Requirements for changing record of sex
Proof of ID (identification)
Copies of proof of ID documents sent to us by post with your application must be certified as a true and correct copy by a qualified witness—don't send original proof of ID by post. If you apply in person at the Brisbane registry customer service centre at Level 32, 180 Ann Street, Brisbane, customer service officers can sight your original proof of ID.
If you currently live overseas, you may use the local equivalent for the ID items listed. If your overseas ID is not in English, you need to provide a translation from a translator certified by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).
You must provide 3 forms of ID:
- 1 from each category below
or
- 2 from Community ID and 1 from the Home address evidence categories below.
We value fraud prevention—do not provide credit or debit cards as proof of ID.
All forms of ID must either be:
- current—document has an expiry date, is valid, and not past the expiry date
- recent—document does not have an expiry date, and was issued no more than 6 months before being submitted to us.
Types of ID (categories)
Personal ID
- Australian photo driver licence
- Australian passport
- Overseas passport
- Adult proof of age card (formerly 18+ card)
Community ID
We value fraud prevention—do not provide credit or debit cards as proof of ID.
- Medicare card
- Concession or health care card
- Student ID
- School or other educational report from the last 12 months
- Salary advice or payslip
- Private health provider ID card
- Defence force or police service identification card
- Australian firearms licence
- Document of identity issued by the passport office
- Naturalisation, citizenship or immigration certificate
- Birth certificate (does not expire)
- Security guard or crowd control licence
- Government employee photo ID
- Blue card
Home address evidence
Only provide the page with your name and current home address details. If the home address evidence provided is older than 6 months, we may still accept it.
- Utility account—such as gas, electricity, home phone
- Rent or lease agreement
- Rates notice
- Vehicle registration or driver licence renewal notice
- Recent official letter from other government service providers (not us)
- Electoral enrolment document
- Insurance policy notice
Evidence that you live in Queensland
If you were born outside of Queensland, you need evidence that you currently live and have lived here for 12 months before your application (or more).
You may need to provide multiple documents in your name to cover the full 12 months.
To prove that you have lived here, we may accept evidence such as:
- Queensland rental agreement(s)
- rates notices
- utility bills
- a letter from your Queensland employer confirming you have lived and worked in Queensland for 12 months
- enrolment in a face-to-face or supervised course with a Queensland educational institution.
These documents must be dated, showing your name and your home address in Queensland.
We may accept other documents if they are from a reliable organisation and show that you have lived in Queensland for at least 12 months.
Prohibited sex descriptors
Everyone has the right to have the sex that they identify as legally recognised. However, the Registrar-General must refuse to register a change to a record of sex that:
- is obscene, offensive or absurd
- includes sexual orientation or identification with an object, character or concept—e.g. asexual, stargender, furrygender
- includes symbols without phonetic significance—e.g. brackets (), colons (:), question marks (?), quotation marks (“), numbers, at symbols (@), plus signs (+)
- is otherwise contrary to the public interest.
Prohibited name
Everyone has the right to a name that supports their identified sex. However, when considering names, the Registrar-General must refuse to register a name that:
- is obscene or offensive
- is too long
- includes symbols without phonetic significance—e.g. brackets (), colons (:), question marks (?), quotation marks (“), numbers, at symbols (@), plus signs (+)
- includes or resembles an official title or rank—e.g. Duchess, Sergeant, Doctor, MP (Member of Parliament)
- is a statement—e.g. Save Mother Earth
- is a political slogan
- is otherwise contrary to the public interest.
Linking birth certificate package
This package provides all the documents you need to update and prove your identity in the community.
You will be sent:
- 1 official linking birth certificate—shows your new sex and name on the front and your previous details on the back (use to update your ID)
- 1 official birth certificate (with sex)—shows your new sex and name and does not show any previous details (use after your ID is updated).
Official birth certificates
There are 3 official birth certificates:
- linking birth certificate—shows your new sex and name on the front and your previous details on the back (use to update your ID)
- birth certificate (with sex)—shows your new sex and name and does not show any previous details (use after your ID is updated)
- birth certificate (without sex)—shows your new first names and does not show any previous details (may not be accepted to update your ID).
Organisations will have different requirements for what proof they need about changes to your details, so you should contact them directly.
Official recognised details certificates
There are 2 official recognised details certificates:
- linking recognised details certificate—shows your new sex and name on the front and your previous details on the back (use to update sex on ID)
- recognised details certificate—shows your new sex and name and does not show any previous details (may not be suitable to update sex on ID).
Organisations will have different requirements for what proof they need about changes to your details, so you should contact them directly.