It will cause you a whole lot of stress, time, and worry!
Australia can be really competitive when it comes to jobs, apartments, and rentals. You might end up in a position where everyone wants the apartment you want, and you need to stand out (references).
You will need to prove your identity when applying for a property rental, driver’s licence, a white card or Medicare card, or setting up a mobile or superannuation account.
Editors Comment: I put together a list of all the ID documents my son needed when he moved to Sydney earlier this year. What I discovered is that reaching 100 points of ID was quite tricky without an Australian driver’s licence. So, make sure to add “convert to an Australian driver’s licence” to your to-do list as soon as you arrive in Australia.
On this page, you will find the helpful information below:
If you are moving to Australia, ensure you have all the document files below in a folder on an accessible device, and make at least one paper copy. Then, you can send/email or photocopy it when needed.
You don’t want to email people to chase a reference or, worse, ask for one.
So make sure you have all the correct paperwork ready so you can compete in the competitive Australian job market and rental applications!
I recommend you download, scan, and save all the files below in a ‘moving to Australia’ folder and make one physical paper copy. There are still times and people/companies/realtors that require paperwork documentation:
When I said people/companies need paperwork, well, schools are at the top of the list for what they need for kids, and it is generally a physical copy, but make sure you have everything digital.
You are going to need the below documents/paperwork for your children in Australia:
Honestly, I am not the first person to wish I had put in the time early and got all the above ready. People need time to forward you the above, and there’s nothing worse than being ill-prepared for something you want.
You must provide a total of 100 points of Australian and/or New Zealand documents to prove your identity. Depending on what you need the points for, they hold different values. The below is for a rental application but you will also need to prove your identity when it comes to getting a driver’s license, applying for a white card or Medicare card, and setting up a mobile or superannuation account. Although the values are different, the documents are generally the same.
You can use different combinations of documents to make up your 100 points, but you must include at least 1 primary document that has a photograph as part of your 100 points.
Documents required for 100 points identification check | Per Doc |
Passport and visa | 40 points |
Drivers Licence | 40 points |
Photo ID (e.g. 18 plus card, university photo ID) | 30 points |
Birth Certificate | 30 points |
Pay Slips | 20 points |
Medicare Card | 20 points |
Previous Landlord Reference | 20 points |
Bank Statement | 10 points |
Utility Bills with Current Address. | 10 points |
Please find below a breakdown of the ID you will need for the services you will have to set up in Australia.
A myGov account in Australia is like your digital key to access a bunch of important government services in one place. Here’s what you typically need it for:
To create a myGov account in Australia, you don’t need to provide identity documents during the initial setup. However, to access and link services like Medicare, Centrelink, or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), you will need to verify your identity.
Here’s a quick and easy step-by-step guide to setting up your myGov account in Australia:
You can enrol in Medicare either online through myGov or by completing a Medicare enrolment form. You will need a myGov account (above) to apply for Medicare online. ID needed:
The Australian rental market is very competitive, especially in the main cities. Most Australian rentals will require you to submit a tenancy application accompanied by the following documents.
I recommend preparing the below before you leave NZ and having it ready to go:
Many of my visitors are homeowners in New Zealand and have been for years. This means they don’t have written landlord references, contact information, or proof of their last bond being repaid.
This is very common, and a rental agent will understand.
The references are purely there to prove that you are a good tenant, so try to think of another way to show this. Any personal references, work or personal, will help.
If you are close to any of your neighbours in NZ, you could ask them for a personal reference, which would prove that you were a good neighbour and looked after your property. That may give you a little bit of an advantage over other applicants.
Make sure you transfer some money into your Australian bank to prove you can pay the rent and even show further savings in your NZ bank account (especially if it’s not an optimal time to transfer your funds to Australia).
Read more about getting a rental in Australia in my Renting and Accommodation in Australia post.
Schools, doctors, and dentists will request your NZ provider’s medical records, school reports, and dentist records. So, it’s better to get these before you leave NZ, as you may need to visit them personally and sign a consent form.
Therefore, you should obtain paper or electronic copies of your medical/dentist records for yourself and your family. You will need to provide these to your new doctor and dentist.
You could also have them sent directly to your new provider’s office. Be sure these include the results of any lab work, imaging, or other tests you’ve had. It’s a very straightforward process, just a signature on a form.
Contact your child’s current school and notify them your child is leaving. They will have had many children changing schools and moving to another country and will give you everything you need.
Your new school in Australia will want at least their last school report but may want to go further. It is also very helpful to provide samples of your child’s work – either a Portfolio or a range of work samples in different subject areas.
The below posts might interest you:
If you’ve read the above content and the answer to your question isn’t there, please write a comment below and I’ll research the answer for you.
If you need advice on moving to Australia from New Zealand, I’ve created a helpful little questionnaire to point you in the right direction. It takes less than 30 seconds, so give it a go!
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Matthew Morris
April 24, 2025 at 7:10 amHello,
I see a tenancy agreement is often required to prove your address. I will be living at my brothers house in Brisbane when I get there for a few months so was wondering, how can I prove tenancy in this situation? My name won’t be on the utilities, it’s his house.
Kind regards,
Matthew
JJ Smith
April 30, 2025 at 12:47 pmHi Matthew,
Thanks for your comment.
Proving your identity is indefinitely one of the main hassles when moving to Australia.
I recommend you sign up for a bank account before you arrive. It is not only way easier, as you won’t have all the paperwork they want if you walk in, but it also gives you a very useful ID document.
So after you’ve signed up online and moved to Australia, you have to go into a CommBank branch to verify your identity and collect your eftpos card. When you do this, ask for them to give you a print out of your statement, which will have your brothers address on it and therefore will prove your address for your tenancy agreement.
It is also really tricky setting up utilities after you arrive because of the paperwork, so recommend using a utility connection service like Compare & Connect, who take care of the paperwork for you. You can read more about it here in my New Utility Connection Service post.
Hope the above helps.
Good luck with your move.