welshseawoman

Hi everyone, I am in a really surreal situation. I am a dual British-Australian citizen. I lived in Australia 20 years ago and came back to live Australia in again from the UK a little over 3 months ago. I'm having a huge problem with my licence due to an anomaly with the order of my first and middle names.

I had a NSW licence 20 years ago here. It had my first two names on it in the reverse order to my passport and birth certificate because my 'main' name is actually my middle one - my parents put the other name first on the birth certificate because they thought it sounded better or something. So 20 years ago some of my documents (Medicare, tax, drivers' license) had my name as B..M...M rather than M..B..M. I didn't like getting called M when my principal name was B and it didn't seem to matter back in pre-computerised times.

Anyway now I am back in Australia and I can't get a NSW licence! The roads people say I need an official certificate from the NSW Registry confirming my name is B..M...M even though my passport, citizenship, birth and marriage certificate all confirm that it is, and even though the tax file number and Medicare people corrected the old documents from BMM to MBM. But the NSW Registry say I have to live here for 3 continuous years before they will issue this official certificate (confirming what my name already is, not even changing it.....).

My 3 months driving on my UK licence is up tomorrow. My UK photo card licence was recently renewed so is valid for 10 years and the NSW roads authority told me I can drive on it as long as it is valid. BUT I've checked out other forums and it seems like it's not necessarily valid as the UK address is actually no longer correct since I"ve moved to Australia (even though we still own the UK house). I haven't changed the UK address on my licence as I thought I'd just get an Australian drivers' licence anyway but now I can't - and if I change the UK licence address to an Australian one it will terminate it.

Even if my UK licence remains valid, I don't trust the advice from NSW Roads that I can drive on it now that the 3 months are up as I just see repeated things everywhere saying that I can't - and I don't want to end up being uninsured or anything awful like that.

Sorry for the long post, I really feel like I'm living in a Kafka novel - I've done nothing but paperwork since we came back, and it's way more complicated to come back as an Aussie, than to move her as a complete newcomer like my husband. Feeling pretty dispirited....any advice gratefully received!

canadaeh

What is on your UK Drivers Licence?

What is on your Australian documents, passport etc?


I had a similar problem (name in English and Irish).

Easiest way to solve it is go to NSW Birth Deaths and Marriages and change your name the way you want it, you will then be issued with a change of name certificate and tha'ts what you will get put on everything.

Now everything is in the one name - Passports, Drivers Licence, Tax File number etc... the Change of Name Certificate fixed it all.

welshseawoman

Hi thanks for your reply. The name on ALL my current documents in both Australia and UK is MBM, it's only the Australian documents of 20 years ago that had the first and second names reversed. I don't even have the old NSW licence but they have a record of with the reversed names from 20 years ago and that's the problem.
Unfortunately with the NSW Birth Deaths adn Marriages they have told me I can't do a change of name form until I have lived in NSW for 3 continuous years - and they were quite stubborn about this. (So even though I lived here for 12 years 20 years ago it doesn't count).
Did you get that rule waived? If so, did you have to go to a manager or make an appeal or something?

Wol

Perhaps the way to go is to apply again using the name under which your other documents are issued: if the idiots insist that a 20 year old - incorrect - name is not you then the 20 year old licence obviously belonged to someone else and is nothing to do with you! They can't have it both ways.

Actually, in Australia they probably *can*.

welshseawoman

Alas, that's what I did - but even so the form asks if you ever had a licence at any other time in NSW - and I did. When they looked it up, they had a record of the different name. I don't think I'd like to say I never had one before, esp since the tax and Medicare office have already got my old records out (and apparently corrected them fine without this problem)

Someone at work today suggested I go to my local MP - perhaps an idea!

chris955

Who said the red tape and bureaucracy in Australia was crazy ?
Hope you get it sorted but those departments are a law unto themselves.

Pollyana

Could be a good idea actually

Swerv-o

I was going to suggest that. This is plainly ridiculous. At least you have your UK licence, but I would get it in writing from the RTA that you are allowed to use it beyond the three month period.

Would it be possible to obtain an ACT licence, where they don't have a record of you already? That's probably no small feat either.

As Chris said above, the RTA really are a law unto themselves - decision making is rarely based on anything logical.


S

canadaeh

To change my name at BDM NSW I didn't need to live there for the previous 3 years, it fact at the time I only lived there 2 months - but this was in 2008 so maybe the rule wasn't in then as looking at the site it now states the 3 years. But it says they can make exceptions.


- If you were born in NSW the 3 year requirement does not apply. If you are born in another state you apply to their Births Deaths and Marraiges and they give you a new Birth Cert.



I would go with what the other poster has said and take it as that 20 year old license isn't yours.

Or the other option is like said above apply for an ACT license, I just got mine changed from overseas license to ACT one last week and they only asked "have you held an ACT license before"

The only difficult part you might have is you need to prove residence in the ACT and they don't accept Bank Statements or Mobile Phone Bills, so not sure how you can do it.

welshseawoman

I think that's helpful - unfortunately I wasn't born in either NSW or Australia - but in Zimbabwe...but if they can make exceptions then the fact that I lived in NSW for 12 years *and* I'm only applying to confirm, not change, the name on my birth certificate should surely justify an exception.

Otherwise, unfortunately the RTA have already linked the old 20 year licence and my new application. And as for ACT below, I have no address links there. So if BDM refuse an exception, I guess it's my MP....

canadaeh

Good luck.

They are really making it much more difficult than it needs to be, maybe you can get it amended by writing an Australian Statutory Declaration.

chris955

It is what Government departments do and Australian Government departments truly are the best in the world at it. Common sense seems to take a back seat at times like this. Good luck getting it sorted, the local MP may be your best option.

bitzenpces

There's always talkback radio, they can expose stupid situations like this one and can get someone from the relevant authority on and get them to publicly state that they will sort it out. Good luck, sounds like a nightmare dealing with nonsensical bureaucrats like these.

papilon

Can you not just change your UK license for an Aussie license ? That's what happens in Vic, just don't mention the old one.