Setting up myGov
If myGov is new to you, we recommend you complete the All about myGov course first to discover how myGov can help you safely and securely manage your personal information with different government services.
But if you are ready to get started, this course will show you how to set up your new myGov account, and then how to sign into that account for the first time.
Let's start by watching Julie set up her myGov account from scratch in the short video below.
Transcript
Welcome to 'How to set up a myGov account'. In this video, Julie is going to set up her myGov account for the first time. MyGov is a website that provides access to lots of important government services from the one place. A myGov account will allow Julie to access the Australian Tax Office, or ATO, Medicare, Centrelink and more, all from her computer. It will also help secure Julie's personal information with a single login and password
Before she can begin, Julie needs an active email address. She'll need this to sign in to myGov each time she uses it. She also needs her phone number, and mobile phone. This allows her to receive a secure code as a text message from myGov each time she signs in. Great, Julie is now ready to set up her myGov account. She types my.gov.au into her computer's web browser. The site opens at the log in screen and she clicks on the Create an account button
Next, she enters her email address. To be sure that the address belongs to Julie, myGov emails her a secure code. Once Julie has correctly typed the emailed code into myGov, she has confirmed her identity and can continue. Now, she enters her mobile phone number. Like before, myGov checks that the mobile number belongs to Julie by sending a secure code as a text message to her phone. She confirms it's her phone number by typing the code into myGov. If she types it incorrectly, she won't be able to continue to the next step, so she enters each number carefully. Now, Julie will create a strong password. It must be at least seven letters long and include at least one number. She types the password a second time to confirm it, making sure that all the capitals match exactly.
Lastly, myGov asks Julie to type the answers to three secret questions from a list. If Julie ever forgets her password or loses her mobile phone, myGov can ask her to answer the questions to regain access to her account. When she's finished, that's it! Julie's myGov account is now set up and ready for her to link the services she needs. You can watch the 'How to sign in to myGov and link a service' video to see how to do this.
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1
Preparing for a new myGov account
4 min
2
Setting up your new myGov account
5 min
3
Signing in to myGov
6 min
4
Keeping your myGov account secure
5 min
5
Changing your myGov account settings
6 min
6
Getting help with your myGov account
6 min