Moving house can be stressful, from cleaning to packing and organising the removalist! One of the most important factors homeowners often forget is to notify businesses and organisations when they move to a new address. We have created a free change of address checklist to help you identify the parties who need to be updated:
Government Organisations
It’s important to notify Government agencies when you move to a new address to avoid any issues in the future. Thankfully, most agencies enable you to update your details easily online. Government organisations you may need to update include:
- Australia Post
- Australian Taxation Office
- Australian Electoral Commission
- Department of Human Services (Centrelink & Child Support Agencies)
- Medicare
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Driver’s license and Car Registrations
- Education providers
- Pet microchip and council registry
Service Providers and Subscriptions
Advising service providers of the date you intend to exit your property and move into your new home is important, and not just because you want the lights and WIFI on when you move in! Many utility providers offer same-day or next-day connection services, so this is a good opportunity to shop around and ensure you’re getting the best deal.
- Electricity
- Telephone and mobile service providers
- Internet service provider
- Gas
- Water
- On-demand streaming services
- Magazine or newspaper subscriptions
- Food delivery services
- Insurance companies (Health, car, home, contents etc).
*Insurance companies calculate premium payments based on a range of metrics, including your address/where your car is stored overnight. Therefore, moving may impact the amount you pay, so it’s important you update this when it changes. You may even get a better deal!
Financial Institutions and Legal Professionals
The nature of relationships with Financial Institutions and Legal Professionals is highly confidential, so it’s important to update these parties and ensure your correspondence is sent to the new address.
- Banks (Savings accounts, Credit Cards, mortgage, and loan providers)
- Conveyancer or property lawyer
- Financial Advisors and Accountants
- Personal Lawyers (Wills and power of attorney)
- Superannuation Funds
Health Care and Wellbeing Providers
Notifying your Health Care Professionals of your change of address is important to ensure your records stay up to date. The following professionals may need to be notified:
- General Practitioner (GP)
- Specialist Practitioners (Chiropractor, Dentist, Orthodontist, Paediatrician etc.)
- Veterinarian (Don’t forget about your pet’s!)
- Gym and Fitness Clubs
Friends, Family and Social
Updating friends, family and neighbours of your new address can be achieved easily by sending and SMS or email – They might even be able to help with the move! You may also be associated with social clubs, so it’s important they have the most up to date information.
- Family (Parents, siblings, aunts & uncles)
- Friends and colleagues
- Neighbours
- Local sporting clubs (football, soccer, cricket etc)
- Social clubs (personal and business)
- Charities, Churches, and volunteer organisation
- Employers
Updating your address when you move may seem daunting – especially if you have a number of parties to notify. SellSmart recommends printing out the checklist and ticking off the relevant organisations as you go.
Lastly, the good news is many organisations now enable you to update this information online and actioning this promptly will ensure you don’t miss any important communication in the future. This might even be a good time to update your communication preferences from snail-mail to email correspondence.
You can download a free change of address PDF checklist here.
