Change of Address Checklist

There are quite a lot of things to organise before you move house, including making sure your new address is updated with all the organisations that need it.

Our change of address checklist gives you one place to work through the main government services, utilities, financial providers, insurers, memberships, and other accounts that may still have your old details.

Australia Post mail redirection can provide a useful backup while you make these changes, but it is a temporary paid service rather than a replacement for updating your details directly.

Fragile Removals team member carrying a moving box beside an appliance trolley during a house move to a new address.

Change of address checklist for moving house

Some organisations need your new details before moving day, while others can be updated once you have moved. Rather than trying to change everything at once, work through your address update checklist in stages.

Before moving day

Start with services where the move affects an account, delivery, connection, or cover rather than simply changing a mailing address:

  • electricity and gas providers
  • water provider, where the account is in your name
  • internet and home phone
  • home and contents insurance
  • landlord or property manager if you are renting
  • school, childcare, TAFE, or university
  • employer
  • regular home deliveries and subscription services
  • Australia Post mail redirection, if you want to use it

If you are still organising the rest of the move, keep this list alongside our moving house checklist so address changes do not get lost among packing, cleaning, and moving-day jobs.

Around or shortly after the move

Once your new address is confirmed, work through:

  • myGov and relevant linked government services
  • Australian Electoral Commission
  • driver licence and vehicle registration
  • banks and credit card providers
  • superannuation funds
  • insurance providers
  • healthcare providers
  • local council records
  • pet registration and microchip records
  • memberships and loyalty programs
  • shopping and delivery accounts
  • family and friends

Not every item will apply to every household, but this gives you a practical starting point for your own address change checklist.

Government services and official records

Government records are particularly important because changing your address with one agency does not necessarily update it everywhere.

myGov and linked services

You can update your address in your myGov account.

After updating your myGov contact details, you can choose to send them to certain linked services. These currently include:

  • Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
  • Centrelink
  • Medicare
  • State Revenue Office Victoria
  • Workforce Australia

Only linked services that support the feature will receive the update, so check the services you use rather than assuming one myGov change has covered every government record.

You may also need to update other government services separately depending on your circumstances, such as Child Support, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, My Aged Care, or NDIS-related records.

Australian Electoral Commission

If you have moved permanently, your electoral enrolment may also need to change.

The Australian Electoral Commission allows you to update your enrolment at the new address once you have lived there for at least one month.

Updating your enrolment through the AEC covers your details for federal elections and relevant state, territory, and local government elections, although the AEC itself runs federal electoral events.

Driver licence and vehicle registration

Driver licences and vehicle registrations are managed by individual states and territories, so there is no single national address-change process.

If you are remaining in the same state or territory, you will generally need to update the address attached to your licence and vehicle records.

An interstate move may involve more than changing an address. Check the rules in your new state or territory to find out whether your licence or registration needs to be transferred.

Remember to check records for:

  • cars
  • motorcycles
  • trailers
  • caravans
  • boats and other registered vessels

Your vehicle’s garaging address may also need to be updated separately.

State and territory address changes

A change of address checklist for Australia cannot be completely identical for every household because many licences, concessions, registrations, and permits are administered at state, territory, or council level.

Along with your driver licence and vehicle registration, check whether any of the following apply to you:

Record or service

What to check

Toll account or road tag

Update your address, vehicle details, and billing information with the relevant toll provider

Seniors and concession cards

Check whether your state or territory requires a separate update

Public transport accounts

Update registered travel cards and concession details where applicable

Working with Children or worker screening

Check the authority that issued your clearance

Trade and occupational licences

Update any licence or registration that records your residential or mailing address

Boat and vessel records

Check the relevant transport or maritime authority

Recreational licences

Fishing, hunting, firearms, or other regulated licences may have their own change-of-details process

Pet registrations

Check your council and any state or territory animal-registration requirements

This becomes especially important when moving interstate. A record issued in your old state or territory may need to be transferred, replaced, or updated through a different authority rather than simply given a new address.

Banks, finance, and superannuation

Banks and financial providers should have your current residential and mailing details even if most of your communication is electronic.

Your list of address changes when moving house may include:

  • banks and credit unions
  • credit card providers
  • mortgage or home loan providers
  • personal and vehicle finance
  • superannuation funds
  • share registries
  • investment platforms
  • accountants
  • financial advisers

If you have several products with the same financial institution, check that changing your profile updates all of them.

It is also worth reviewing saved billing addresses while you are logged in. An account may use your new contact address while an older card or payment method still carries your previous one.

Insurance providers

A house move can affect more than where an insurer sends correspondence, so tell your insurer you are moving rather than treating it as an ordinary mailing-address update.

Depending on what you hold, check:

  • home insurance
  • contents insurance
  • car and motorcycle insurance
  • private health insurance
  • life insurance
  • income protection
  • pet insurance
  • travel insurance

For home and contents cover in particular, confirm when cover at the old property ends and what needs to happen for the new property. Do not assume changing your postal address automatically makes the required change to the policy.

Electricity, gas, water, and internet

Utilities usually need to be organised before the move because you may need to close an account at one property and connect or transfer a service at another.

Check:

  • electricity
  • gas
  • water, where you hold the account
  • internet and NBN services
  • home phone
  • mobile billing details
  • security or alarm monitoring
  • solar or energy accounts

For electricity, our guide to connecting electricity to your new home covers the moving process in more detail.

Make sure you know the final service date at the property you are leaving and the connection date at the new home.

Employer, education, and childcare

Update your residential or postal address with your employer so payroll, tax, superannuation, and employment records remain current.

Depending on your household, you may also need to notify:

  • school
  • childcare or kindergarten
  • before- and after-school care
  • TAFE
  • university
  • tutoring services
  • sports clubs
  • music or other regular activities

Where the move means changing school or childcare provider, there may also be enrolment or record-transfer requirements to organise.

Healthcare providers

Updating Medicare does not automatically mean every doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider has your new address.

Check the services your household uses, such as:

  • GP or medical clinic
  • dentist
  • specialists
  • physiotherapist
  • optometrist
  • pharmacy
  • allied health providers
  • regular care or support providers

If the move takes you far enough away that you need new healthcare providers, ask what is required to transfer relevant records.

Pets and animals

Pets can create several separate address changes.

Depending on where you live and the type of animal you have, check:

  • council pet registration
  • microchip registry
  • veterinary clinic
  • pet insurer
  • boarding or daycare service
  • groomer
  • regular food or medication deliveries

Council and animal-registration requirements differ around Australia, particularly when moving between council areas or interstate.

Shopping, deliveries, subscriptions, and memberships

Digital accounts are some of the easiest address changes to forget because you may rarely receive physical mail from them.

Review accounts for:

  • online retailers
  • supermarket delivery
  • meal kits
  • food delivery apps
  • newspaper and magazine subscriptions
  • subscription boxes
  • gyms and health clubs
  • loyalty and rewards programs
  • frequent flyer accounts
  • sporting and social clubs
  • professional associations
  • charities

Remove your old home from saved delivery addresses where possible. Otherwise, it is surprisingly easy to select an old address at checkout months after moving.

Australia Post mail redirection

Australia Post mail redirection can help catch correspondence from organisations you have not yet updated.

Personal mail can currently be redirected within Australia for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months. You can arrange this through Australia Post.

Treat redirection as a safety net rather than the final step in changing your address when moving house. Whenever redirected mail reaches you, check whether the sender still needs your new address.

This can be particularly useful for annual statements, renewals, memberships, or services you may not remember during the first few weeks after moving.

How to find address changes you have forgotten

Even a detailed change of address checklist cannot know every organisation you deal with. Your own records are often the quickest way to find the remaining gaps.

Check recent transactions

Go through a few months of bank and credit card transactions. Recurring payments can reveal insurers, memberships, subscriptions, charities, and services you have forgotten to add to your list.

Search your email

Search for terms such as:

  • invoice
  • statement
  • renewal
  • policy
  • delivery
  • order
  • subscription
  • membership

This often turns up accounts that still hold your address but may only contact you occasionally.

Review saved delivery addresses

Open the shopping and delivery accounts you use most often and check the saved addresses rather than waiting until your next purchase.

Removing an old address is safer than relying on yourself to spot it every time you order something.

Keep your address update checklist for a while

Do not throw the list away as soon as moving day is over.

An annual renewal, redirected letter, forgotten membership, or rarely used account may expose another address that still needs changing. Keep the checklist handy until you are confident the important records have been updated.

Moving interstate?

Changing address is only one part of an interstate move. Licences, vehicle registration, utilities, council records, and some state-issued permits may need more than a simple contact-detail update once you cross a state or territory border.

If you are planning a move between states, see our Interstate Removals information for the moving side of the process, and check the relevant government authorities in your destination state or territory for any records that need to be transferred.

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