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Student Name Change Policy

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Section 1 - Purpose and Scope

(1) The purpose of this Policy is to enable students or past students of the University to change their name on official University documentation, while protecting the integrity of qualifications issued by the University.
(2) This policy applies to all current and former students of the University and its predecessor institutions.
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Section 2 - Definitions

(3) Approved Documents - takes the meaning given at clause (9), (10) and (12).
(4) Full Name - the student's legal name consisting of any first given name, all other given names and their family name, in that order. Where a student's Full Name consists of a single name, it will be recorded as their family name.
(5) Preferred Name - the given name by which the student is known in everyday life - for example 'Nicole' may be presented as 'Nicky' under the preferred name record.
(6) Formal Name - the student's Full Name will be recorded as the student's formal name. To better reflect cultural or individual requirements, the student may request certain changes to their Formal Name, limited to those variations detailed in clause (27).
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Section 3 - Policy Statement

(7) The University's student management system is the authoritative record of all student names. Students and past students of the University may only obtain a change to their Full Name as recorded within the University's Student Management System upon presentation of:
  1. an Approved Document verifying their Full Name and date of birth; and
  2. any forms or supplementary documentation as required by the Director of Student Services at his or her discretion.
(8) The Director of Student Services (or delegate) is authorised to approve student name changes in accordance with this Policy.

Approved Documents

(9) Subject to clauses (12) and (13), students who are Australian citizens may use any one of the following documents to verify their Full Name with the University:
  1. full Australian birth certificate (an extract is not acceptable);
  2. Australian passport (current);
  3. Australian citizenship certificate;
  4. a Change of Name Certificate certified by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Australian State or Territory);
  5. a Marriage Certificate issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Australian State or Territory); or
  6. Deed Poll registered with the relevant Australian authority.
(10) Students who are not Australian citizens must, in the first instance, use their current passport to verify their Full Name and Date of Birth with the University. Where the student is residing offshore and they do not possess a current passport from their country of citizenship, that student may instead use their Government issued national identity papers to verify their Full Name and Date of Birth .

Wholly New Name

(11) If a domestic student or past domestic student is assuming a wholly new name, it must be evidenced by a Change of Name Certificate issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Australian State or Territory).

Certified Copies of Documents

(12) All documents used to verify a Full Name must either be original documents or scanned certified copies of the original documents.
(13) Documents received through the mail will not be returned to students as per clause (24).

Replacement Testamurs and Other Documents

(14) Students and past students who possess a University issued Testamur, Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS), Student ID Card or Academic Transcript in their former name may obtain replacement documents in their new name, subject to:
  1. meeting the requirements of this policy; and
  2. payment of any applicable replacement fees.
(15) The Testamur issued in the student's former name must be surrendered in order to receive a replacement Testamur. In cases where the original Testamur is lost, stolen or destroyed, the student must provide a signed statutory declaration attesting to that loss.
(16) In cases where, regardless of reason, the original Testamur is not surrendered, the issuance of a replacement Testamur must be reported to the University Council.
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Section 4 - Procedures

Creating Student Name Records

(17) Students must provide their Full Name on their application for admission to the University.
(18) Student records created from an external source such as a Tertiary Admission Centre will override existing Full Names recorded for an existing or past student.
(19) The student's Full Name on student records consolidated as a result of duplicate or additional applications will use the most recent Full Name provided by the student.

Displaying Student Names

(20) The student's Full Name will appear on the following official University documentation:
  1. Student Commonwealth Assistance Notices;
  2. Student invoice and associated billing materials; and
  3. Student ID Card.
(21) The student's Formal Name will appear on the following official University documentation:
  1. Student Academic Transcript;
  2. Student Testamur; and
  3. Student AHEGS.
(22) The student's Preferred Name will be displayed in brackets in staff and student online systems. A student may request that a Preferred Name be added, removed or changed without the need to provide supporting documentation.
(23) All student names will be recorded in English. Names which, when written in their native language are not written using the English alphabet, will be recorded using the English translation. Diacritical marks and other accents will be recorded only where it is technically possible to do so and may be limited to the student Testamur.

Return of Approved Documents

(24) The University will not return any identification documents received through the mail from students or past students requesting a change of name, however, where the name change request is made in-person at any of the University's campuses, the original document will be sighted by an authorised officer of the University, copied and returned to the student.

Change of Name

Marriage and Divorce - Domestic Students

(25) Where a change of family name resulting from the marriage of a domestic student is proven by presenting a standard marriage certificate issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Australian State or Territory), it is permissible for the married family name to be recorded as:
  1. the family name of the student's spouse; or
  2. a combination of the two family names listed on the marriage certificate with or without hyphens.
(26) A domestic student who wishes to revert to their former name as the result of a divorce may use an approved document as described in clause 9 to verify their full name without the need to present a decree nisi.

Varying Formal Names

(27) The student's Formal Name will be recorded as their Full Name unless the student specifies a different Formal Name that conforms with an allowable Full Name variation as detailed below:
  1. a student or past student may not omit a given name from their Formal Name, however, they may choose to substitute any given name with the initial of that name provided that at least one given name is recorded in full. A family name must be recorded in full, it cannot be recorded by initial only;
  2. a student or past student may not substitute a short form of a given name or use their recorded preferred name in their formal name;
  3. a student or past student from a culture where the family name precedes the given names may choose to have their Formal Name recorded with the family name first or last;
  4. a suffix which forms part of a student or past student's name and distinguishes the person's name from the same name used by their father/mother or serves some similar purpose may be recorded as part of the student's Formal Name;
(28) Where it is not been technically possible to record an accent or other diacritical mark as part of a student Full Name, it may be added to the student's Testamur on presentation of an Approved Document as outlined in clauses (9), (10) and (12) evidencing its validity.
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Section 5 - Guidelines

(29) Nil.