You can’t change your name directly in your myGov profile.
Instead, update your name with one of the services linked to your myGov account, such as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Centrelink or Medicare. Once the change is recorded by the relevant service, myGov can use the updated information for your profile.
If you use Digital ID with myGov, your name can also be updated through your Digital ID.
If you have linked the ATO, Centrelink or Medicare to myGov, changing your name with one of these services can update the name shown in your myGov profile.
The process is different for each service, so choose whichever is easiest for your circumstances.
You should still update your name separately with every government service you use. Updating your myGov profile does not mean that all your linked services automatically change their individual records.
For many people, the ATO is one of the easiest government records to update.
If your ATO account is linked to myGov, you can usually update your name online.
To update to a new name, the ATO currently accepts Australian identity documents including:
In myGov, open the ATO linked service, go to your profile and select the option to update your name and title.
The ATO can also update a name by phone or post in some circumstances.
Medicare currently allows you to update your legal name by phone.
You will need to prove your identity and have an accepted supporting document available when you call.
Accepted documents can include:
Medicare can also provide assistance through a service centre if required.
Centrelink generally requires you to take your supporting documents to a service centre when changing your legal name.
Accepted Births, Deaths and Marriages documents can include:
In some limited situations, such as returning to a previous birth or maiden name that Centrelink already has on record, the change may be possible by phone.
If your Digital ID is connected to myGov, you can update your name in the myID app.
If you consent to share those details with myGov, your updated name can appear the next time you verify with Digital ID.
No.
This is one of the most important points to understand.
Your myGov account connects you with government services, but those services still maintain their own records.
Changing your name with the ATO may update the name shown in your myGov profile, for example, but it does not automatically mean that Medicare, Centrelink or every other linked service has also changed its own record. myGov specifically advises users to update services individually where necessary.
That means you may still need to update your name separately with:
It is a good idea.
During a name change, you may temporarily have some records in your previous name and others in your new name.
Keeping your key identity and government records reasonably consistent can make it easier when proving your identity or dealing with organisations that check information against government records.
There is no need to panic if everything is not changed on the same day, but it makes sense to work through your important records in an organised way.
Updating myGov is only one small part of a typical name change.
You may also need to notify your bank, superannuation fund, employer, insurer, utilities, memberships and many other organisations.
Easy Name Change saves you from researching each organisation’s procedure individually. Your personalised kit provides the forms, letters, emails and instructions needed for the organisations you select.
You can start building your kit for free, see which organisations are included and select the companies you need to update before you are asked to pay.
Easy Name Change has been helping people through name changes since 2008 and has helped more than one million people worldwide.