Apply for a TFN: Guide Your Individual Client

To apply for a TFN, direct your client to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) application route that matches their age, identity evidence and visa circumstances. Complete any required identity check, retain the application reference and collect the number after the ATO issues it.

Choose the Individual Application Path

An individual TFN application starts with the client’s circumstances. Applying is free, and Australian residents can apply at any age. Use the ATO’s individual application options to choose the route before preparing documents.

Client’s circumstances	Application route	Personal checkpoint
Australian citizen aged at least 15 with a Strong Digital ID	Online through Digital ID, such as myID	The client uses their own identity and government sign-in
Australian resident using physical identity documents	Online form followed by a participating Australia Post outlet	Attend with the application summary and current original identity documents
Australian resident using an assisted or postal route	Services Australia or a paper application sent to the ATO	Supply the form’s identity evidence and the required signature
Permanent migrant or temporary visitor in Australia with a valid work-rights visa	Individual Auto-Registration (IAR)	Enter the passport or travel-document details linked to the visa
Person outside Australia who needs a TFN for Australian tax affairs	The separate overseas individual paper form	Send the completed form with certified identity evidence

For an international student, confirm the visa’s work rights and that the client is in Australia before using IAR. A student label alone does not establish eligibility. IAR excludes visas with the no-work conditions 8101, 8103 or 8116. Without work rights, temporary visitors use the overseas individual paper route even while in Australia. Permanent migrants instead apply through the Australian resident route.

New Zealand citizens can use IAR after arrival with the work-rights visa granted on entry. A foreign resident outside Australia needs a reason for a TFN, such as Australian rental income or an Australian tax return. A foreign resident receiving only Australian interest, dividends or royalties generally does not need one. These distinctions come from the ATO’s application guidance.

A client in NSW follows the same national routes. Service NSW directs individual applicants to the ATO. A local Australia Post identity visit is part of the national application, not a state TFN registration.

Apply for a Child

A child under 15 cannot use the Digital ID application route. Choose Australia Post or the suitable paper route, then follow the signing rules for the child’s age.

• For a child aged 12 or younger, the parent or guardian signs.
• At ages 13 to 15, either the child or their parent or guardian can sign.
• From age 16, the applicant signs, subject to the ATO’s provisions for someone unable to sign.

When a parent or guardian signs, the application requires evidence of the child’s identity and the adult’s identity, plus evidence of their relationship or authority. For Australia Post, use the official identity and eligibility requirements to assemble the documents. Signing for the child does not automatically make the adult an authorised contact for later enquiries.

For example, a hypothetical 14-year-old client without a Strong Digital ID can use the Australia Post route. The client or their guardian signs at the identity visit. If the guardian signs, they bring the additional evidence required for that role.

Company, trust and partnership applications follow the entity TFN application route. Keep them separate from an individual’s application.

Check Before Starting

Confirm that the client has never received a TFN before starting a new application. A number generally stays with the individual through changes of name, work or residence. If they have lost an existing number, use the TFN recovery steps first.

Match the client’s legal name and date of birth to their identity documents. Resolve different names with the accepted name-change evidence. Confirm the address where they can receive the result, particularly for a client who has recently arrived in Australia.

Prepare the documents for the chosen channel. Australia Post requires current originals and rejects photocopies. Postal applications require certified copies of the required original documents. Follow the form’s certification instructions and keep the originals with the client.

Your practice can explain the route, help prepare answers and organise the evidence. The client completes their personal Digital ID verification and government sign-in. A tax agent’s appointment does not replace the applicant’s required signature or a guardian’s authority evidence. Only a person permitted under the selected application’s rules can sign for someone else.

If the client cannot provide the standard documents, use the ATO’s assisted options. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants have a separate form and identity-reference arrangements when standard evidence is unavailable. Services Australia and the ATO can assist with the applicable channel.

Apply for a TFN Online

Online application has different completion points for Digital ID, Australia Post and IAR. Follow the sequence for the selected route.

Use a Strong Digital ID

1. Have the eligible client set up their own Strong Digital ID. With myID, they complete the document and photo checks in the app. A Strong myID can use the supported Western Australian driver’s licence photo-verification option as an alternative to passport photo verification.
2. Open the citizen application through the ATO’s application options and review the terms. Select Continue with Digital ID.
3. Have the client sign in to myGov or create their account and connect their Digital ID. For an existing myGov account, their myID email address must match the myGov email address.
4. Complete the TFN application. Save the application summary securely. In most cases it contains the issued TFN immediately. If further processing is needed, it contains a reference number instead.

After processing, the ATO links the client’s myGov account to ATO online services and sends the TFN letter to their myGov Inbox. myGov and myID are separate services. An existing myGov account alone does not meet the Strong Digital ID requirement. myGovID is the former name of myID.

Use Australia Post

1. Complete the official online individual application form.
2. Print the application summary containing the reference number. Gather the required original identity documents and any guardian evidence.
3. Find a participating outlet through Australia Post’s TFN service. Attend within 30 days of completing the online form.
4. Present the evidence and sign the application at Australia Post. This completes the application’s identity step. Retain the reference and record when the documents were sighted.

Sending the online form alone leaves this route incomplete. The printed summary goes to the identity visit. Do not post it to the ATO as a paper application.

Use IAR

1. Confirm that the client is in Australia and holds a valid work-rights visa linked to their passport or travel document.
2. Open IAR through the ATO’s permanent-migrant and temporary-visitor application guidance.
3. Enter the client’s identity, travel-document and address details accurately. Complete the application and retain the ATO receipt ID.
4. Wait for the TFN notice at the Australian postal address on the application. IAR does not require documents to be posted to the ATO.

The IAR receipt confirms the application, while the later TFN notice supplies the number. Keep those two records distinct.

Use the Correct TFN Application Form

For the standard resident paper route, use Tax file number - application or enquiry for individuals (NAT 1432). The ATO’s paper-form instructions explain how to obtain the usable form through its Publications Ordering Service. Search for 1432 when ordering.

The downloadable sample PDF helps the client understand the questions. It cannot be lodged as the application. Use the paper form supplied by the ATO, complete its declaration and send it with the required certified copies to the address on that form.

A person using the overseas route needs Tax file number - application or enquiry for individuals living outside Australia. Use the download and evidence instructions in the ATO’s overseas application guidance. This is a different form from NAT 1432.

A Tax file number declaration tells an employer how to withhold tax from an employee’s pay. It does not apply for a new number. Keep the application form and the employer declaration separate when a client starts their first job.

Track the Application Outcome

Allow for the processing period attached to the completed application. The ATO generally issues a TFN within 28 days after receiving the application and required identity evidence. For Australia Post, count from completion of the identity step, not merely from filling in the online form.

Route	Expected result	Follow-up checkpoint
Strong Digital ID	TFN usually on screen and in the application summary, then a myGov Inbox letter	Further processing can take up to 28 days
Australia Post	Notice sent to the application’s postal address	Contact the ATO if the notice has not arrived after 28 days
IAR	Notice sent to the Australian postal address	After 28 days, enquire with the ATO receipt ID
Paper	Notice after the ATO receives the completed form and required documents	Allow for postal delivery, including international mail

Retain an application reference, receipt or application certificate as evidence that the client has applied. Record the status as awaiting issue until the ATO supplies the actual TFN.

If confirmation is missing, check whether the form was submitted and whether the identity visit or postal evidence was completed. If the client reports a details mismatch, compare their entries with the passport, visa record or other identity documents used. The ATO’s online-services help also identifies an IAR mismatch caused by a device outside an Australian time zone.

For an application delay, use the ATO’s individual enquiry channel on 13 28 61. Have the application reference or receipt ID ready, together with the applicant’s identity and address details. The ATO must establish identity and authority before discussing the application. The client can enquire personally, or an authorised contact can enquire within their authority.

Keep the receipt for follow-up. Do not submit a second application during the processing period. A practice cannot promise faster issuance, and a reference does not create a separate public tracking portal.

Collect the Issued Number Safely

Once the client receives the TFN, ask them to provide it through your practice’s accepted secure collection method. Check that the record contains the issued number for the right individual. Keep the application reference separately so staff cannot mistake it for a TFN.

Tax Genie supports this collection after the ATO issues the number. Its guided form collects the TFN, keeps it hidden until a staff member reveals it and logs every reveal. Tax Genie removes every TFN before AI review and excludes it from emails, exports and generated documents. The client completes the ATO application through the government route.

Complete the handover when the issued number is securely recorded against the client and the application follow-up is closed. For the broader handling steps, use the TFN guide for your practice.