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Person—letters of family name, text XXX

Data Element Attributes

Identifying and definitional attributes

Metadata item type:Help on this termData Element
Short name:Help on this termLetters of family name
METEOR identifier:Help on this term349481
Registration status:Help on this term
  • Children and Families, Standard 22/11/2016
  • Community Services (retired), Standard 27/03/2007
  • Disability, Standard 07/10/2014
  • Early Childhood, Standard 21/05/2010
  • Health, Standard 07/12/2011
  • Homelessness, Standard 23/08/2010
  • Housing assistance, Standard 23/08/2010
  • Youth Justice, Standard 15/02/2022
Definition:Help on this term

The combination of 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of a person's family name.

Data Element Concept:Help on this termPerson—letters of family name

Value domain attributes

Representational attributes

Representation class:Help on this termText
Data type:Help on this termString
Format:Help on this termXXX
Maximum character length:Help on this term3

Data element attributes

Collection and usage attributes

Guide for use:Help on this term

In the three spaces, the agency should record the 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client’s family name.

For example: If the client’s family name is Brown, the reported value should be RON. If the client’s family name is Thompson, the reported value should be HOP.

If the client’s family name includes non-alphabetic characters—for example hyphens (as in Lee-Archer), apostrophes (as in O’Mara) or blank spaces (as in De Vries)—these non-alphabetic characters should be ignored when counting the position of each character.

Regardless of the length of a person’s name, the reported value should always be three characters long. If the legal family name is not long enough to supply the requested letters (i.e. a legal family name of less than five letters) then agencies should substitute the number ‘2’ to reflect the missing letters. The placement of a number ‘2’ should always correspond to the same space that the missing letter would have within the 3-digit field. A number (rather than a letter) is used for such a substitution in order to clearly indicate that an appropriate corresponding letter from the person’s name is not available.

For example: If a person’s family name is Farr, then value reported would be AR2 because the 2 is substituting for a missing 5th letter of the family name. Similarly, if the person’s family name was Hua, then the value reported would be UA2 because the 2 is substituting for the missing 5th letter of the family name.

If a client’s family name is missing altogether the agency should record the number 999 for all three spaces associated with the family name, (not the number 2). In some cultures it is traditional to state the family name first. To overcome discrepancies in recording/reporting that may arise as a result of this practice, agencies should always ask the person to specify their legal first given name and their legal family name separately. These should then be recorded as first given name and family name as appropriate, regardless of the order in which they may be traditionally given.

Comments:Help on this term

The selected Letters of family name can be used in combination with Letters of given name, Date of birth and Sex to develop a statistical linkage key to facilitate the linkage of records for statistical purposes only. This key will also enable linkage to other related databases that either have the same linkage key or the fundamental information to form the same key. The linkage is to assist research and analysis of the data, not for tracking of individuals through the system for case management.

The provision of letters of a person’s name can be a sensitive issue because of privacy and confidentiality concerns. The use of this information will be in accordance with privacy principles.

Relational attributes

Related metadata references:Help on this term
Is used in the formation of Record—linkage key, code 581 XXXXXDDMMYYYYN
  • Community Services (retired), Standard 21/05/2010
  • Disability, Standard 07/10/2014
  • Early Childhood, Standard 21/05/2010
  • Health, Superseded 25/01/2018
  • Homelessness, Superseded 10/08/2018
  • Housing assistance, Standard 23/08/2010
Is used in the formation of Record—linkage key, code 581 XXXXXDDMMYYYYX
  • Health, Standard 25/01/2018
  • Homelessness, Standard 10/08/2018
Is formed using Person (name)—family name, text X[X(39)]
  • Community Services (retired), Superseded 06/02/2012
  • Health, Superseded 05/10/2016
  • Housing assistance, Standard 20/06/2005
  • Tasmanian Health, Standard 01/09/2016
Implementation in Data Set Specifications:Help on this term
All attributes +
Carer demographics file cluster
Community Services (retired), Recorded 10/10/2014
Children and Families, Standard 22/11/2016
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2011
Implementation end date: 30/06/2013
DSS specific information:

'Letters of carer's name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Carer demographics file of the CP NMDS.

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the carer's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the carer's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the carer's name.


Child protection (CP) client file cluster
Community Services (retired), Recorded 09/10/2014
Children and Families, Superseded 22/11/2016
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2011
Implementation end date: 30/06/2013
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Client file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Child protection (CP) client file cluster
Children and Families, Superseded 22/11/2016
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2012
Implementation end date: 30/06/2014
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Client file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Child protection (CP) client file cluster
Children and Families, Superseded 22/11/2016
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2013
Implementation end date: 30/06/2015
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Client file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Child protection (CP) client file cluster
Children and Families, Superseded 20/04/2018
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2014
Implementation end date: 30/06/2016
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Client file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Child protection (CP) client file cluster
Children and Families, Superseded 20/01/2021
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2015
Implementation end date: 30/06/2017
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Client file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Child protection (CP) client file cluster
Children and Families, Superseded 03/11/2021
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Client file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Child protection (CP) client file cluster
Children and Families, Standard 03/11/2021
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Client file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Child protection and support services (CPSS) client cluster
Community Services (retired), Standard 30/04/2008
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 22/06/2007

Child protection and support services (CPSS) client DSS Pilot (2010)
Community Services (retired), Recorded 19/08/2011
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.


Child protection client alias cluster
Community Services (retired), Recorded 19/08/2011
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information: The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

Children's Services NMDS
Community Services (retired), Superseded 21/05/2010
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

In the Children's Services NMDS, this is a specific combination of letters selected from the child’s family name/surname to provide a child identifier within and across child care or preschool services and to assist with record linkage.


Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement NMDS - 1 July 2006
Community Services (retired), Superseded 14/12/2008

Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement NMDS (July 2008)
Community Services (retired), Superseded 11/11/2009

Disability Services NMDS 2009-10
Community Services (retired), Superseded 15/12/2011
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2009

Disability Services NMDS 2010-11
Community Services (retired), Superseded 15/12/2011
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2010

Disability Services NMDS 2011-12
Community Services (retired), Superseded 13/03/2013
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2011

Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2011
Early Childhood, Superseded 09/03/2012
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2011
DSS specific information: Should be reported for the child only, i.e. information not required for teachers.

Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2011
Early Childhood, Superseded 09/03/2012
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2011
DSS specific information: Should be reported for the child only, i.e. information not required for teachers.

Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2012
Early Childhood, Superseded 08/04/2013
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2012
DSS specific information: Should be reported for the child only, i.e. information not required for teachers.

Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2013
Early Childhood, Superseded 28/05/2014
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2013
DSS specific information: Should be reported for the child only, i.e. information not required for teachers.

Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2014
Early Childhood, Superseded 01/06/2015
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2014
DSS specific information: Should be reported for the child only.

Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2015
Early Childhood, Superseded 24/07/2018
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2015
DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2016
Early Childhood, Superseded 24/07/2018
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2016
Implementation end date: 30/06/2017
DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2017
Early Childhood, Superseded 24/07/2018
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2017
Implementation end date: 30/06/2018
DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2018
Early Childhood, Superseded 02/12/2020
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2018
DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2019
Early Childhood, Superseded 02/12/2020
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2019
DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2020
Early Childhood, Superseded 25/10/2021
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2020
DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2021
Early Childhood, Superseded 05/07/2022
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2021
DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2022
Early Childhood, Standard 05/07/2022
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2022
DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Juvenile Justice Client file cluster
Youth Justice, Superseded 23/08/2022
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 and is a specific combination of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the person's family name and the 2nd and 3rd letters of the person's given name.


Juvenile Justice Client file cluster
Community Services (retired), Standard 14/09/2009
Youth Justice, Superseded 24/03/2023

Juvenile Justice NMDS 2007
Community Services (retired), Superseded 19/05/2010
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2005

Public Housing and State Owned and Managed Indigenous housing (PH & SOMIH) DSS 2018-
Housing assistance, Standard 10/05/2019
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2018

SAAP Client Collection National Minimum Data Set
Community Services (retired), Retired 01/07/2011
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

This data element should be collected for the client and for each accompanying child. 


Safety in care (SC) file cluster
Children and Families, Superseded 03/11/2021
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Safety in care file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Safety in care (SC) file cluster
Children and Families, Superseded 11/05/2023
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Safety in care file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Safety in care (SC) file cluster
Children and Families, Standard 11/05/2023
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 in the Safety in care file of the CP National minimum data set (NMDS).

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the client's family name are combined with the 2nd and 3rd letters of the client's given name to obtain the 5 digit letters of the client's name.

For children who were unborn at the time of the notification and who were subsequently born by 31 August, letters of name should reflect the name given to the child following birth.


Statistical linkage key 581 cluster
Community Services (retired), Standard 21/05/2010
Housing assistance, Standard 23/08/2010
Early Childhood, Standard 21/05/2010
Homelessness, Superseded 10/08/2018
Health, Superseded 25/01/2018
Disability, Standard 07/10/2014

Statistical linkage key 581 cluster
Health, Superseded 17/12/2021
Homelessness, Standard 10/08/2018
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2018

Statistical linkage key 581 cluster
Health, Standard 17/12/2021
DSS specific attributes +
Implementation start date: 01/07/2018

Youth Justice Client file cluster
Youth Justice, Superseded 23/08/2022
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 and is a specific combination of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the person's family name and the 2nd and 3rd letters of the person's given name.


Youth Justice Client file cluster
Youth Justice, Standard 15/02/2022
DSS specific attributes +
DSS specific information:

'Letters of name' is collected as one item in cell number 2 and is a specific combination of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th letters of the person's family name and the 2nd and 3rd letters of the person's given name.


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