Person—letters of family name, text XXX

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:Person—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 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
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
  • ACT Health (retired), Candidate 09/08/2018
  • Health, Standard 25/01/2018
  • Homelessness, Standard 10/08/2018
Implementation in Data Set Specifications:Help on this term

Carer demographics file clusterChildren and Families, Standard 22/11/2016
Community Services (retired), Candidate 10/10/2014

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 clusterChildren and Families, Superseded 22/11/2016
Community Services (retired), Candidate 09/10/2014

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 clusterChildren and Families, Superseded 22/11/2016

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 clusterChildren and Families, Superseded 22/11/2016

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 clusterChildren and Families, Superseded 20/04/2018

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 clusterChildren and Families, Superseded 20/01/2021

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 clusterChildren and Families, Standard 03/11/2021

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 clusterChildren and Families, Superseded 03/11/2021

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 clusterCommunity Services (retired), Standard 30/04/2008

Implementation start date: 22/06/2007


Children's Services NMDSCommunity Services (retired), Superseded 21/05/2010

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 2006Community Services (retired), Superseded 14/12/2008

Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement NMDS (July 2008)Community Services (retired), Superseded 11/11/2009

Disability Services NMDS 2009-10Community Services (retired), Superseded 15/12/2011

Implementation start date: 01/07/2009


Disability Services NMDS 2010-11Community Services (retired), Superseded 15/12/2011

Implementation start date: 01/07/2010


Disability Services NMDS 2011-12Community Services (retired), Superseded 13/03/2013

Implementation start date: 01/07/2011


Early Childhood Education and Care: Unit Record Level NMDS 2011Early Childhood, Superseded 09/03/2012

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 2011Early Childhood, Superseded 09/03/2012

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 2012Early Childhood, Superseded 08/04/2013

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 2013Early Childhood, Superseded 28/05/2014

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 2014Early Childhood, Superseded 01/06/2015

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 2015Early Childhood, Superseded 24/07/2018

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 2016Early Childhood, Superseded 24/07/2018

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 2017Early Childhood, Superseded 24/07/2018

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 2018Early Childhood, Superseded 02/12/2020

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 2019Early Childhood, Superseded 02/12/2020

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 2020Early Childhood, Superseded 25/10/2021

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 2021Early Childhood, Standard 25/10/2021

Implementation start date: 01/07/2021

DSS specific information:

Should be reported for the child only.


Juvenile Justice Client file clusterCommunity Services (retired), Standard 14/09/2009
Youth Justice, Recorded 23/05/2022

Implementation start date: 24/09/2009


Juvenile Justice Client file clusterCommunity Services (retired), Not progressed 23/01/2018
Youth Justice, Recorded 23/05/2022

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 NMDS 2007Community Services (retired), Superseded 19/05/2010

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

Implementation start date: 01/07/2018


SAAP Client Collection National Minimum Data SetCommunity Services (retired), Retired 01/07/2011

DSS specific information:

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


Safety in care (SC) file clusterChildren and Families, Standard 03/11/2021

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 clusterChildren and Families, Superseded 03/11/2021

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 clusterCommunity 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

Statistical linkage key 581 clusterACT Health (retired), Candidate 09/08/2018
Health, Superseded 17/12/2021
Homelessness, Standard 10/08/2018

Implementation start date: 01/07/2018


Statistical linkage key 581 clusterHealth, Standard 17/12/2021

Implementation start date: 01/07/2018


Youth Justice Client file clusterYouth Justice, Standard 15/02/2022

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 clusterYouth Justice, Recorded 23/05/2022

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.