How to Change Your Name or Gender on an Australian Passport

Do you change the existing passport or apply for another one?

The Australian Passport Office does not simply edit the name or gender printed in your existing passport. You need to apply for a replacement or new passport and provide evidence supporting the change.

If your current passport has more than 2 years validity remaining, you may be eligible for a replacement passport. A replacement keeps the same expiry date as the passport it replaces. If your passport has less than 2 years validity remaining, you need to apply for a new passport instead.

If you change your family name because of a change in marital status, the Australian Passport Office says you can choose to get a new passport or continue using your current passport. It recommends booking travel in the name shown in your passport. If you change your name for other reasons, you should stop using your current passport and apply for one in your new name.

You cannot have concurrent Australian passports in different names. If you hold two or more concurrent passports and change your name in one, the Passport Office requires you to change all of them at the same time.

What documents do you need for an Australian passport name change?

The name in an Australian passport will generally be your most recent name registered in Australia. To obtain a passport in a new name, you need evidence of Australian citizenship and identity plus documents that link your new name to your old name. The exact documents depend on why your name changed.

Changing your name after marriage or another marital status change

If you take your spouse or partner's family name, or add it to your family name, you can generally establish the link by showing your Australian birth certificate or Australian citizenship certificate in your previous name together with one of the accepted relationship or name documents.

The Australian Passport Office accepts an Australian RBDM marriage certificate, registered relationship certificate or Australian RBDM name change certificate for this purpose. If an amended Australian birth certificate or Australian citizenship certificate already shows your family-name change, a separate marriage, registered relationship or name change certificate is not required.

An Australian RBDM name change certificate is required in certain circumstances, including when you changed your given name, entered or left a de facto relationship, were born in Australia and married or entered a registered relationship overseas, or formally registered a name change in Australia after marriage or a registered relationship and are now reverting to a name you previously used.

Changing your name because of gender transition

If you changed any part of your name because of a gender transition, you generally need a name change certificate issued by an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. You do not need that separate certificate if your new name is already shown on a re-issued Australian birth certificate or Australian citizenship certificate.

There is a limited overseas exception where a person was born and lives overseas, changed their name overseas and does not meet Australian residency requirements to register the new name in Australia. The foreign name change must have occurred after the person became an Australian citizen, and the foreign certificate must meet the Passport Office requirements.

Changing your name for personal preference

If you changed your name for personal preference, you generally need an Australian RBDM name change certificate unless the new name is already shown on a re-issued Australian birth certificate or Australian citizenship certificate, or the limited overseas exception applies.

If you have a current passport, you can choose a replacement passport for a personal-preference name change, but the relevant replacement fee applies.

Do you need to change your citizenship certificate first?

Not in every case. The Passport Office can use different documents to establish your Australian citizenship, identity and the link between your old and new names. An Australian citizenship certificate showing your previous name can, where applicable, be linked to your new name using accepted marriage, registered relationship or RBDM name change documents.

If you were born overseas and need proof of Australian citizenship for a new passport application, the Passport Office generally requires your original Australian citizenship certificate. If you cannot provide one, the Department of Home Affairs can issue evidence of citizenship. For the separate process, see how to get or replace an Australian citizenship certificate.

What do you need to change gender on an Australian passport?

The Australian Passport Office records your preferred gender in the passport's Sex field. The available markers are M, F and X, with X used for non-binary, indeterminate, intersex, unspecified or other.

To receive a passport in your preferred gender, provide one of the following accepted documents:

• a gender recognition certificate issued by an Australian RBDM
• a revised RBDM birth certificate showing your new gender
• an RBDM recognised details certificate
• an identity acknowledgment certificate issued by the South Australian RBDM
• a statement from a registered medical practitioner or psychologist on Form B14 confirming your gender

If you also changed your name, you need the relevant name-change evidence.

The Passport Office's published evidence requirements do not require surgery as a condition for changing the gender shown in an Australian passport.

Can you renew a passport when changing gender?

If you apply for a passport in a gender different from your previous Australian passport, you are not eligible for standard renewal. If your current passport expires more than 2 years from now, you may instead qualify for a replacement passport and may be eligible to have its application fee waived.

When can the replacement passport fee be waived?

The 2026 replacement passport application fee is AUD $265. However, the Australian Passport Office may waive the replacement application fee when you meet its requirements and:

• you changed your family name because of a change in marital status, including marriage, divorce, entering or leaving a registered or de facto relationship, or the death of a spouse
• you changed or are transitioning to another gender
• you changed your name because of a change in gender

For these circumstances, you generally need a current Australian passport that expires more than 2 years from now and evidence supporting the reason for the change.

Fee waiver after marriage, divorce or relationship changes

Evidence supporting an eligible family-name change can include a marriage or registered relationship certificate, a finalised divorce order or certificate of divorce, a revocation of registered relationship certificate, or accepted evidence of the death of a spouse or partner.

If your family name changed because you entered or left a de facto relationship, the Passport Office requires an Australian RBDM name change certificate, a completed B11 form explaining the circumstances and evidence of the relationship or its ending.

You are not eligible for the marital-status replacement fee waiver if you changed only your given name and not your family name.

If you cannot provide the required evidence supporting a marital-status or gender-related fee waiver, you may need to pay the replacement fee or apply for a new passport and pay the applicable full application fee.

How much does a passport name or gender change cost?

Australian Passport Office fees from 1 January 2026 include:

• Replacement passport: AUD $265
• 10-year adult passport for people aged 16 or over: AUD $422
• 5-year child passport for children under 16: AUD $213
• optional 5-year adult passport for people aged 75 or over: AUD $213

The replacement application fee may be waived for an eligible marital-status or gender-related change. Faster processing, when available, has a separate additional fee: AUD $308 for Priority service or AUD $107 for Fast Track service.

Can you use a foreign marriage or name change certificate?

Foreign certificates are accepted only in circumstances specified by the Australian Passport Office. For a marital-status name change, a foreign certificate may be accepted when you cannot obtain an Australian equivalent because you were born overseas, live overseas, or married or entered the relationship overseas. For that route, you must have become an Australian citizen before entering the marriage or relationship.

For a gender-related or personal-preference name change, the Passport Office applies more specific conditions to foreign name change certificates, including requirements relating to where you were born and live and whether you can register the new name in Australia.

Where legalisation is required, the foreign certificate must be legalised. Documents that are not in English must be translated in full by an approved translation service.

How should non-English documents be translated?

In Australia, the Australian Passport Office directs applicants to the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) to find an accredited translator. Documents must be translated in full and stamped by an accredited translator. The Passport Office also accepts qualifying translations from specified government agencies that use NAATI translators.

If you are overseas, contact the nearest Australian embassy or consulate for advice about approved translation services.

How do you apply for the updated passport?

For an adult replacement passport in Australia, you apply in the same way as for a new adult passport. You can start the application through the Australian Passport Office's AusPassport application portal or use an applicable paper form.

The application is not lodged entirely online. After completing the online application, you download and print the required document and lodge the application in person with the required passport photos and original supporting documents at the applicable lodgement location.

If you need a completely new adult passport rather than a replacement, see the procedure for applying for an Australian adult passport. If you are simply renewing an eligible passport without changing details that prevent renewal, see how to renew an Australian adult passport.

If you are overseas, complete the applicable online or paper form and lodge it through the nearest Australian embassy or consulate. Overseas adult passport applications are not eligible for the Australian Passport Office's faster processing services.

What happens to your current passport?

When you apply for a replacement, your current passport is cancelled as part of the process and can no longer be used for travel or identification. If you need to travel before you receive the replacement, contact the Australian Passport Office before lodging.

A replacement passport keeps the expiry date of the passport it replaces. If you instead need a new passport, remaining validity from the old passport does not carry over.

How long does the passport change take?

For routine service, the Australian Passport Office advises applicants to allow at least 6 weeks from lodging the application to receive a replacement or new passport.

Eligible applicants in Australia who need a passport sooner can consider faster processing. Priority service costs an additional AUD $308 and processes a complete application within 2 business days after the Passport Office receives it. Fast Track costs an additional AUD $107 and processes a complete application within 5 business days after receipt.

Those processing periods do not include postage or delivery time. If urgent travel is involved, see the separate procedure on faster Australian passport processing.

After lodgement, you can track progress using your application number. When a passport is sent by Registered Post, the Passport Office says it should arrive in about a week after dispatch. Collection from a passport office may also be available when requested through the applicable process.

What should you do after receiving the updated passport?

Check that the personal details in the new passport are correct before travelling. Future travel bookings should use the name shown in the passport.

If you hold an Australian visa associated with your previous passport details, the relevant next step may be to update your new passport details on your Australian visa.