If your rent or accommodation details change, we may ask you to verify all the following:
- your address
- your rent amount or accommodation costs
- who you share with
- what kind of accommodation you’re living in.
To verify your details, we need a copy of either a:
- tenancy agreement
- Rent Certificate.
How to verify your rent details
If your Centrelink account is linked to myGov, you can verify your accommodation and rent details online. To do this:
- sign in to myGov and select Centrelink.
- select MENU from your homepage.
- select My details.
- select Personal and contact details then select Update accommodation details.
If you need help to do this, you can use our online guide on updating your address, accommodation and contact details.
If you don’t have a myGov account or a Centrelink online account, you’ll need to create an online account.
You can also submit a copy of your tenancy agreement or Rent Certificate either:
- by post
- at a service centre.
If you have a Centrepay deduction set up for your accommodation or rent costs, you’ll need to update your changes with Centrepay. If you need help to do this, you can use our online guide on updating a Centrepay deduction. We can’t use an update to your Centrepay deduction as rent verification.
When you don’t need to verify your rent
We don’t need you to verify your rent or accommodation details if you live in one of these types of accommodation:
- boarding house
- community or disability housing and your housing provider uses our Electronic Verification of Rent online service
- refuge, crisis or emergency accommodation if you’re in it for 3 months or less
- guest house
- hostel
- hotel
- a non-Commonwealth funded bed in residential care full time, including nursing homes and hostels
- lodging house
- private hotel
- retirement village and you qualified for Rent Assistance if you’ve been classified as a non-homeowner because of the amount of the entry contribution
- rooming house.
You also don’t need to verify your accommodation details if you either:
- transfer from your current income support or ABSTUDY payment to a different eligible payment and we’ve previously verified your accommodation details and they haven’t changed
- submit a new claim for an eligible payment and we’ve previously verified your accommodation details and they haven’t changed.