The one when you change your name after marriage...
Getting married gives you the opportunity to take a new name for yourself if you don’t want to keep your birth name. I’ve noticed that a lot of women are still choosing to take the name of their husband but some couples are challenging tradition and I’ve met a few men who’ve changed their name instead.
One of the many gifts that marriage equality has given us, is the opportunity for other name change options to become more mainstream – such as choosing to go hyphenated, double-barrelled or even creating a new mash-up name! You should know that creating a whole new name is a more complex process than just changing your name to that of your new spouse. It requires you to legally change your name via the Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages of the state you were born in.
If you are taking your partner’s name after marriage, you can start using your new name immediately without officially change it on any documentation. This is called name by association and is a legal option. This is what I did back in 2006 because I was living overseas when we got married and honestly, it was all just too hard basket! My students started calling me Ms Green and I switched to Rachel Green on Facebook (it was 2006!) but for everything else I was still my birth name. In fact, I only got around to changing my passport last year!
There are some countries around the world (Denmark, for example) that enjoy the benefits of a streamlined social system but alas, Australia is not one of them. This means that changing your name will be a process of going to each individual entity, presenting your official marriage certificate (the one BDM sends you in the mail NOT the pretty one I give you on the day) and some form of ID and officially changing your name with each one.
In my experience, changing your name with the less important entities can be a gradual process as each document or membership naturally comes up for renewal. But I know that a lot of people are eager to get organized more quickly and you have two options – do it yourself or purchase a name change kit from a company such as Easy Name Change
If DIY is your style, here’s a basic list of the places you may want to notify of your name change:
Driver’s Licence
Passport
Australian Electoral Enrolment
Utilities and phone
Medicare Card
ATO
Centrelink
Banks
Employer/Payroll
Doctor
Memberships (union, gym etc)
Insurance companies
I recommend calling ahead (or googling ) to find out if additional documents are needed and/or exactly which form of ID is acceptable before going in because each place can have different requirements.
Did you know?
If you change your name after marriage, you can revert back to your birth name at any time, regardless of your marital status (ie. you realise you like your old name better).
If you change your name on your passport after marriage, you may be entitled to a free replacement passport.
PS. While we’re on the subject of getting married and changing your name, can I encourage everyone to consider only using the prefix “Ms” please? Gender equality is not a battle we’ve won and this is just one small way we can affect big change in our society.