in this guide
You can enrol your baby in Medicare as part of your claim for Family Tax Benefit or Parental Leave Pay. You can claim these family payments using your Centrelink online account.
You can only enrol your newborn with Medicare if they were born in Australia. Read more about how to enrol your baby if they were born overseas.
To enrol your baby you’ll need to provide us with supporting documents for proof of birth.
Upload your files as a PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG or BMP format less than 5MB.
The screenshots in this guide are from a computer. The screen layout will look different if you’re using a mobile device.
Step 1: sign in
Sign in to myGov and select Medicare.
If you’re using the app, open it and enter your myGov PIN.
On your homepage select Enrol a newborn from Services.
We’ll tell you what supporting documents you need to provide.
Select Enrol a newborn.
Step 2: confirm your details
Tell us if you intend to claim family assistance payments.
If you do intend to claim, we’ll enrol your baby as part of your family payment claim. You don’t need to enrol them again. You can make a family payment claim using your Centrelink online account.
If this is the case, select Yes then Next, which will stop this enrolment process.
If you don’t intend to claim family assistance payments, select No then Next. You can continue to enrol your baby in Medicare.
Tell us if your baby was born in Australia. Select either:
- Yes then Next
- No then Next, this will stop the online process.
If your baby wasn’t born in Australia, you can’t enrol them online. Read more about how to enrol your baby if they were born overseas.
Select your relationship to the baby from the dropdown list. Then select Next.
Step 3: add your baby’s details
Select how many babies you would like to enrol from the dropdown list. Then select Next.
You can enrol all your babies if you had multiple children in the same birth. You can also enrol babies from 2 births in the last 12 months.
Enter your baby’s details.
You’ll need to tell us your baby’s:
- Date of birth
- Family name
- Sex.
You can still enrol your baby even if you haven’t named them yet.
You can select either:
- I haven’t named my baby yet
- My baby does not have a first name.
We’ll add them to your Medicare card as NEWBORN FAMILY NAME. Their name will stay like this until you tell us their name.
You can tell us a first name at a later date.
If you want your baby to have a My Health Record select Yes. If you don’t want one, select No.
Select Yes if you want to add your baby to your Medicare Safety Net family. If you don’t want to, select No.
Then select Next.
When your baby has a long name
If your baby’s name is long it may not fit on your Medicare card. We’ll ask you to select either:
- Shorten your baby’s name to fit on your card
- Create a new card with their full name, select Next and go to Step 4 to upload supporting documents.
If you choose to shorten your baby’s name
If you select Shorten my baby’s name to fit on my card enter a shortened first name. This will appear on your Medicare card. Then select Next.
We’ll keep your newborn’s full name in our records.
If you send a duplicate application.
If you’ve already sent us an enrolment, we’ll let you know. Select Cancel to return to your home screen or Next to continue.
Step 4: upload supporting documents
Select Attach document to locate the document in your files. Then select Next.
We accept PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG or BMP files less than 5MB. You can also upload additional documents to support your application after you’ve submitted it.
You can’t continue unless you provide your supporting documents.
Tell us what kind of document you’ve uploaded. Select the Document Category from the dropdown list.
If you’re enrolling multiple babies, you’ll need to provide proof of birth for each baby. To add proof of birth for another baby, select Attach another document.
When you’ve attached all documents, select Next.
Depending on your circumstances, we may ask you to provide further documentation.
Step 5: add your baby to another person’s card
You can add your baby to another person’s Medicare card. This could be the other parent or full time carer. Select either:
- Yes then Next, to add your baby to another person’s Medicare card
- No then Next, and go to Step 6.
If you add your baby to another person’s Medicare card
Tell us the details of the other person so we can contact them to get their consent. You need to tell us their:
- Name
- Contact number
- Medicare card number (optional).
The other person has to consent before your baby can be added to their Medicare card.
Then select Next.
We’ll ask you if you need a copy of the new card. Select Yes if you need one. If you don’t, select No.
Then select Next.
Step 6: review and submit
Check your contact details are correct.
To change your details, select Edit.
When your details are correct, select Next.
Review your baby’s enrolment details.
If the details are wrong, select Edit to make changes.
When the details are correct, select either:
- Submit enrolment to declare the information and documents are correct and finish the enrolment
- Cancel to stop the enrolment.
If you cancel to stop the enrolment, none of your answers will be saved.
You’ll get an Application ID when you enrol your baby. Record this number for future reference.
It can take us up to 14 business days to enrol your baby in Medicare.
When your baby is enrolled, you can see your updated digital card straight away by selecting the My Card menu. It can take up to 4 weeks for us to send you a new Medicare card.
To return to your homepage select Home.
Step 7: sign out
From your homepage, you can complete other transactions or select Return to myGov to go back to your myGov account.
For your privacy and security, sign out when you’ve finished using your myGov account.
We have other guides to help you. Read about help for myGov, online accounts and mobile apps.