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You can record gender with Child Support as male, female or non-binary.
You don’t have to update your gender details. It's your choice.
If you’re a child’s legal carer or guardian you can update the child’s gender. This includes parents, carers, foster carers and grandparents.
To update your or a child’s gender details you can phone us or write to us. You will need to give us supporting documents.
You can also update your gender with:
Supporting documents
You need to give us supporting documents to update your or your child’s gender. Supporting documents can be any of the following:
- a statement from a Registered Medical Practitioner or Registered Psychologist verifying your gender
- a valid Australian Government travel document, such as a valid passport showing your gender identity
- a state or territory birth certificate showing your gender identity
- a state or territory Gender Recognition Certificate or Recognised Details Certificate showing a state or territory Registrar of Birth, Deaths and Marriages has accepted a change in gender.
When you update your or your child’s gender with Child Support, we’ll need both of the following:
- a copy of the supporting document
- a signed letter with your or your child’s name, date of birth and gender details.
The letter can be handwritten or printed but it must be hand signed by you. You can mail it to us.
Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender
We’ve committed to applying the Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender. We support people who identify as being of a different gender to their assigned sex at birth.
Find out more, including information about gender definitions, on the Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender on the Attorney-General’s Department website.