Update your personal details

If your full name or date of birth on your student record doesn't exactly match your citizenship document, you'll be unable to verify your identity and citizenship online and enrol. 

RMIT recognises both your legal name and your preferred name. Your legal name will be your preferred name by default, unless you choose to update your preferred name in Enrolment Online. 

RMIT policy requires your full legal name to be used:

• when you enrol
• to verify your citizenship and identity
• in some Australian Government and state government reporting
• on your official academic statements including your transcript.

Your legal name will also appear in some RMIT systems.

You have the option to register a preferred name that is different to your legal name. Your preferred name will be used in some communications, and it will display in some RMIT systems. 

• Your preferred name must meet appropriate language standards. RMIT reserves the right to remove the preferred name if it contains language considered inappropriate or offensive and is not in accordance with RMIT’s core values.
• Elements of your preferred name include Title, First Name, Middle Name and Last Name. Mandatory fields are First Name and Last Name. 
  
• If your preferred name consists of only one word, you can record that one word in either the First Name field or Last Name field, but you must record a full stop in the blank field before you are able to Save. 
• Available titles include Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss and Mx (gender-neutral title which may be used by any person). 

See the Student Name Procedure for more information.

How to update your name or date of birth

The process is different depending on whether you update your details before you enrol or after you enrol.

Before you enrol

Update your legal name

Your legal name on RMIT systems must match your legal name on the Australian Government's Unique Student Identifier (USI) Registry. Any discrepancy between your legal name in the USI Registry and RMIT's systems will prevent you from verifying your USI and enrolling.

If you have not already done so, update your legal name on the USI Registry before your enrol. It is also recommended that you update your legal name with the Australian Taxation Office before you enrol if you are eligible and intend on applying for a HELP loan or VET Student Loan.

If your legal name or is incorrect, you can update them via Enrolment Online before you enrol as part of verifying your identity.

Update your preferred name and preferred title

You can update your preferred name and preferred title via Enrolment Online before you enrol. See the Tips for updating your preferred name and title in Enrolment Online above.

Update your date of birth

If your date of birth is incorrect, please submit an online request to Student Connect. Note: if you've received an offer in a vocational education program for a government subsidised place, correcting your date of birth may have an impact on your eligibility for your offer. You may be asked to provide evidence of your correct name and date of birth.

After you enrol

Update your legal name

Important! Before you can update your legal name on RMIT systems, you must first update your legal name with the Australian Government's USI Registry. If you have a HELP loan, you will also need to update your name with the Australian Taxation Office. 

If you have legally changed your name and updated your name on the USI Registry, and with the Australian Taxation Office (if you intend to apply for, or have an approved HELP loan or VET Student Loan), you can update your name on RMIT systems by completing these steps:

1. Download and complete a Variation to Personal Details Form (PDF, 489KB)
2. Have a clear photo or scan of a valid identity document that states your correct legal name. See table below for accepted documentation
3. Open an online request to Student Connect
4. Attach your completed Variation to Personal Details Form and photo/scan of your identity documentation. If you have a HELP loan, please include a screenshot of your updated name with the ATO
5. Click Submit.

Once your name change is processed, Student Connect will send you a free, updated student card within 10 business days (standard Australia Post mailing times apply).

Update your legal name title

To update your legal name title, submit an online request to Student Connect.

Documentation isn't needed to change your legal name title.

Available titles include Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss and Mx (gender-neutral title which may be used by any person).

Update your preferred name and preferred title

You can update your preferred name and preferred title via Enrolment Online at any time after you enrol. See the Tips for updating your preferred name and title in Enrolment Online above.

Change the order of your name on your testamur (graduation certificate)

RMIT is unable to issue your testamur in a name that's different from the name that appears on your RMIT student record. However, RMIT will allow you to select the order that your names appear on your testamur when you apply online to graduate.

Note: RMIT is subject to government reporting and legislative requirements and, in some circumstances, we may request evidence to verify your identity to ensure you continue to receive services and/or entitlements.

Update the gender identity on your student record

You can use Enrolment Online to update the gender on your student record at any time – before or after you have enrolled – without needing to provide or verify with identity documentation. 

The gender field allows you to select from the drop-down menu of available options whenever it is presented to you in Enrolment Online, including as part of your enrolment checklist when you enrol and re-enrol each year, and in the Personal details section of My student record.  

You may choose to have your gender recorded as Male, Female, Non-binary, Agender, A gender identity not listed or you may indicate you prefer not to say.

Gender affirmation

At RMIT we recognise that some students may choose to use a name and/or title that affirms their gender. Although citizenship verification requires you to use the name stated on your legal documentation, we can support you to ensure that you're addressed by the correct pronouns, name and title while studying at RMIT. If you have any questions about this, please submit an online request to Student Connect for advice.  

For more information go to the Gender affirmation at RMIT webpage.

Check your current citizenship or residency status

1. Log in to Enrolment Online
2. Select Personal details and view your citizenship or residency details.
    

Update your citizenship or residency status

If your citizenship or residency status changes after you enrol, you must notify RMIT as soon as possible.

To update citizenship or residency status:

1. Complete the Notification of Change to Citizenship/Residency Status Form (PDF, 530KB)
2. Have a clear photo or scan of your evidence documentation (see below)
3. Open an online request to Student Connect
4. Attach your completed Notification of change to citizenship/residency status form and a photo/scan of your evidence documentation (see below)
5. Click Submit. 

Evidence documentation

The documentation listed below is accepted as evidence of your new citizenship or residency status.

Australian citizenship:

• Australian citizenship certificate (front and back page)
• Australian passport.

New Zealand citizenship:

• New Zealand citizenship certificate
• New Zealand passport.

Permanent or temporary residency status:

• International passport and evidence of visa entitlement
• Immicard and evidence of visa entitlement
• Document for travel to Australia (with endorsed visa label).
   

Changes to fee place and loans

If your citizenship/residency status has changed after you have enrolled, you may be eligible to apply for a different fee place and/or access a government HELP loan or VET Student Loan. Check your eligibility for government loans by visiting StudyAssist and using the ‘What am I eligible for?’ calculator.

Vocational education students can also use the RMIT Fee Finder for program-specific fee information.

If you need to view or update your disability or long-term health condition status during your studies, you can do so by completing the following steps:

1. Log in to Enrolment Online
2. Select Personal Details
3. Select HE Statistics or VE Statistics
4. Select Disability and update your details

Important! Changing your disability or long-term health condition status via Enrolment Online will NOT automatically trigger access to disability or equitable learning support. If you need additional support due to your disability, long-term illness or mental health condition, please contact RMIT’s Equitable Learning Services team.

You can view your Indigenous/Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander details on Enrolment Online:

1. Log in to Enrolment Online
2. Select Personal Details
3. Select HE Statistics or VE Statistics
4. Select Personal. Under Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, your Indigenous details are shown.

You cannot update your Indigenous/Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander details via Enrolment Online. If you need to update these details during your studies, please contact Ngarara Willim.

RMIT is continuing to invest in updating its systems to ensure your preferred name can be registered, displayed in systems and recognised by other students and staff.

 After you update your preferred name in Enrolment Online, it may take from 24 hours to 2 weeks for your updates to display in the systems listed below:

• Enrolment Online
• Office 365 Profile
• Email alias
• Service and Support Portal
• Special Consideration system
• My Timetable
• RMIT Connect Portal

How it works in Canvas and associated platforms such as Collaborate Ultra, depends on which student group you fall into. The table below explains the two groups and the different ways to update your preferred name.

For the systems below, you can manually update your name yourself directly in that system.

For the systems below, it is not currently possible to update your name. Your legal name will continue to display.

• myRMIT 
• Financial and academic records 
• Assignment submission

In addition, some communications and official documents issued by RMIT will continue to use your legal name. These include:

• Student invoices
• Statement of Enrolment
• Commonwealth Assistance Notices (CAN)
• Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF)
• RMIT student card
• Academic transcript and other academic statements
• other official statements.