Aliases and other names (legal, preferred, sex and gender diverse customers, cultural considerations etc) 102-04010030

The customer’s current legal name must be recorded as their legal name.

If the customer wants to change their legal name, see Changing the Legal name of customers or their children.

Record any other names used by the customer on the Customer Person Details Summary (CPDS) screen.

Consider cultural naming conventions when assisting newly arrived residents, refugees or migrants.

Before updating a record:

• Conduct a thorough search to locate the correct customer record to reduce fraud. See intertwined and multiple records
• Check the details on the located record with those provided by the customer to establish Proof of Record Ownership (PORO), and
• Check the correct spelling, pronunciation, and sequence of a customer's name

When recording names for customers born overseas, record the exact spelling and name sequence as it appears on official documents. Accurate recording of aliases and name variations help when obtaining visa and travel details from the Department of Home Affairs.

Note: diacritics or accent signs in the customer’s name cannot be coded. Code the name without diacritics, and include a Document on Access DOC to note the differences in spelling.

Unless correcting a straightforward error, previous names should be recorded as:

• Also Known As (AKA)
• Maiden Name (MDN)
• Tribal Name, or Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Traditional Name (TRI)
• Name At Birth (NAB), or
• Preferred Name (PRF)

To accurately record the names of customers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, see the Multicultural Guide.

In some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, for a period, the name of a deceased person should not be written, spoken or seen. When a person in the community has the same name as the deceased person, they will use an alternative name for that period.

To avoid distress during this period, ask close relatives of the deceased person to consent to obtaining required information from another source, for example a community council and/or hospital or clinic records. See Indigenous naming conventions.

To reduce the risk of fraud and the creation of multiple and intertwined records, ensure the record to be updated is the correct one.

Staff must update the CPDS screen with all names:

• on identity documents, and
• advised by the customer

This will help locate the correct customer record.

Updates may include spelling variations or adding a space or hyphen between names. Names containing hyphens or apostrophes must not contain spaces. For example when coding 'Anne-Maree' as 'Anne - Maree' means it will not be found when searching for a record.

The CPDS screen can have up to 10 current name types coded. Only 1 current, legal, maiden and preferred name can be recorded. All previous names remain on the record as historical names.

Follow the Centrelink Naming Convention.

Customer First

Go to the CPDS screen

Select Add new person details and update the following fields:

• Code the name type in the Name Type: field. Acceptable values are:
• AKA (Also Known As), use this to update all alias names
• MDN (Maiden)
• TRI (Tribal) - Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Traditional Name
• NAB (Name At Birth)
• PRF (Preferred Name)
• FPN (Foreign Pension Name) for use by International Services (CIS) staff only
• Surname:
• First Name/Initial:
• Second Name/Initial:
• Title: Recording a title for the customer is not mandatory. Remove titles from all current names on the record if the customer does not want to have a title
• Suffix:
• Code the Source: and Date of Receipt: fields and press Continue
• Select activity from Activity List (AL) and go to Activity Results (AR). Record in the Notes: field details regarding name change
• Record details on a DOC

Note: if the customer no longer wishes to use a preferred name (PRF), update the PRF name on the CPDS screen to Also Known As (AKA) leaving the Event date: field. Use the date of request by the customer as the Date of Receipt: field