Guidance

Australia: Knowledge Base profile

Published 16 April 2024

Version 4.0

About: Australia

This document contains useful information about Australia which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 4.0
• published for Home Office staff on 12 April 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Australia: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Australia.

Australia’s naming convention depends on the individual’s ancestral background.

For people from:

• a western culture a name consists of:
  • 1 or more forenames
  • a surname (either the mother or father’s or both combined to make a double barrelled surname)
• a non-western Australian culture a name may be:
  • a single word name (for example, in some Indonesian and indigenous cultures)
  • a number of words with no family name (for example, some Burmese cultures)
  • combinations of the family name and other family identifiers

In Victoria, the Registrar can refuse to register a prohibited name. This includes (but is not restricted to) a name which:

• is obscene or offensive
• cannot be established by repute or usage
• is too long
• contains symbols without phonetic significance, such as an exclamation or question mark, or
• for any other reason
• is contrary to public interest
• contains an official title or rank recognised in Australia such as King, Lady, Father, Sir or Admiral

Change of name

The majority of states in Australia allow adult name changes as long as the person:

• has their birth registered in the state; or
• is a permanent resident of that state

The only exception to this is the state of New South Wales. In New South Wales, the following people are restricted from changing their name:

• an inmate
• a person on remand
• a parolee
• a periodic detainee
• a person who is subject to a supervision order
• a forensic patient and a correction patient

Where name changes are allowed, they may be:

• to Anglicise a name
• due to an adoption order changing a child’s name
• due to using the spouse’s surname or to combine the two surnames (with or without a hyphen) following marriage
• to revert to the surname recorded on the birth certificate
• where a protection order has been made to protect the individual from domestic violence

Australian name changes are registered. Where a name change is recorded on the birth certificate, this can be accepted.

Name alignment

A person can apply to change the details on the Australia passport using identity documents issued in the UK.

Australia does not issue post-dated passports but will issue a travel document in the new name if the holder has more than 2 years remaining on their passport. This new passport will be issued with the same expiry date as the passport being replaced.

Australia: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Australia.

Since 4 April 2002, Australia recognises dual nationality.

Until 4 April 2002, any Australian citizen over the age of 18, who voluntarily took up a second citizenship, automatically lost their Australian citizenship.

Non-Australian nationals who took up Australian citizenship kept their original nationality (if allowed by their country of origin), making them dual nationals.

Australia: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Australia.

Legitimacy

Australia recognises a difference between illegitimate and legitimate births.

A child will be considered legitimate:

• if their parents were married at the time of the birth
• from the time of the marriage if the parents marry after the birth:
  • but married before 26 April 1985; and,
  • the father was domiciled in Australia at the time of the marriage
• from the time of the marriage if the parents marry after the birth:
  • and marry on or after 26 April 1985; and,
  • either parent was domiciled in Australia at the time of the marriage

A child will be considered illegitimate if their parents never marry.

Parental responsibility

Under Australian law, both parents hold parental responsibility for a child. The definition of a parent can vary in some states. If the parents separate, this does not affect parental responsibility.

Australian state	Definition of parent
New South Wales	A parent, in relation to a child, includes: - a parent of the child (unless it has been removed by court) - a guardian of the child - a person who has custody of a child - a person who has the care of the child - the Minister or the Director General, if the child is in social care alongside the person who cared for them previously
South Australia	A parent, in relation to a child, includes: - a parent or stepparent of the child - a person (other than the Minister) who is the legal guardian of the child - a person (other than the Minister) who has legal custody of the child - any other person who stands in loco parentis to the child and has done so for a significant length of time
Tasmania	A parent, in relation to a child, includes: - a parent or stepparent of the child - a person (other than the Secretary) who is the legal guardian of the child - a person (other than the Secretary) who has legal custody of the child - any other person (other than the Secretary) who generally acts in place of a parent to the child and has done so for a significant length of time
Victoria	A parent, in relation to a child, includes: - a parent of the child - the spouse of a parent of the child - the domestic partner of a parent of the child - a person who has custody (including the Secretary) of the child - a person named as the father in the register of births - a person who legally acknowledges that he is the father - a person named as a parent by a court declaration

Australia: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Australia.

Adoption is legal in Australia.

Australia: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Australia.

Altruistic surrogacy is legal in Australia, commercial surrogacy is illegal.

Australia: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Australia.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Australia.

Passports may be issued with the marker:

• M (male)
• F (female)
• X (indeterminate/unspecified/intersex)

Australia: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Australia.

Civil partnerships are legal in Australia where they are referred to as de facto relationships. Same sex marriage in Australia is legal since 9 December 2017.

Australia: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents from Australia.

All birth, marriage and death records are held in a central register.

Birth certificates

All births must be registered with the Australian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, within 60 days of the birth by either parent. Late registrations are allowed. A birth registration statement is provided by the hospital.

There are 4 types of birth certificate in Australia:

• full birth certificate, acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes
• extract birth certificate, not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes
• commemorative certificate, not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes
• birth cards, not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes

New South Wales Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages stopped producing the birth card on 1 August 2008.

Amendments may be made to birth certificates and the birth register, to:

• add information that was not known at the time of registration
• modify information that was incorrectly supplied or omitted

Marriage certificates

Marriages must be registered within 14 days and a marriage certificate issued.

There are 3 types of marriage certificate in Australia:

• standard marriage certificate, contains all details of the marriage party, acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes
• extract of marriage, contains names, date and place of marriage only, not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes
• celebrant or commemorative certificates, not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes

Death certificates

All deaths must be registered with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages within 7 days of the date of death.

Death certificates are issued to family members. Certificates can be issued to third parties but only with supporting authority.

There are 3 types of death certificate in Australia:

• standard (or full) death certificate, acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes
• abridged death certificate (does not contain the cause of death, marriage details, parents or children’s details), not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes
• interim death certificate, only available while the Coroner is still investigating the cause of death, not acceptable for HM Passport Office purposes

Identity documents

Australia Passports may be issued with the marker:

• M (male)
• F (female)
• X (indeterminate/unspecified/intersex)