Form · Family Law

Application to register a change of name for a child (ACT): completion guide

Link to the Access Canberra application to register a change of name for a child. The file name includes 20260630. That string is not stated as a form number or a date of effect. The files were not opened.

Kind: Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
Where it applies: Australian Capital Territory
AI use: Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
Law stated as at: 22 October 2026
Status: Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the official form at accesscanberra.act.gov.au and the authority it cites, for Australian Capital Territory.
Version: 1
Source: Link to the official form. Licence: © Access Canberra. Link only: download the current child change-of-name application each time; do not copy or adapt it.

Where this comes from

The official form is published by accesscanberra.act.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-22.

When to use it

Use on a family file when a child's name is to be registered in the ACT, and the child's birth was registered in the ACT or the child is a permanent resident of the ACT. The live parenting tasks are not name-change tasks. Use this guide only where the arrangements need this registered change. Both parents apply unless the page's exceptions apply. The tool does not write the reason or the child's consent.

Used for these tasks

Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.

How AI may be used

AI may check the page's eligibility and document list against the file. The lawyer writes the application, including the reason and any consent, and checks it before it is lodged.

AI may

Check whether the birth was registered in the ACT or the child is a permanent ACT resident
List the page's document items and whether the child is 14 or older and must sign
Flag a one-parent application against the four exceptions the page states

AI must not

Must not draft the reason for the change, the child's consent, or any words lodged in the form
Must not draft the parenting plan or the parenting orders
Must not treat 20260630 in the file name as a form number or a date of effect
Must not invent a fee
Must not sign or lodge the application

The lawyer checks

Both parents apply, unless one of the page's exceptions is on the file, and sole parental responsibility still needs the other parent's consent unless the order says otherwise
A child aged 14 or older signs. The page does not call the application a statutory declaration. If the current file is one, the tool writes nothing in it
The fee page linked from this page was not opened
The court's or tribunal's current index is checked before assuming a generative-AI practice direction applies. None was stated on the page opened for this guide.

Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.

Authorities

Access Canberra, Change your child's name

Official form

Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer. Licence: © Access Canberra. Link only: download the current child change-of-name application each time; do not copy or adapt it..

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