How the ATO’s myGov ID Verification Works When You Change Your Mobile Number to a Foreign Carrier

Switching to a foreign mobile carrier does not break your ATO login if you use myID, because myID is tied to an email address rather than a phone number. The problem only arises if your ATO access still depends on SMS codes sent to an Australian number. In that case, losing that number while overseas can lock you out of myGov entirely, and the ATO does not send verification codes to foreign mobile numbers at all. Understanding this distinction before you swap SIM cards, or before you leave Australia, is the difference between a two-minute login and weeks of frustrating myGov account recovery.

TL;DR

• myID (formerly myGovID) is linked to your email address, not your mobile number, so switching to a foreign carrier does not affect it [myid.gov.au].
• The ATO and myGov do not support SMS verification codes sent to foreign mobile numbers, full stop.
• If your only sign-in method is SMS to an Australian number and you lose that number, you will likely need to go through myGov account recovery and re-link your ATO services from scratch.
• myID works on any foreign carrier worldwide provided you have internet access and a supported smart device running a current version of iOS or Android.
• Setting up myID with a Strong identity strength before you change carriers is the single most effective way to avoid lockout.

ODIN Tax is a Registered Australian Tax Agent that has prepared Australian tax returns for 2,300+ expats across 40+ countries, and login and identity verification issues are among the most common practical hurdles the ODIN Tax team helps clients resolve before a return can even be lodged.

What Is myGov ID Verification and How Does It Actually Work?

myID verification is the process the ATO uses to confirm you are who you say you are before letting you access online tax services. It replaced the older myGovID branding but works on the same underlying principle: you download the myID app, register it with a personal email address, and verify one or more identity documents to reach a Basic, Standard, or Strong identity strength [myid.gov.au]. The stronger the identity strength, the more ATO services you can access, including lodging tax returns and viewing income statements.

The key mechanical point, and the one most expats miss, is that myID authentication runs through your email address and the app installed on your device. It does not authenticate you through your mobile number at all [myid.gov.au]. This is a deliberate design choice, and it is the reason myID travels well across borders while older SMS-based logins do not.

Does Changing to a Foreign Mobile Carrier Affect Your myGov Login?

Because myID is not tied to a phone number, changing carriers has no direct effect on it. Think of myID like an email-based password manager rather than a phone-locked banking app: the login credential lives in an app connected to your inbox, not to a SIM card. Swap the SIM, and the app keeps working exactly as before, because nothing about the verification chain depends on which network delivered the SIM.

Where things go wrong is for anyone still using the older method of receiving one-time SMS codes to an Australian mobile number as their primary or only sign-in method. If you cancel that Australian number when you move overseas and switch entirely to a foreign carrier, you lose the ability to receive those codes, because the ATO and myGov do not send SMS verification codes to foreign mobile numbers under any circumstances. There is no workaround, no override, and no manual exception process for this.

What Happens If You Lose Access to Your Australian Mobile Number Overseas?

Losing your Australian number while still relying on SMS-based sign-in typically forces you into full myGov account recovery. The ATO and myGov’s official position is that if you lose access to your Australian mobile number overseas and have not previously set up myID or the myGov Code Generator app, you will generally need to create a new myGov account and re-link your ATO services from that new account. This is not a quick password reset; it is effectively starting over.

Re-linking is where most of the practical pain sits. You will need to re-verify your identity and reconnect each government service individually, and depending on how much identity information the ATO already holds against your record, this process can take longer than expected [my.gov.au]. Some users on ATO community forums have described exactly this scenario: losing Australian phone access overseas and struggling to update contact details or regain account access without a local number [atoenv–preprod.sandbox.my.site.com]. The lesson from these cases is consistent: the problem is never the foreign carrier itself, it is whichever older SMS-dependent login method was still in use.

Which Foreign Carriers and Countries Work with myID?

myID’s compatibility list is unusually simple because there effectively isn’t one. Since the app authenticates through email rather than phone number, it works with any foreign mobile carrier in any country, as long as you have internet access and a compatible smart device running a supported version of iOS or Android. There is no approved list of countries or carriers to check against, no roaming agreement to verify, and no regional restriction to plan around.

This matters for the ODIN Tax client base specifically, because Australian expats are spread across a wide range of telecom environments, from Hong Kong and Singapore to the UK, the USA, the UAE, and back home to Australia for returning expats. A verification system that depended on carrier compatibility would create a different problem in each hub. myID sidesteps that entirely by removing the carrier from the equation.

Do You Need to Re-Verify Your Identity After Switching Carriers?

No re-verification is required simply because you changed your mobile number or carrier, since myID was never checking your phone number as part of its authentication in the first place. There is no official ATO timeframe for re-verification tied to a carrier change, because no such trigger exists in the system.

Re-verification is only required in two scenarios: installing the myID app on a new device, or changing the email address the app is registered against. Both of these make sense once you see the underlying logic. The app’s trust relationship is with your device and your email, so changing either one resets that trust and requires you to re-establish it. Changing a SIM card touches neither.

How Should Expats Set Up myGov ID Before Moving or Changing Carriers?

Building on the mechanics above, the practical question for anyone about to move overseas or switch to a local SIM is simple: get myID set up properly before you lose Australian mobile access, not after. A few steps make this straightforward:

• Download myID and register with a personal email address you will keep long-term, not a work email tied to a job you may leave.
• Verify at least one identity document, ideally your Australian passport, to push your identity strength toward Standard or Strong. A Strong identity strength unlocks the widest range of ATO services and reduces the chance you will hit a permissions wall later.
• Do this while you still have your Australian number active, since some initial verification steps are easier to complete before you switch carriers, even though myID itself does not depend on that number going forward.
• Avoid relying solely on SMS codes to your Australian number as your only sign-in path once you know you are moving. Treat myID as the primary method, not a backup.
• Keep the myID app and email credentials current even if you do not log in to myGov for months at a time, since forgotten email passwords cause as many recovery headaches as lost phone numbers.

A related but distinct question is what to do if you are already overseas, already switched carriers, and already locked out. In that situation, myGov account recovery is usually unavoidable, and the ATO’s own linking guidance is the right starting point for walking through it [my.gov.au]. It is a slower path than having set up myID in advance, but it is a solvable one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does myID work if I only have a foreign SIM card?
Yes. myID authenticates through your email address and device, not your phone number, so a foreign SIM has no effect on it as long as you have internet access [myid.gov.au].

Can the ATO send SMS codes to my new foreign number?
No. The ATO and myGov do not send SMS verification codes to foreign mobile numbers under any circumstances. Users overseas who rely on SMS codes need an active Australian number on international roaming, or should switch to myID instead.

What if I already lost my Australian number and can’t log in?
You will likely need to go through myGov account recovery, which typically means creating a new myGov account and re-linking each government service, including the ATO [my.gov.au].

Is myID the same as the old myGovID?
Yes, myID is the current name for what was previously called myGovID. The verification method (email-linked, document-based identity strength) is unchanged [myid.gov.au].

Do I need to redo my identity verification every time I travel?
No. Re-verification is only triggered by installing the app on a new device or changing your registered email address, not by travel or carrier changes.

Can I use the myGov Code Generator app instead of SMS?
Yes, the myGov Code Generator app is one of the alternative sign-in methods that does not depend on receiving an SMS to an Australian number, and it is worth setting up before you lose access to that number.

Will login issues delay my Australian tax return if I’m overseas?
They can, particularly for expats already managing overdue lodgements. This is general information, not personal tax advice, and any specific situation should be discussed with a Registered Australian Tax Agent before lodgement deadlines approach.

About ODIN Tax

ODIN Tax is a Registered Australian Tax Agent built specifically for Australian expats and non-residents, part of ODIN alongside ODIN Mortgage. Headquartered in Hong Kong rather than run remotely from Sydney, the ODIN Tax team has prepared returns for 2,300+ Australian expats across over 40 countries, and holds a 4.9/5 Google rating from over 400 verified client reviews. The team regularly works with clients who are dealing with practical access issues, like myGov login and identity verification, alongside the underlying tax questions those clients came to ODIN Tax to solve, from overdue lodgements to tax residency determinations. This article is general information only and does not constitute personal tax advice.

If a locked myGov account is standing between you and an overdue return, or you are unsure where your tax residency sits after a move overseas, get in touch with the ODIN Tax team at ODIN Tax to sort out both the access issue and the return itself.