After you move

Apply for your Tax File Number (TFN)

Apply online once you're in Australia — the ATO posts your TFN, which can take up to 28 days.

ATO: TFN for migrants and visitors
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A Tax File Number (TFN) is your personal tax reference number in Australia. It's free to apply for, and once you're here with a visa that lets you work, the application is online. The ATO posts the number to you rather than showing it on screen, so start in your first days: the post can take up to 28 days, and your employer, your bank and your super fund will all ask for it.

How to do it

  1. Check your visa lets you work. You can check your visa details and conditions in VEVO. New Zealand citizens are automatically granted a visa with work rights when they arrive.
  2. Apply online once you're in Australia. If you have a valid work rights visa and you're in Australia, you can use the ATO's Individual Auto-Registration (IAR) for permanent migrants and temporary visitors. You won't need to send any documents.
  3. If your visa says "no work", use a different form. Visas with condition 8101, 8103 or 8116 can't use IAR. Permanent migrants apply with the Australian residents TFN application instead, and temporary visitors use the paper TFN application form for people living outside Australia, even while they're here.
  4. Give a postal address you'll still be at in a month. The ATO posts your TFN to the Australian address on your application, and you should receive it within 28 days.
  5. Don't apply twice. A second application during those 28 days slows things down. If nothing has arrived after 28 days, contact the ATO with the receipt ID from your application.
  6. Tell your employer you've applied. If you've applied for a TFN, your employer withholds tax at the standard rate for 28 days. After that, if you still haven't given it your TFN, it must withhold at the top rate from future pays.
  7. Quote it to your bank. If you don't, and an account earns $120 or more in interest a year, the bank withholds tax at the top rate plus Medicare levy.

Common mistakes

  • Trying to apply before you fly. The online application is for people who are in Australia.
  • Using a short-stay address you'll have left before the letter arrives.
  • Lodging a second application because the first seems slow.
  • Giving your TFN in a job application or over email. Keep it secure, since it's a common target for identity theft.

Moving from New Zealand? You'll also need a TFN before you can move your KiwiSaver into Australian super. Once your TFN is sorted, check your Australian tax residency and give the number to your new bank.

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