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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Registration Amendment (Change of
Name) Bill 2009
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
Schedule 1 Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration
Act 1995 No 62 3
Schedule 2 Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration
Regulation 2006 8
b2009-104-06.d11
New South Wales
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Registration Amendment (Change of
Name) Bill 2009
No , 2009
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 to make
further provision with respect to registration of a change of name; and for other
purposes.
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of Name)
Clause 1 Bill 2009
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment 3
(Change of Name) Act 2009. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on the date of assent. 6
Page 2
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of Name)
Bill 2009
Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 No 62 Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendment of Births, Deaths and 1
Marriages Registration Act 1995 No 62 2
[1] Section 27 3
Omit the section. Insert instead: 4
27 Application to register change of adult's name 5
An adult person may apply to the Registrar, in a form approved 6
by the Registrar, for registration of a change of the person's name 7
if: 8
(a) the person's birth is registered in the State, or 9
(b) the person was born outside Australia, the person's birth is 10
not registered in Australia and the person has been resident 11
in the State for at least 3 consecutive years immediately 12
preceding the date of the application. 13
[2] Section 28 Application to register change of child's name 14
Omit section 28 (1)(2A). Insert instead: 15
(1) The parents of a child may apply to the Registrar, in a form 16
approved by the Registrar, for registration of a change of the 17
child's name if: 18
(a) the child's birth is registered in the State, or 19
(b) the child was born outside Australia, the child's birth is not 20
registered in Australia and the child has been resident in 21
the State for at least 3 consecutive years immediately 22
preceding the date of the application. 23
(2) If the parents of the child are dead, cannot be found or for some 24
other reason cannot exercise their parental responsibilities in 25
relation to the child, the application may be made by a person to 26
whom a court within Australia has allocated: 27
(a) parental responsibility for the child, or 28
(b) specific aspects of parental responsibility for the child so 29
long as the making of the application is not outside the 30
scope of the aspects allocated. 31
(2A) If there is more than one such person referred to in subsection (2), 32
the application may be made only as a joint application of those 33
persons. 34
Page 3
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of Name)
Bill 2009
Schedule 1 Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 No 62
[3] Sections 29A29C 1
Insert after section 29: 2
29A Requirement to disclose criminal record 3
(1) The form approved by the Registrar for an application for 4
registration of a change of an adult's name is to include a 5
requirement to the effect that the applicant disclose whether he or 6
she has been convicted of a relevant offence. 7
(2) The form approved by the Registrar for an application for 8
registration of a change of a child's name is to include a 9
requirement to the effect that the applicant disclose whether the 10
child has been convicted of a relevant offence. 11
(3) An offence against section 57 in relation to a false or misleading 12
disclosure referred to in this section in an application for 13
registration of a change of name is in addition to an offence 14
against that section for any other false or misleading 15
representation made in the same application. 16
(4) In this section: 17
conviction for an offence: 18
(a) includes the making of an order under section 10 of the 19
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, and 20
(b) does not include a spent conviction within the meaning of 21
Part 2 of the Criminal Records Act 1991 or a conviction 22
that is taken to be quashed within the meaning of Part 4 of 23
that Act. 24
relevant offence means: 25
(a) an offence in New South Wales that is punishable by 26
imprisonment for 12 months or more, or 27
(b) an offence in a jurisdiction other than New South Wales 28
that, if committed in New South Wales, would be an 29
offence so punishable. 30
Note. The provision of false or misleading information in an application 31
for registration of a change of name in relation to disclosure of 32
convictions for relevant offences constitutes an offence against 33
section 57 with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units or 2 years 34
imprisonment or both. 35
Page 4
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of Name)
Bill 2009
Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 No 62 Schedule 1
29B Restrictions on number of changes of name that may be registered 1
The Registrar is not to register a change of name of a person on 2
application made under this Act if the Registrar is aware that: 3
(a) a change of the person's name has been registered 4
(whether in this State or in another State) within the period 5
of 12 months immediately preceding the date of the 6
application, or 7
(b) 3 or more changes of the person's name have been 8
registered (whether in this State or in another State). 9
29C Exceptions to certain change of name restrictions 10
(1) The Registrar may register a change of name of a person despite 11
any restriction imposed by section 27 (a) or 28 (1) (a) that the 12
person's birth must be registered in the State if satisfied that an 13
order has been made (whether in the State or elsewhere) for the 14
protection of the person or the person's children from domestic 15
violence. 16
(2) The Registrar may register a change of name of a person despite 17
any restriction imposed by section 27 (b) or 28 (1) (b) as to the 18
period for which the person must be resident in the State, or any 19
restriction imposed by section 29B, if: 20
(a) the Registrar is satisfied that the reason for the proposed 21
change of name warrants the registration of the change of 22
name, or 23
(b) without limiting paragraph (a), the Registrar is satisfied 24
that the proposed change of name is sought for the 25
protection of the person, the person's children or anyone 26
else associated with the person, or 27
(c) the proposed change of name is because of the marriage of 28
the person, or 29
(d) the District Court has approved the proposed change of 30
name on application under section 28 (4). 31
(3) Nothing in this Part limits or affects: 32
(a) any power that a court has under another Act or law 33
(whether of this State, another State, the Commonwealth 34
or New Zealand) to order that a change of name is to be 35
registered or the ability of the Registrar to comply with 36
such an order, or 37
(b) the operation of the Adoption Act 2000, the Law 38
Enforcement and National Security (Assumed Identities) 39
Act 1998 or the Witness Protection Act 1995. 40
Page 5
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of Name)
Bill 2009
Schedule 1 Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 No 62
[4] Section 30 Registration of change of name 1
Insert at the end of section 30 (1) (c): 2
, and 3
(d) the reasons for making the application for registration of 4
the change of name if the registration of the change would 5
require the Registrar to exercise his or her discretion under 6
section 29C. 7
[5] Section 46A 8
Insert after section 46: 9
46A Access to change of name information by law enforcement 10
agencies 11
(1) The Registrar may allow access by officers of a law enforcement 12
agency to entries in the Register regarding changes of names, but 13
only in accordance with a memorandum of understanding entered 14
into by the Registrar with the head of the agency. 15
(2) The Registrar must not enter into a memorandum of 16
understanding unless satisfied that the terms of the 17
memorandum, as far as practicable, protect the persons to whom 18
the entries in the Register relate from unjustified intrusion on 19
their privacy. 20
(3) A memorandum of understanding entered into for the purposes of 21
this section may be amended, revoked or replaced from time to 22
time. 23
(4) The functions of the Registrar and of each law enforcement 24
agency must as far as practicable be exercised in conformity with 25
a memorandum of understanding entered into by them under this 26
section. However, a failure to comply with this subsection does 27
not itself invalidate anything done or omitted to be done by the 28
Registrar or the law enforcement agency. 29
(5) In this section, law enforcement agency means: 30
(a) the NSW Police Force, or 31
(b) the New South Wales Crime Commission, or 32
(c) the police force of another State or the Commonwealth, or 33
(d) any other law enforcement or investigative agency of the 34
government of New South Wales or the government of 35
another State or the Commonwealth prescribed by the 36
regulations. 37
Page 6
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of Name)
Bill 2009
Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 No 62 Schedule 1
[6] Schedule 3 Savings, transitional and other provisions 1
Insert at the end of clause 1 (1): 2
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change 3
of Name) Act 2009 4
[7] Schedule 3, Part 6 5
Insert after Part 5: 6
Part 6 Provisions consequent on enactment of 7
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration 8
Amendment (Change of Name) Act 2009 9
20 Pending applications 10
An amendment made to this Act by the Births, Deaths and 11
Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of Name) Act 2009 12
does not apply to, or affect the determination of, an application 13
under this Act for registration of a change of name if the 14
application was made before the commencement of the 15
amendment but was not finally determined before that 16
commencement. 17
21 Memorandum of understanding 18
The memorandum of understanding entered into for the purposes 19
of clause 8 (2) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration 20
Regulation 2006 (as in force before its repeal by the Births, 21
Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of 22
Name) Act 2009) is taken to have been entered into for the 23
purposes of section 46A and may be amended, revoked or 24
replaced accordingly. 25
Page 7
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Change of Name)
Bill 2009
Schedule 2 Amendment of Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Regulation 2006
Schedule 2 Amendment of Births, Deaths and 1
Marriages Registration Regulation 2006 2
Clause 8 Registration of change of name 3
Omit clause 8 (2) and (3). 4
Page 8
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