One of my favourite things I got to do after I got married was changing my last name to my husband's. Sure there's a lot of forms you need to fill in, and places to visit to change your legal documents but it was all worth it.
When we're addressed in a formal setting they call us "Mr and Mrs Averion".
Our mail says Mrs Bernice Averion.
All our forms I fill out I get to write Mrs Bernice Averion.
I didn't realise how unifying it would feel but it does.
Below I share how to change your last name after you get married if you live in Australia.
Marriage Certificate
First you will need an offical marriage certificate from your state registry office. If you went through a wedding officiant they normally do the paperwork for you but please check to confirm with them. If they don't do this on your behalf you can apply here. This is from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM) which is different to the marriage certificate you sign on your wedding day.
The RBDM marriage certificate usually takes about 2 weeks to process so if you're going on your honeymoon straight away like us it should be mailed to you by the time you get home!
The marriage certiifcate is used as official proof of identity document to all organisations when changing your last name on official documents. Thankfully you can change your last name once due to a marriage for free!
Your drivers license
Change your drivers license first so you have a new form of identification which verifies your new last name. Go to your state services office, so for me it is NSW Services, and apply for a change of last name (free). You will be issued a new drivers license, and your name will be changed on all government services like Australia Post.
Identification
You will need to prepare the following identification to get approved for changing your last name on the basis of a new marriage:
Your official marriage certificate
Form of ID (drivers license, passport, identify card)
Photocopy both so you can use it for all your forms.
List of everywhere you need to apply change your last name
Drivers license
Car registration
Passport
The Electoral Roll
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Medicare
Council
Centrelink (if applicable)
Energy provider
Gas provider
Water provider
Phone service provider
Internet provider
Any entertainment subscriptions (Netflix, Stan, Hulu, Disney+ etc)
Bank (credit cards, debit cards, loans, mortgage)
Payment platforms (PayPal, Afterpay, Zipmoney, Klarna etc)
Investment accounts
Share holdings
Bonds
Insurance provider
Memberships (library, gym, frequent flyer, loyalty programs)
Healthcare (local GP, ongoing specialists, dentist etc)
Employment (employer’s HR, Australian Business Registration, ABN’s, superannuation etc)
Legal (lawyer, will, accountant)
Tips
Prioritse getting your drivers license changed first, and set a deadline for yourself on when you need to finish applying for all name changes. It looks like a daunting list but when it's done, it's done! It took me about 3 days to go through everything with 1 day completely focused on the name change applications while also juggling general life admin.
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