After the move: your change of address in South Australia

The 14-day rule

Service SA’s own words are plain: you must update your address within 14 days of the change. The good news is that one update does most of the work. Changing your address with Service SA updates it on:

• your driver’s licence, provisional licence or learner’s permit;
• your boat licence;
• your proof of age card;
• your disability parking permit;
• your vehicle registrations, including cars, caravans, motorbikes and trailers;
• your boat registrations.

How to update your address with Service SA

You can do it online through a mySAGOV account, using a web browser rather than the app, or in person at a Service SA centre. Once it is done, the new address shows on your mySAGOV digital licence straight away. The plastic card keeps showing the old address until your next renewal, unless you order a replacement.

1. Log in to your mySAGOV account in a web browser.
2. Find the option to update your details, and enter the new address.
3. Check that every licence and registration listed shows the new address.
4. Decide whether you want a replacement card now or the new address at renewal.

Your electoral enrolment

Enrolment is compulsory for Australian citizens aged 18 and over, and you must keep it up to date when you move. The AEC asks you to update your enrolment once you have lived at your new address for a month. You can only be enrolled at one address, so it is worth doing as soon as the month is up.

Moving to South Australia from interstate

If you have moved into SA from another state or territory, the rules are different. You must transfer to a South Australian driver’s licence within 3 months, at a Service SA centre, where a fee applies and a photo is taken. You also need to register your vehicle in SA within 3 months; a vehicle with interstate registration can be driven in SA for up to 90 days. Moves into and out of SA are handled by Moveall Interstate.

Everyone else to tell

None of these has a legal deadline that we know of, but each is easier done in the first few weeks than discovered months later. A simple way to work through them is to look at the last few months of mail and bank statements and note everyone who sends you something.

Who	Why
Your bank, super fund and credit card providers	Statements, new cards and security checks
The ATO and Medicare, through myGov	Tax and health records
Your insurers: home and contents, car, health	Your premium and cover can depend on where you live
Electricity, gas, water, internet and phone	Close accounts at the old home and open them at the new one
Your employer	Payroll and records
Schools, childcare, your GP and dentist	Records and contact details
Your council	Rates, bins and parking permits
Subscriptions and online shopping accounts	So deliveries go to the right door

Do this before moving day

A few things are best started before the truck arrives: book the utility connections at the new home so the power and internet are on when you walk in, arrange mail redirection if you want it, and read the final meters at the old home on the day you leave. If you are still planning the move itself, our page for removalists Adelaide families book for complete house moves walks through it from the quote to the first night, and our article on getting the house ready for the removalists covers the week before.

Keep a short list as you go, with the date each change was made. If a letter turns up at the old address later, you will know who was missed.

Questions people ask