NSW Name Change - Can Child Use My Surname?

[nameQ]

Hello, my daughter uses her first name and my surname. Her birth certificate shows her father's surname.
Is she able to use her first name and her 'known as' surname at school and socially?
When does an assumed name become legal - can it become her legal name?

Her father won't let me change her name legally although he doesn't want anything to do with her.
Please would you let me know any legal implications of the 'known as' name change?

thank you

 

[hlly]

There's nothing stopping your daughter from using her preferred name in day-to-day life. Her school will presumably comply with this. However an assumed name will never become her legal one unless her name is formally changed. If she is very keen to change her name and the father refuses to comply, even after discussion and mediation, court orders can be sought to have her name changed anyway. But it may just be easier to wait until she is 18.

 

[Ivy]

Hi there,

She will have to use her legal surname on any legal documents, however she can use her preferred last name in most other contexts including at school. I agree with the comment above that is probably easiest (and cheapest!) for her to wait until she is 18 and then she can apply to the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to change her surname (assuming she was born in NSW).

 

[nameQ]

Thank you for your comments & advice.

 

[Tim W]

Hi there,

She will have to use her legal surname on any legal documents, however she can use her preferred last name in most other contexts including at school. I agree with the comment above that is probably easiest (and cheapest!) for her to wait until she is 18 and then she can apply to the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to change her surname (assuming she was born in NSW).

I agree broadly with this post.
That said, you may find that schools will be blindly bureaucratic when it comes to surnames.
It can also make life difficult when dealing with Centrelink, and even things like Student Transport Concessions....
anywhere where proving identity will be required.

You may care to contact BDM directly for advice about how they deal with non-consenting non-custodial parents.

 

[nameQ]

Thanks Tim W, I'll call the BDM and find out