Criminals stopped from seeking name change

21 Feb 2012, 6:46 am   -   Source: AAP
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It will soon be much harder for dangerous criminals to change their name, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says.

Dangerous criminals, including murderers and rapists, will no longer be able to change their name under new laws to be introduced to the NSW parliament.

It will soon be much harder for serious sex offenders, prison inmates and parolees to seek a name change, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said on Tuesday.

Under the new laws, an alert list of serious offenders will be sent to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM).

Applications from these serious offenders without the support of supervising authorities will be rejected.

Under existing laws, there was nothing to prevent a convicted criminal from changing their name, Mr O'Farrell said.

"These new laws give priority to the safety of the community and the rights of victims," the premier said in a statement.

"It is important there is no weak link in Australia that could be exploited by criminals."

Attorney-General Greg Smith had been pressing the issue at a national level for some time, and the onus was now on the other states to follow NSW's lead, Mr O'Farrell said.

Mr Smith said prisoners would be able to apply for a new name only if their supervising authority (Corrective Services or the Mental Health Review Tribunal) was satisfied the change was necessary or reasonable and it was unlikely to offend victims and the community.

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