When you change your address, you need to make sure you update your details with all of the relevant parties. Having a change of address checklist helps you methodically go through each step and ensures there are no loose ends. Whether it’s important government organisations, financial institutions, utilities, educational institutions or private subscriptions, it will benefit you to inform them about your change of address.
Address change checklist Australia
- Notifying the relevant parties ensures your details are up to date so it’s easy to reach you
- Government agencies require your information to confirm your account registration
- Financial institutions may need your most recent address for security reasons
- Your employer needs to be aware of your address, especially if you work in person
- Educational institutions may need your address for zoning or sensitive mail
- Utility providers need to know your current residence to charge you accurately
- Memberships and subscriptions need your address for delivery and correspondence
- Your insurance companies need up-to-date information to conduct business with you smoothly
Why do you need to notify anyone when you change address?
There are many parties who need up-to-date information about your address. This can be for a range of reasons including security and having somewhere you send your mail.
Many organisations require your details to be consistent in order to provide their services. Your address is one of the personal details that can be used to confirm your identity and prevent identity theft. Updating your details with the relevant groups promptly lowers the chance of having incongruence between different accounts and dealing with security issues.
Having somewhere for mail to be sent is also important. Certain sensitive information may not be conveyed through phone or email. So having a physical address to receive this correspondence is crucial.
Where are you moving?
While you should notify the appropriate parties regardless, the urgency with which you treat the matter increases based on how far you’re moving. If you’re simply moving house to a nearby suburb, then there is less of a rush to inform certain parties. However, if you’re moving interstate, it will often be wise to clarify this beforehand. This is because there are greater legal implications to a larger move. An address change that involves a different state could affect things like tax and employment contracts.
Government agencies
Government agencies may require your address to allow you access to their services. Departments like Services Australia, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Australian Electoral Commission, and the Department of Transport all require the most up-to-date information and contact details as soon as possible. They should be a high priority on your change of address checklist.
Services Australia
Services Australia encompasses a range of important things that people use. It will handle your government pension, superannuation benefits and much more. Keeping your contact details in line prevents there being issues with your accounts that may delay your payments.
Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office needs to have correct information for the purpose of taxation. They cross-reference information, so if your address is incongruous across platforms, you could run into some issues. Providing an accurate tax address allows you to make sure your identity is easily confirmed, so you can file your reports without any trouble.
Australian Electoral Commission
Your address change will be directly relevant to the Australian Electoral Commission. We vote in state and local elections based on where we reside. If you don’t update your address, you may end up voting in the incorrect election. This could result in your vote being invalidated or you receiving a fine.
Department of Transport
Informing the Department of Transport about your change of address is important because it needs to be updated on your driver’s licence. This is one of the most common forms of ID used, so having accurate details makes a big difference.
Local services
Many services in your local area also need to be aware of your change of address. What is available to you may vary depending on your local council. This can include things like libraries, community centres and senior citizen centres.
Financial institutions
Financial institutionsBanks and other financial institutions primarily need your address for security reasons. When dealing with lots of transactions and money, this is especially important. It prevents your money or identity from potentially being stolen.
Bank
Banks deal with a lot of important financial information including your savings and potentially your loan repayments. Dealing with sensitive financial matters requires a high deal of security. Updating your address is a good protective measure so that you can confirm your details easily when doing business with your bank.
Credit and debit card providers
Credit and debit card providers exclusively deal with the money you spend. Because of this, confirming your address helps to provide an extra layer of security. It may be harder to dispute false claims or get a card if you can’t provide easy proof of address.
Loan and mortgage companies
Loan and mortgage companies need your information for billing purposes. If they keep sending bills to the wrong address, you may not have a chance to pay them. This results in your loans piling up and your debt increasing.
Employer
Your employer needs to know about your change of address for a few reasons. Firstly, they need to have up-to-date information for invoicing and payment purposes. Secondly, it may be relevant for tax reasons. Your employer is another party to prioritise on your change of address checklist.
Obviously it would be important to tell your employer that you’re moving if your work involves showing up in person. But it may be relevant for remote work too. There may be legal or tax reasons that moving to a different state or country affects your employment or pay.
Educational institutions
There are multiple reasons to inform educational institutions about your change of address. Schools, universities and TAFEs all need to be able to send you mail and confirm your personal details.
Schools
Schools need your information for many of the standard reasons including correspondence and registration. However, it may also be relevant for zoning purposes. Public schools often have rules about who is eligible to attend based on where they live.
Universities and TAFE
Your university or TAFE may need to send you sensitive information by mail. Making sure it arrives in the right place is important to keep you informed of anything urgent.
Utility providers
Utility providersUtility providers need to know where you live because they charge you based on the address’s utility use. If you want household services available at your new address, you must notify utility companies about your address change. Failing to do so could lead to missed bills and a lack of critical services.
Electricity
It’s often a good idea to let your electricity provider know about your new address ahead of time. This is because it may take a few days for all your information to be properly updated.
Water
By letting your water provider know about your move, you will protect yourself from getting additional charges. This is because they will know when to stop charging you for the water use of the old address.
Gas
Let your gas provider know about your address change ahead of time. This gives them the opportunity to get a final gas reading before you change address. It means you’ll only be charged for the gas you used.
Internet
If you want to have internet access throughout your home, you need to make sure your internet provider knows about your new address. However, a broadband subscription is unnecessary if you are happy to stick with your mobile data.
Phone company
If you want to have a landline phone, you will need to contact your phone service provider. In some circumstances, this may be the same as your internet provider, which could streamline the process.
Australia Post
Making Australia Post aware of your new address is important to make sure you get your mail. They can do this through their mail redirection service. It finds the mail bound for your previous address and switches its destination to your new address.
Memberships and subscriptions
Memberships and subscriptions rely on having the right address details in order to correspond with you and send you what you pay for. These are often longer-term payments and are a lower priority on the change of address checklist.
Memberships
There are a number of organisations you could be a member of that may benefit from knowing about your change of address. This includes gyms, social sports clubs, professional organisations and social hobby groups. It’s easier for them to contact you if they have your most recent address.
Subscriptions
Subscription services rely on your physical address to deliver your goods to you. Traditionally, these would have been newspaper and magazine subscriptions. But in recent years, subscriptions have broadened to include meal ingredients, coffee or even perfumes. If you want to make sure you get the items you’re paying for, it’s important to update your address.
Insurance providers
Insurance companies need your address to properly assess your premiums and for billing purposes. Keeping your address updated can make sure you’re not making excessive insurance payments.
Health insurance providers
Health insurance covers you for a variety of different medical issues and procedures, making them more affordable. Having up-to-date details, including your new address, prevents there being issues with your billing. It makes things easier for both you and your medical practitioners.
Car insurance providers
Your car insurance provider helps you when you experience problems with your car. These may include vehicle breakdown cover, roadside assistance, and other extras on your particular policy. Letting them know about your change of address makes it easier for them to fix your car if it breaks down at your home.
Sort out your move before you consult the checklist
Letting everyone know about your address change can be a real headache. So the least you can do before getting to your change of address checklist is to make the move itself simple and easy. At Perth Cheap Movers, we do just that. We make moving houses hassle-free by finding out exactly what our customers need and working quickly to settle them into their new homes. Call us today and we can help make that address change a reality.