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Change your name or sex as a young person

If you’re under 18 you can change your given names and/or sex.

This includes if your parents don’t support your decision.

You can apply if you were born in the ACT or can prove you’ve been living here for more than 3 months.

Acceptable changes

The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1997 only allows people aged under 18 to change their first and middle names - your ‘given names’.

You can change your surname when you turn 18, or beforehand if a parent does it for you.

Read about changing surnames.

Changing anything to do with your identity is a big and often difficult decision to make.

You can nominate your own sex or gender. Access Canberra accepts a wide range of sex descriptors to reflect individual identities.

If you're under 18 and seeking to change your given name and/or sex, there’s no fee for the application.

Certificates

If you were born in the ACT, you will receive a new birth certificate when you register a change of name and or change of sex.

If you were born outside of the ACT, you will receive a change of name certificate and a recognised details certificate showing your change of sex.

If you change your sex, you can choose whether your birth certificate shows:

  • Your sex before and after the change
  • Your sex after the change only
  • No sex identifier

Following the registration of a change of name, your birth certificate will include former given name details. These details can be removed in certain circumstances to protect your privacy. Please contact bdm@act.gov.au for further information.

Read about what information is shown on birth certificates.

Read about recognised details certificates.

Proof of your identity

To apply you’ll need to prove your identity and residency.

If you were born in the ACT you’ll need both:

  • your ACT birth certificate
  • an ID with a photo of you, for example a student card, passport, or driver licence.

If you weren’t born in the ACT you’ll need to provide your birth certificate, proof of ACT residency and at least one of these:

  • a passport
  • a visa document
  • a learner or provisional driver licence
  • a Medicare card
  • a student card or proof of school enrolment
  • an Australian Taxation Office or bank statement.

Access Canberra understands you may not have the same sorts of identity or proof of ACT residency documents as an adult.

If you’re unsure if you have enough identity documents to support your application, call Access Canberra on 13 22 81 and ask to speak to a Births, deaths and marriages team member.

People aged 14 to 17

You can apply on your own if you’re aged 14 to 17.

To apply, you can:

Change given name / sex online

Or complete:

Submit the form:

What you'll need

You'll need to provide:

  1. Your proof of identity
  2. Proof of your ACT residency if you were born outside of the ACT.

People aged 12 or 13

If you’re aged 12 or 13 you can apply if you have consent from both parents, or:

  • from one parent if it’s not possible or reasonable to get consent from the other, for example, where the other parent has passed away.
  • if you don’t have consent from your parents, permission to apply from the ACT Civil & Administrative Tribunal (ACAT). Read about the process on the ACAT website.

To apply, you can:

Change given name / sex online

Or complete:

Submit the form:

What you'll need

You'll need to provide:

  1. Have your parent/parents/guardians declare the consent on the form.
  2. If you don’t have parental consent, provide the ACAT order giving permission
  3. Provide your proof of identity
  4. Provide proof of your ACT residency if born outside the ACT.

People younger than 12

Children aged under 12 can change their name or sex if they have support from one parent and permission from ACAT.

Find out more on the ACAT website.