AU.
- Passport: the Passport Office accepts a recognised details certificate, among other documents, to change the sex on your passport. Australian Passport Office.
Last checked 14 Nov 2026.
Will my old details still show anywhere?
- Victoria: your new birth certificate shows your current name and affirmed sex, with no history of changes. BDM Victoria also emails a letter of verification that links your previous details, which some organisations may ask for. BDM Victoria.
- WA: the new certificate won’t show your previous sex or gender history unless you specifically ask for a certificate with it. WA Government.
- Tasmania: you can choose whether your gender, and your gender history, are shown on your birth certificate. Tasmanian BDM.
- Queensland: you can choose a certificate that shows your sex, a linking certificate, or a certificate without sex. Queensland notes a certificate without sex may not be suitable for changing your ID. qld.gov.au.
- NT: your old birth certificate is cancelled when you change your sex or gender. The NT page says: “It is an offence to produce a birth certificate that shows your previous sex or gender.” NT.GOV.AU.
- Limits: most registries limit how often you can change your name, for example once in 12 months and 3 times in your lifetime in NSW and Victoria. See each state guide.
- Other organisations: each one decides what it keeps. You can ask them to stop using your previous details. See Your rights: privacy.
Last checked 14 Nov 2026.
What if my application is rejected?
- Ask why. Ask the registry for the reasons in writing, and what you could provide to fix it.
- Ask for a review. For example, BDM Victoria says you can ask the Registrar to review their decision, escalate to the Victorian Ombudsman, or ask the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to review it. VCAT says you must apply within 28 days of the decision (or of getting a statement of reasons).
Sources: BDM Victoria: Feedback, complaints and review of decisions · VCAT: BDM Registration Act review. Last checked 14 Nov 2026.
- Other states and territories also let you ask a tribunal to review a registry decision. Time limits apply in most places, so check your decision letter and act quickly.
- NSW: NCAT reviews government agency decisions. It says you generally ask the agency for an internal review within 28 days first, then apply to NCAT within 28 days of the internal review decision. NCAT: Reviews of government agency decisions.
- Queensland: you can apply to QCAT to review a registrar’s decision. Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2023 (Qld), section 124.
- WA: the State Administrative Tribunal can review the Registrar’s decisions. SAT: Births, Deaths and Marriages.
- SA: SACAT can review the Registrar’s decisions, and says there’s no time limit for this. SACAT: Births, Deaths and Marriages.
- Tasmania: TASCAT can review the Registrar’s decisions (section 53 of the Act), using its General Review Form. TASCAT: Types of applications.
- ACT: ACAT can review the decisions listed in the Act (section 55 and schedule 1). ACT Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1997.
- NT: NTCAT can review the Registrar’s decisions (section 48 of the Act). Guide to NTCAT jurisdictions (PDF).
Last checked 14 Nov 2026.
- Get free legal help. Community legal centres, such as those on our community resources page, can help.
- If you were treated unfairly, see Your rights.
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