How to set up myGov and link your services

Go to my.gov.au directly by typing the address — never through a link in an email or text message. myGov is one of the most impersonated brands in Australian scam traffic, and the fake sites are convincing.

You will need an email address that is not already attached to a myGov account, and an Australian mobile number for sign-in codes. Both are used for security, so use an email you will keep long-term.

Choose your sign-in security carefully. The default is a code sent by SMS every time. If you travel or change numbers, the myGov app with a passcode is more robust because it does not depend on receiving a message on a particular SIM. Set up your secret questions as a fallback and record the answers somewhere you will still have in five years.

Every service behind myGov needs to confirm you are the person whose record it holds. There are two routes.

The linking code route: you contact the agency, prove your identity to them, and they give you a one-time code to enter in myGov. Codes expire, usually within a day, so use them straight away.

The Digital ID route: you verify your identity once with myID (the government's identity app, formerly myGovID) to at least Standard strength, and then most services will link instantly without a code. Standard strength requires two Australian identity documents plus a face scan. If you have an Australian passport and driver licence, this route is far faster overall and worth the twenty minutes it costs to set up.

The ATO is usually the first service people need and the most particular about identity. Sign in to myGov, choose Link a service, select Australian Taxation Office, and answer the questions.

The ATO will ask for your tax file number plus two pieces of information from its own records — typically a notice of assessment, a PAYG payment summary or income statement, a super account, a bank account that has received a refund, or a Centrelink payment summary. The details must match exactly, including cents.

If you have never lodged a tax return and have no ATO history, there is nothing to match against. In that case, either verify with Digital ID, or call the ATO on 13 28 61 and ask for a linking code.

Medicare is generally the easiest. You need your Medicare card number including the individual reference number beside your name, plus either the details of a recent claim or your bank account details held by Medicare. If you have never claimed, use a linking code from Medicare on 132 011.

Centrelink is the strictest. If you already have a Customer Reference Number and recent activity, you can often link with your CRN plus details from a recent payment or claim. If you are new to Centrelink, you must first establish a record — which means proving your identity in person or through Digital ID before there is anything to link to.

A common trap: linking Centrelink through myGov does not create a Centrelink record. If you have never received a payment, you need to make a claim, and that requires the identity check first.

Locked out with no access to the mobile number. This is the most common serious problem, and it is why the secret questions matter. If you have lost both, call the myGov help desk on 132 307; you will need to prove identity another way.

Two accounts by accident. People frequently create a second account when the first will not let them in, then link services to the wrong one. There is no self-service merge — call the help desk and ask for the accounts to be resolved.

Name mismatches. If your name differs between agencies — after marriage, divorce or a legal change — update it with each agency separately. myGov does not propagate a name change across linked services.

Being overseas without an Australian mobile. Switch your sign-in method to the myGov app before you leave. Retrofitting it from abroad is considerably harder.

myGov never sends links in SMS or email. Services Australia and the ATO both state plainly that their messages will not contain a hyperlink to a sign-in page. Any message that does is fraudulent, regardless of how convincing the sender name looks.

myGov does not have a phone number that will call you asking for your sign-in code. A code is exactly what an attacker needs, and requests for it are always fraudulent.

There is no fee to create a myGov account, no fee to link services, and no refund pending that requires you to 'verify' your details. If a message claims otherwise, close it and sign in by typing my.gov.au yourself.