Accessing online services in South Australia

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 at the click of your mouse (or tap of your finger).

What can government services do?

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

• save money by applying for rebates
• apply for 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.

Being able to do all this online is much faster and easier than going into an office or even calling on the phone.

What you need to access government services

To access government services using one of South Australia's government websites, or the official app, you'll need to provide proof of identity. This includes:

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

eSafety tip

Setting up a mySA GOV account on the www.sa.gov.au website, means you'll receive an account, with a username and password, which you can use to sign in quickly from then on.

You can also sign in to the mySA GOV service apps on your smartphone by using a passcode, fingerprint, or faceID, depending on what kind of phone you use, and depending which app you are accessing.

Remember, only download apps from the official app store for your device: Google Play for Android devices and the App Store for Apple iPhone and iPad.

How do I access online services?

For residents of South Australia, there are two main websites which help you access government services.

• www.sa.gov.au has information about all government services, and lets you access those services directly, such as renewing your South Australian driver licence
• service.sa.gov.au focuses on making it easy for you to access things you need to do, and may take you over to www.sa.gov.au to access a service.

eSafety tip

When entering the address for the South Australian Government website, make sure to include the www at the beginning. Some websites let you skip this, but if you type sa.gov.au only, your browser may show some search results instead of going to the South Australia government website.

What's the difference between the two sites?

The www.sa.gov.au website has all the services you can access online, as well as lots of information and useful guides for how to access these services. The site is best viewed on a computer, where the larger screen gives plenty of space for all the details.

The service.sa.gov.au website works with your mySA GOV account to let you apply for or use certain services, to save you having to go into a Service SA office location.

How do I access services on my mobile phone?

If you prefer to use a smartphone or tablet, you can search for and download the mySA GOV app from your device's official app store.

It allows quick access to the most commonly used services and is used for checking in to locations by scanning a QR code. It can also be used to display your digital licence and proof of vaccination.

Coming up in this course

For the rest of this course, you can learn more about how to use the South Australian government websites, and the different services you can access.

You'll find out how to manage your personal information in your mySA GOV account, how to check essential everyday services, and even how to save money.

The South Australian Government websites are intended to make your life easier when it comes to accessing government services.

You can always call

The South Australian Government websites contain a lot of information and have lots of different screens. If you just can't seem to find what you need, don't worry. You can always call on 13 10 84 weekdays between 9:00am and 5:00pm, and speak to a representative, who will help you get what you need.

Well done!

This is the end of the Accessing online services in South Australia activity. You've learned what the South Australian Government websites are and how they can help you access government services.

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