Welcome to Access Canberra

Government services are important

There are lots of reasons you might need to access government services, from renewing your drivers licence, to searching for lost superannuation.

Until recently, accessing government services meant going into town to an office location, and waiting in the queue. Nowadays, you can access most services from a website or from an app on your phone. Almost everything you need is available at the click of your mouse (or a tap of your finger).

What can government services do?

As well as helping you manage your personal information, such as ID and official address, you can also use government services to:

• save money by applying for rebates, discount or concession cards
• find lost money
• see the rules or steps for things such as making a will or selling your home
• check details, like when your car registration is due for renewal.

Doing all this online can be more convenient than going into an office or even calling on the phone.

What you need to access government services

To access some of the ACT's government services using a website, you'll first need to create an ACT Digital account, by providing an email address and creating a strong password.

You can then upgrade this account by providing proof of identity. This includes:

• A form of photo ID, such as driver licence or passport
• A second form of ID, such as your Medicare card.

Upgrading your ACT Digital account will let you access the full range of government services available on the web.

eSafety tip

To create a free ACT Digital Account, you will also need to provide your current street address. Only provide your address if you are comfortable with the ACT government website having this information.

How do I access ACT government services?

For residents of the ACT, the government services website is called Access Canberra. To visit, enter accesscanberra.act.gov.au in the address bar of your computer’s web browser.

The difference between Access Canberra and other sites

The ACT government also has a website at act.gov.au which contains a lot of the same information as the Access Canberra website.

However, the Access Canberra website lets you sign in with an ACT Digital account to make payments, and access services online. The act.gov.au website only has information about services and will link you to Access Canberra.

Coming up in this course

For the rest of this course, you will learn more about how to use the Access Canberra website, and the different services you can access.

You’ll find out how to manage your personal information, how to access essential everyday services, and how to save money by using the ACT government's Cost of Living support web page.

You can always call

The Access Canberra website contains a lot of information and has lots of different screens. If you can't find what you need, you can always call Access Canberra on 13 22 81 between 8:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and speak to a representative who will help you get what you need.

Well done!

This is the end of the Welcome to Access Canberra activity. You've learned what Access Canberra is and how it can help you access government services.

Up next is the Managing your personal information activity, where you can learn what information Access Canberra has about you, how to access it, and how to update it when you need to.