The quick answer
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myGov lets you update contact details and choose supported linked services to receive the change. That is useful, but it is not a universal Australian change-of-address service. Check the sharing options shown in your account, verify important service records and separately update organisations outside that process. If you receive a Centrelink payment, your accommodation circumstances may need their own update. Use the official myGov app or type my.gov.au yourself; keep your identity details out of third-party planning tools.
One account does not mean one government record
A move can expose a confusing difference between signing in through myGov and updating a linked service. myGov is the doorway to several services, but those services still hold their own records and handle their own transactions. Changing something in the doorway does not prove every record behind it changed.
The safest working habit is to treat an address change as two tasks: submit the update through the correct channel and verify the important receiving record. That avoids repeatedly submitting changes because you cannot remember what happened, and it catches services that need separate action.
This guide covers contact administration and account safety. It does not determine payment eligibility, tax residency, Medicare entitlement or where you legally reside. If your home, postal and temporary addresses differ, ask the relevant service how it wants those details recorded.
What myGov currently lets you share
myGov’s contact-details guidance says you can edit your address, email and phone number in the account profile. It lists supported sharing with the ATO, Centrelink, Medicare, State Revenue Office Victoria and Workforce Australia when the relevant services are linked and the stated conditions are met. Read the options displayed to you, because your own linked services and circumstances determine what is available.
The moving-house guidance describes selecting the linked services to receive an address update and providing the move date. Do not assume all eligible services were selected automatically. Check the final selection before submitting, then keep a minimal record of the confirmation.
A record might simply say “Address update submitted, Centrelink and Medicare selected, confirmation saved privately.” It does not need your full address, Medicare number or customer reference number. In a planning tool, less sensitive detail is usually enough to remember the next action.
A home address and a postal address answer different questions
Your home address describes where you live. A postal address is where correspondence is sent. They may be the same, but not always. A temporary stay, insecure mailbox, family separation or period between homes can make the distinction important.
Services Australia’s Centrelink guidance explains that a secure mailing address matters during a move. It also allows you to tell it about a future home address while controlling when mail can go there. Use the service’s current instructions rather than putting a future address into every field on the assumption that it will work later.
Check both kinds of address wherever the service presents them. Read the confirmation carefully, especially the effective date. If a change could reveal your location to someone who should not have it, contact the relevant service about a safe process before making a routine update. Do not rely on a general article to resolve a personal safety concern.
Source: Services Australia: address and accommodation updates
Centrelink accommodation changes may need more than contact editing
An address change and a change in accommodation circumstances are related but different. The Centrelink online-account guide separates contact, address and accommodation details. A move may involve a different rent amount, a new living arrangement or other information the service asks for.
Use Centrelink’s own prompts and evidence requirements. Do not infer that sharing an address from myGov reports every circumstance relevant to your payment. Equally, do not guess that a move creates or removes an entitlement. Ask the agency which changes need reporting for your situation and keep the answer or reference.
A useful private note contains the question, what you reported, the date and any supporting document still required. It should not become a second unofficial application. The official service record is what you need to check when confirming the update.
Source: Services Australia: address and accommodation updates
Build a separate list for organisations outside the sharing process
Start with places where an old address could cause a practical problem: your bank, employer, super fund, insurer, transport authority, electoral authority and essential providers. Add household-specific accounts such as school, childcare, professional registration or a toll account.
For each, ask whether the change is purely correspondence or whether it affects the service. An insurer may need information about where an asset is kept. A transport authority may require an interstate transfer rather than only a text edit. An employer may need a payroll address and a separate emergency contact update.
Mail redirection can help with correspondence during transition, but it should sit beside direct updates rather than replace them. A redirected letter is evidence that something still uses the old address. Add that organisation to your remaining list, update it through a verified channel and keep the confirmation.
Make the update on a trusted route
myGov’s security guidance recommends using the official app or typing my.gov.au into your browser. Avoid signing in through a message that announces an address problem or demands urgent verification. A convincing logo and a message arriving after a real move do not prove authenticity.
Use a trusted private device and network, keep the device updated and follow myGov’s Security review prompts. Its guidance describes stronger sign-in options such as passkeys or Digital ID, with instructions about disabling password access when those options are established. Follow the current official setup process so you understand both sign-in and recovery.
Never send a password, one-time code or complete identity document set to someone offering to “update everything” for you. Cognivo does not need your myGov login and cannot make the change on your behalf. A checklist entry can remain deliberately vague while the sensitive transaction happens in the official account.
Source: myGov: protect your account
A fictional example: a move with three different unfinished tasks
Imagine Jordan moves from a shared rental to a new apartment. Jordan updates the myGov profile, selects the supported linked services shown and receives a confirmation. That completes the submitted sharing step, but the moving list is not finished.
Jordan then checks the relevant linked accounts, reviews the accommodation information requested by Centrelink and separately updates the bank and employer. The car and licence tasks go to the destination transport authority. Electoral enrolment gets its own follow-up based on AEC guidance. No single tick is used to stand for all those actions.
Later, an insurer’s letter is redirected from the old address. Jordan adds “insurer update still needed” rather than assuming the myGov change failed. The example is fictional, but it illustrates a useful distinction: a task can be successfully completed within its scope while other tasks remain open.
If something unfamiliar has changed, switch to account recovery
An unknown bank detail, new linked service, missing linked service or unfamiliar device should be treated differently from a routine address correction. myGov’s unauthorised-access guidance says to review account history, linked services and connected devices, and to contact the affected service about suspicious changes.
Use the official helpdesk and service recovery pathways. If bank or card information may be compromised, contact the relevant financial institution promptly. Do not continue following instructions from the person or message that raised the alarm until you have independently verified the channel.
Keep a private timeline of what you noticed and when you contacted each organisation. Do not publish screenshots that expose balances, identifiers or recovery methods. A third-party checklist can help organise calls, but it cannot confirm that an account is secure or reverse a change made in a government system.
Source: myGov: unauthorised access
A short completion check you can reuse
After a routine change, check the profile details, the services selected for sharing, any confirmation and the important receiving accounts. Check home and postal address separately where both exist. Record any separate accommodation update and any evidence still required.
Then review the organisations outside myGov and set one follow-up date for unresolved items. Close the task when the relevant record is confirmed, not when a browser tab is opened. If you cannot verify a receiving record, ask that service what to do instead of resubmitting repeatedly.
Cognivo’s checklist is suitable for labels such as “employer confirmed” or “ask Medicare about postal address”. Keep exact addresses and documents in your own secure records. On a shared device, consider whether saving any personal plan is appropriate.
FAQ: Will updating myGov change my driver licence address?
Do not assume so. Check your state or territory transport authority directly. A move within a state and an interstate relocation can require different processes. The myGov sharing list is not a substitute for reading the transport authority’s current requirements for your licence and vehicle registration.
FAQ: Do I need to update Centrelink accommodation details as well?
You may. Centrelink provides a specific accommodation-details process alongside address and contact details. Follow the prompts for your circumstances and ask the agency if uncertain. Sharing a postal or home address alone does not establish that every payment-related change has been reported.
FAQ: Can Cognivo check whether my address update worked?
No. Cognivo does not connect to your myGov account, inspect a linked-service record or submit updates. Use it only to organise your own next steps. Verify completion in the relevant official account or with the service through a contact route you have independently checked.
FAQ: What should I do if an address update message looks suspicious?
Open the official app or type the official address yourself to investigate. Do not use the message’s sign-in link. If you already shared information, use myGov’s scam and unauthorised-access guidance promptly. A genuine-looking message is not enough to establish that its sender is the government.
Put the next step into practice
Use your own confirmed figures and keep outstanding questions visible. Core tools are free, with no bank connection or compulsory account.
Open the Life-admin checklist ↗Sources and editorial notes
Sources checked 23 October 2026. Worked examples are fictional illustrations. Rules, eligibility and product terms can change; use the official source for your circumstances.
- myGov: update personal and contact details ↗
- Services Australia: address and accommodation updates ↗
- myGov: protect your account ↗
- myGov: unauthorised access ↗
General information, not an individual financial or legal assessment. AI-assisted drafting with source checks; independent professional review has not been completed. How we prepare our guides · Suggest a correction