Dealing with Centrelink in person can be a lengthy process. Centrelink does not take appointments and visiting a service centre may require spending hours waiting in line before being served.

As an alternative you can access services from Centrelink online. Services include claiming an entitlement to a payment, updating details, getting reminders and reporting your income. You can also subscribe so that you only receive letters from Centrelink online, which can help with keeping your details private and only accessible by you.

A complete list of all the things you can do with your online account is found on the Centrelink website.

In order to access Centrelink services online you need to:

1. Register with Centrelink (if you have never registered with Centrelink before).
2. Create a Centrelink online account.
3. Link your Centrelink online account to your online myGov account.

If you have previously received a payment from Centrelink, you will already have a Customer Reference Number (CRN), which can be found on a letter that Centrelink has previously sent to you, or on your Health Care Card, if you have one.

If you have never received a payment from Centrelink, don't have a CRN or don't know your CRN, you will need to visit a service centre to get a CRN. See this list of locations of Centrelink Service Centres.

You will need to bring certain original documents to confirm your identity. See these Examples of acceptable identification documents. If you do not have enough documents, let Centrelink know so that you can talk about other options.

Create a Centrelink online account

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If you have received a Centrelink payment before, you may already have a CRN and access to an online account.

In order to create your online account, you will need:

• your CRN;
• access to identification documents that prove your identity to Centrelink (e.g. a bank account statement that Centrelink has deposited money to, driver's licence or passport you have provided to Centrelink previously or a letter you have received from Centrelink);
• to set an online account password and secret questions. Make sure that your password and secret questions are only answerable by you.

You may also choose to register for Phone Self-Service by agreeing to the terms and setting a PIN.

Read more about how to register for a Centrelink Online Account.

Once registered, you will receive a Customer Access Number (CAN) – a number you need to access all Centrelink online services. You will need to keep a record of your CAN.

You can use your CAN to access your Centrelink account through Centrelink's Self Service Centre, including via their Express Plus Lite mobile app. You can provide documents to Centrelink through the app by taking a photo with your phone and uploading to the app. This can make reporting to Centrelink quicker and easier and your interactions with Centrelink more private.

Centrelink online and mobile app is available 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Linking your Centrelink online account to myGov

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MyGov is a way to access a range of government online services with one login and one password, including Centrelink, Child Support and Medicare.

To create a myGov account visit the myGov website, select the “Create an account” button and follow the steps. You will need to set up a username with an email address, and a password. You can also choose to access your account by either answering a series of secret questions, or receiving a text with a code to your mobile phone. You will need to select the option that is most appropriate to keep access to your account private. You may need to limit access to your mobile phone by other people if you choose to receive the access code by text message. When accessing online services, you will need to be wary of cookies or other prompts on your computer that may save usernames or passwords, especially if your computer is accessible by others, in order to keep your account private.

You can learn more in the guide page: Creating a myGov account.

To link your Centrelink online account to myGov:

1. Sign in to your myGov account and select services.
2. Follow the steps to link your Centrelink member service to myGov.

Learn more on how to link Centrelink to myGov.