TFN Address Change: Update Client Details

A TFN address change updates the client’s ATO contact record while their issued Tax File Number (TFN) stays the same. Confirm your authority, change the correct address through the client or agent route, then reopen the record to check what saved.

Choose the Details That Need Changing

Identify whether the client needs a residential address, postal address, email address or telephone number changed. Ask where they live and where they want correspondence sent. Those answers can differ.

A move does not require a fresh TFN application. An individual keeps their TFN when their address changes. The TFN guide explains the identifier and its uses.

Separate contact changes from a legal name change, a tax residency assessment or a change of entity. A director’s home address and a company’s address belong to different records. Moving overseas also calls for a separate residency assessment.

Before opening a record, collect the client’s instructions and the full replacement details. For an address, include the unit or street information, locality, state or territory, postcode and country. Record whether the postal address stays unchanged.

Confirm Authority Before Updating

Confirm the person or entity whose ATO record needs changing and your authority to act for that taxpayer. A client’s TFN identifies a record. Knowing it does not establish permission to change the record.

For an individual who updates their own details, the client signs in to their own myGov account. You can explain the steps while the client completes them. Keep their password and sign-in codes with the client.

For an agent update, retain signed authority and confirm the practice has the required client relationship and staff permissions. A registered BAS agent’s authority is limited to BAS provisions. Do not treat activity statement access as authority for all income tax matters.

For a company, trust or partnership, confirm that the person instructing you can act for that entity. The ATO’s primary and authorised contact guidance explains the relevant roles.

If access is missing, use the Online services for agents guide to resolve the client relationship before editing details. Where agent nomination applies, the client must complete that personal authorisation step.

Update the Client’s ATO Contact Details

Use the route that matches the taxpayer and the authority you have confirmed. Keep the individual’s personal record separate from an entity record.

Client-Assisted Individual Update

The ATO’s personal contact update instructions document this route:

1. Ask the client to sign in to myGov and open Australian Taxation Office under Linked services.
2. Open My profile, then Personal details.
3. Under Contact details, open the arrow beside the detail being changed.
4. Enter the replacement address or contact detail from the client’s instructions.
5. Agree to the declaration and select Save.
6. Reopen that detail and compare the saved value with the requested change.

The client can also edit details through myGov’s Profile and Contact details. They then choose which linked services receive the update. myGov’s sharing rules require Australian home and postal addresses and an update effective now or earlier. Select the ATO when sharing a change intended for its record.

Authorised Agent Update

Follow the ATO’s agent user guide for the account you can access:

1. Select the intended client, then open Profile and Client addresses.
2. Find the relevant address and account. Select Update beside the address.
3. Complete the mandatory fields with the agreed address. Check which accounts receive the change.
4. Confirm the authority declaration and select Save.
5. Reopen the address to check the saved value and account.

For an individual’s phone or email, use Profile and Client details, open the relevant detail, make the change and save with any required declaration. Activity statement notification emails have their own Profile and Email addresses function. Keep that destination as the client’s email.

Assisted Official Update

An individual who cannot complete the online update can contact the ATO after establishing their identity or use its Change of details for individuals form. Record the channel used and the request reference, if issued. Also record the requested change and any follow-up instruction. Keep the task open until the saved record is confirmed.

Check the Saved Address

Compare the reopened ATO record with the client’s instructions before marking the update complete. Check the taxpayer identity first, then the address type and account. Confirm that the postal destination belongs to the intended recipient.

For example, a fictional individual client moves home but keeps a separate postal address. The correct result is a new residential address and the existing postal destination. Replacing both with the new home address would change where the client receives correspondence.

ATO addresses can differ between accounts. The ATO’s client update guidance says a lodged income tax return updates the income tax address. It does not automatically update other addresses.

The agent guide also identifies an ABR-linked activity statement account in address changes. Check the resulting Australian Business Register (ABR) record separately when it matters. An ATO save does not establish that an ASIC register, bank or every government service has the new address. List the other records needing attention and assign each update to the client or authorised staff member.

Record who checked the ATO result and when. Keep confirmation of an ATO update separate from a note that your practice’s client record changed.

Resolve a Mismatch or Missing Authority

Match the failure to its cause before trying the change again.

What you see	What to check	What to do next
The client is missing from the agent list	Correct taxpayer, client relationship and required nomination	Resolve linking through the ATO. An archived or security-assessed record can need ATO assistance.
The address update is rejected	Mandatory fields, address type and account permissions	Follow the displayed error and in-page Help. Use the ATO enquiry route if the online change still fails.
myGov details do not match the ATO record	Name and date of birth in myGov against the client’s identity records	Correct the record held by the responsible service, then complete linking again.
The home address changed but correspondence still goes elsewhere	Postal address, account address and communication preferences	Inspect the destination for that account and obtain authority for any further change.

The ATO’s individual online-service help explains identity mismatches. If myGov details are incorrect, the client must contact the linked service responsible for them. If those details are correct, contact the ATO to correct its record.

Agents can use practice mail registration enquiries when online contact or address changes do not meet the requirement. Provide the affected account and error through the authorised channel. Record the response and check the record after the ATO resolves the enquiry.

A fresh TFN application cannot repair a mismatch on an existing record. Resolve identity or authority with the ATO for that taxpayer.

Keep the Client Form Consistent

Update the practice’s client form after confirming which contact details the client wants changed. Tax Genie collects client and contact details in one guided form. Staff can ask the client to change specific sections without sending the whole form again.

Tax Genie records staff corrections with who changed what and when. That history shows how the practice’s information changed. The ATO record needs its own saved-result check through the authorised government route.

Keep separate task statuses for the corrected form and the confirmed ATO update. Close the government-record task only when the intended taxpayer, address type and postal destination match the client’s instructions.