Change My Name App – Another Lane Cove Innovation

According to a recent ABC article, head of women’s studies at Flinders University Associate Professor Yvonne Corcoran-Nantes claims more than 80 per cent of Australian women take their husband’s name after marriage.   You may or may not be surprised to know that changing your name is not as simple as lodging one form and wham, bam thank you maam your new name is recorded everywhere! Oh no, it’s a complicated and time-consuming process.  

A Lane Cove local, Meaghan Price has developed an app which is an easy 10 Step Guide to changing your name. It is the only app on the Australian market that features all the forms, documents and information required for recording your change of name in Australia.

Meaghan (a Lane Cove mum and app developer) is a former events manager who saw the need for the app after going through the change of name process after she was married. We asked her a few questions about the app and why she developed it.

Why did you decide to develop the App?

This app is revolutionary – there is no other app currently on the market like “Change My Name”. There are “wedding change name kits” available online but they are very expensive and, in my opinion, a little antiquated given the technology now available to us.

Why did you decide to develop the App as a 10 Step Guide?

I changed my name 13 years ago. I found that if you did not complete the steps of changing your name in a certain order, that you got a bit tripped up in the process. For instance, I changed my name on my driver’s licence before I changed my name at the bank so, when I went into the bank to change my name, I didn’t have the 100 ID points in my original name. It took time to sort this all out. After eventually recording my change of name with all the relevant organisations, I wrote a 2 page document outlining the process. I then emailed the document to all my friends who were getting married (always gratefully received).

The App includes some great practical tips – where did you get the tips from?

Most of the tips on the app were born from mistakes. For instance, I changed my bank account to my new name and then received cheques in my original name. I then had to go to the Bank and explain the issue. This all takes time.

Let’s look at WHY someone might decide to change their name…

• Change My Name After Marriage – to take their partner’s name. This is a fairly common practice here in Australia. Change My Name guides you through all the stages of changing your name from acquiring your Wedding Certificate from the Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages in your state right through to a reminder to change your name on your library card!
• Change My Name After Divorce – to revert back to your maiden name. Change of Name is made simple and painless with Change My Name.
• I’m new to Australia and currently only have a first name – a first and surname is required in Australia when filling in paperwork for many industries of employment ie: the health/aged care industry.
• Same-sex Couple unable to be married in Australia (yet!) – to “solidify the family unit” perhaps double-barrelling the surnames or even “merge” the two surnames. Marriage equality may not have hit our country yet but you, your partner and your children can all share the same surname!

What Questions Does it Answer?

• How do I change my name after marriage?
• Where do I order my official Wedding Certificate from?
• Which RBDM form do I fill out?
• How do I change my name on my driver’s license?
• How do I change my name on my Medicare card?
• How do I change my name with my Bank?
• How do I change my name with my Health Insurer?
• What is involved with changing my name at work?
• How do I change my name on my passport?
• Have you got any tips on changing my name?
• How do I change my name on the Australian Electoral Role?
• How do I change my name with the ATO and Centrelink?

How long did it take to design the App?

I began designing the app while waiting for my son to recover from surgery in hospital in April 2014. It has taken 2 years of research, design and coding for the app to go “live”.

Have you Developed any other Apps?

While I was designing the Change Your Name App,  I was actively involved with my kids sporting activities etc. I was the manager of both of my sons’ Touch Football teams. While substituting kids on and off the field, using a clipboard and the timer on my phone to keep subbing fair, I realised that I could design an app for substituting children. I started to design “Fair Play App” in November 2015. I decided to bite the bullet and use a coder that I found via Freelancer in India to code the “Fair Play App“. The app went “live” in January 2016! Touch Football Australia, Mosman Football and Mosman Netball are now recommending this app to their volunteer coaches and managers! I am hoping that the executives of PSSA (Public School Sports Association) and CSSS (Catholic Schools Sports Services) within each state and territory of Australia will recommend this app to the teachers who kindly volunteer to be involved in PSSA and CSSS, without whom there would be no organised sport.

Both “Fair Play App” and “Change My Name” are available on the App Store and Google Play.

Have you got any ideas for other apps?

I do have further app ideas (still along the same organisational line) but until these two apps start generating some income, they are on hold!!!!!!

CHANGE MY NAME is available on both the iOS and Android platforms for your convenience and can be easily downloaded from the iTunes App Store and the GooglePlay Store. Download the CHANGE MY NAME app now and get started immediately.

Change My Name Webpage

Change My Name iOS

Change My Name Android