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  • When you can't sign in to your myGov account

    How to access your myGov account if you can't sign in.

    On this page

    Sign in issues

    You may not be able to sign in to your myGov account because you:

    • changed your mobile phone number
    • went overseas and no longer have access to your Australian mobile number
    • deleted the myGov Code Generator app
    • can't answer your secret question
    • forgot your password.

    If you forget your password, reset it by selecting Forgot password on the myGov sign in page.

    When you can't sign in to your myGov account, you can either:

    Recover your account using myGovID

    If you used SMS security codes or Answer a secret question as your sign in option, you can use myGovID to recover your account.

    To recover your myGov account, download the myGovID app and set it up to a Strong identity strengthExternal Link.

    Your name, date of birth and email address for your myGov account must match the details you use to set up your myGovID.

    After you set up your myGovID, you can recover your account:

    1. Go to the myGov sign inExternal Link page.
    2. Enter your username and password and select Sign in.
    3. Select I didn’t get my code or I can't answer my question.
    4. Select Continue with Digital Identity.
    5. Sign in with your myGovID.

    In future, you can use your myGovID to sign in to myGov. To do this select Continue with Digital Identity on the myGov sign in page and follow the prompts.

    If you have SMS codes enabled, you can continue to receive these by updating your contact details in myGov with your new mobile phone number. This can be done in Account settings.

    Create a new myGov account and relink to the ATO

    If you can't recover your account using myGovID, you need to create a new myGov account and relink to the ATO.

    You can choose to use a different email address when creating your new account. If you want to use the same email address, myGov help desk must release it.

    Contact the myGov help desk:

    • In Australia. phone 13 23 07 and select option 1
    • Outside Australia, phone +61 1300 169 468.

    Avoid losing access

    To avoid losing access to your new myGov account, we recommend you use either the myGovID appExternal Link or myGov Code Generator appExternal Link if you:

    • don't have an Australian mobile number
    • are going overseas and won't have access to your Australian mobile number
    • have limited mobile reception.

    You can also enable a back-up sign in option:

    1. In myGov, go to My account.
    2. Select Account settings.
    3. Select Sign in options and follow the prompts.

    If you connect your myGovID, you'll automatically be able to use it with your existing sign in option.

    Last modified: 03 Sep 2022QC 63819