Update myGov and Centrelink After Divorce

Securing Your myGov Account

Your myGov account is the gateway to Medicare, Centrelink, the ATO, and Child Support. If your ex-spouse knows your login credentials — or if you used a shared email address — they can access sensitive personal information across all linked services.

Before updating any details, secure the account itself:

• Change your password and make it something your ex-spouse cannot guess
• Update your recovery email and phone number to ones only you control
• Enable two-factor authentication if you have not already
• Check your linked services to confirm no unexpected accounts are connected

If you and your ex-spouse shared a single myGov account, you need to create your own individual account. Each person must have their own myGov login — Services Australia does not support shared accounts.

Updating Your Relationship Status

Centrelink assesses your payment eligibility and rate based on whether you are single or partnered. If you were receiving payments as part of a couple, your separation changes your payment rate, income test thresholds, and asset test limits.

Report your separation to Centrelink as soon as it happens — not when the divorce is finalised. The distinction matters: Centrelink cares about the date of separation, not the date of the divorce order. Reporting late can result in overpayments that Centrelink will recover, or underpayments you missed out on.

You can update your relationship status:

• Online through your myGov account (go to Centrelink → Personal details → Relationship status)
• By calling the Centrelink general enquiries line
• In person at a Services Australia service centre

You will need to provide the date of separation and your ex-partner's details.

How Separation Affects Your Payments

Becoming single generally increases your Centrelink payment rate, because the income test and asset test thresholds differ for singles versus couples. Payments that may be affected include:

• JobSeeker Payment — the single rate is higher than the partnered rate
• Parenting Payment — you may become eligible for the single-parent rate, which has a higher income threshold
• Family Tax Benefit — your eligibility and rate will be reassessed based on your individual income and care arrangements
• Commonwealth Rent Assistance — your rate may change based on your individual rent and living situation

If you are not currently receiving any Centrelink payments, your separation may make you newly eligible. The income and asset thresholds for a single person are different from those for a member of a couple.

Updating Your Name on myGov and Linked Services

Once your divorce is finalised and you have updated your driver licence and passport, you can change your name across myGov-linked services.

For Centrelink and Medicare, you can update your name through myGov or in person with your updated photo ID (driver licence) plus your linking documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce order).

For the ATO, the name change flows through myGov → ATO Linked Services → Personal Details. You also need to update your marital status with the ATO, which affects your tax return (for example, the Medicare Levy Surcharge exemption thresholds differ for singles and couples).

Child Support Implications

If you receive or pay child support through Services Australia, your separation and divorce do not automatically change your child support assessment. However, changes to your income, care arrangements, or number of dependents will trigger a reassessment.

Report any changes to your care arrangements (the number of nights each child spends with each parent) promptly. An inaccurate care percentage can result in over- or underpayment of child support, which Services Australia will reconcile retrospectively.

Timing Within the Post-Divorce Sequence

myGov and Centrelink updates sit after your primary ID updates (driver licence, passport, Medicare) but should not be delayed. The recommended position in the sequence:

1. Download sealed divorce order
2. Update driver licence at TMR
3. Update passport
4. Separate Medicare card
5. Update myGov, Centrelink, and ATO
6. Update banks, super funds, electoral roll, and utilities

The Queensland After-Divorce Checklist includes every agency update in the right order with the exact documents each one needs.

See more Queensland guides →