My Name

WEstjustice is working in collaboration with the Wyndham Community and Education Centre and the New Hope Foundation to submit bulk applications to rectify incorrectly recorded names for 20 local families from the Karen, Karenni and Chin communities.

The Karen, Karenni and Chin ethnic groups from Burma have cultural naming practices that differ from the ‘first name family name’ structure we use in Australia. In order to apply for resettlement in Australia, Karen, Karenni and Chin community members living in refugee campus must first register with the UNHCR. During the registration process they provide their first and only name, which is more often than not recorded as a family name.

After resettlement, Karen, Karenni and Chin community members need to sign up with a range of essential services such as real estate agents, utilities companies, banks, medical services and schools, all of which require a first name and a family name. This creates significant barriers in accessing these services, and often, material disadvantage as a consequence.

The ‘My Name’ pilot project will operate as an important test case to ascertain a suitable name change process for community members impacted by this problem. The project will also gather further evidence to inform any future reforms undertaken by the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages as well as the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Such reforms will allow community members from a refugee background to access the services they need to ensure successful resettlement.

‘My Name’ is generously funded by the Scanlon Foundation and supported through the pro bono assistance of Ashurst and Gadens.

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