How do you get a TFN in Australia in 2026?

The Australian Taxation Office provides an online Individual Auto-Registration service for eligible permanent migrants and temporary visitors. You must already be in Australia and hold a valid work-rights visa linked to your foreign passport or accepted travel document.

If you do not have a valid work-rights visa, you cannot use Individual Auto-Registration. The ATO directs permanent migrants without that visa to the Australian residents TFN application, and temporary visitors to the paper form for people living outside Australia even when they are currently in Australia. Use the Taxation Office's application selector when your visa or identity position does not match the online migrant route.

Applying is free. Avoid commercial sites that charge to submit the same government application or ask for unnecessary identity access.

Enter your passport or travel-document number, nationality as shown in the visa record, full name, other names, date of birth, contact details, Australian residential details, and an Australian postal address.

The form also asks about earlier Australian identifiers, tax returns, property, business interests, spouse details, or Centrelink records. Search for an existing number rather than creating a duplicate.

Match the spelling and order used in the passport and Department of Home Affairs visa record. A name difference can delay later links with payroll, myGov, a bank, or superannuation.

After processing, the ATO sends a TFN notification letter to the Australian postal address on the form. Allow up to 28 days, and do not lodge a second application while you wait. If nothing arrives after that window, contact the ATO with your receipt ID.

Give the number to an employer through the approved tax declaration process and to your superannuation fund where appropriate. Do not place it on a résumé, ordinary job application, rental application, or public document.

Link the Australian Taxation Office to your myGov government-services account only through official channels. If online linking cannot verify your history, contact the Taxation Office for the correct linking process.

Your tax number does not decide tax residence or the tax treatment of overseas income. Those questions depend on facts and law.