Proof of identity is necessary to protect your identity, as well as our certification system.

Documents submitted as part of your proof of identity must be originals. You must present your documents to Australia Post at the time of lodging your application. Find a participating Australia Post outlet.

Proof of identity options—when you are applying within Australia

You must choose one of these five identity document options:

Option 1

Submit the following:

• Your current passport

Option 2

Submit the following:

• Your current Australian driver’s licence
• Your full Australian birth certificate or your Australian citizenship certificate

Option 3

Submit the following:

• A photographic identification document issued by an Australian Commonwealth, state or territory government agency
• Your current Australian Medicare card
• Your full Australian birth certificate or your Australian citizenship certificate

Option 4

Submit the following:

• Your current Australian Medicare card
• A current account card from a bank that shows your signature
• A proof-of-age card or student ID card that shows your photograph
• Your full Australian birth certificate or your Australian citizenship certificate

If the name on the identification documents (passport, driver’s licence, birth certificate, or citizenship certificate, etc) does not match the name on your application form, you must submit a copy of a change of name document to show your official name change.

Option 5—Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people born from 1969 onwards may be able to access their birth certificate through the births, deaths and marriages registry in the state or territory of their birth.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people born earlier than 1969 who do not have a birth certificate may be recorded in the Aboriginal Population Register available from the Northern Territory Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. We will accept this document as equivalent to a birth certificate.

If an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person cannot provide proof of identity as required above, a completed Identity declaration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person form 162 will be accepted as being equivalent to option 1 (current passport).

Proof of identity options—when you are applying from overseas.

You must provide a certified true copy of your current passport with your application.

If the name on your passport does not match the name on your application form, you must submit a copy of a change of name verification to prove your name change.

How to obtain certified true copies 

A certified copy is a copy of an original document (not a copy of a copy) that has been certified as a true and correct copy by a person who is authorised.

Certified copies can be obtained by presenting the original document together with a photocopy of that document to an authorised person for them to view and certify.

People who are authorised (under the Commonwealth Statutory Declarations Act 1959) include:

• Accountant (Chartered or Certified)
• Clerk of Court
• Commissioner for Affidavits
• Commissioner for Declarations
• Dentist  
• Justice of the Peace
• Legal Practitioner
• Magistrate
• Medical Practitioner
• Nurse
• Pharmacist
• Police Officer
• Sheriff or Sheriff’s Officer
• Teacher
• Veterinary Surgeon

Any cost for certifying true copies is not included in the application fee and must be paid by the applicant.