Before you start

You must already be in Australia to apply for a TFN online
A foreign passport or travel document
A visa with work rights
An Australian postal address that will still be yours in a month

Step-by-step

1
Apply for a TFN through Individual Auto Registration
The ATO's online form matches your passport and visa against Home Affairs records in real time. Free, no appointment, no interview, and it requires a valid work-rights visa.
OnlineWho: YouAbout 20 minutesFree
2
Wait for the TFN letter by post
The number is never shown on screen and never emailed. It is posted to the Australian address you supplied, which is why that address must still be yours in four weeks.
OnlineWho: ATOAllow up to about 28 days
3
Complete the TFN declaration for your employer
Usually inside payroll onboarding or through myGov in your first days. Tell payroll you have applied if the number has not arrived — that preserves a 28-day grace period at ordinary withholding rates.
Via employerWho: YouWithin 14 days of starting
4
Nominate a superannuation fund
Your employer must pay 12% of ordinary time earnings into super. You can choose your own fund; otherwise a 'stapled' fund follows you or the employer default applies. Commonwealth employees often land in PSSap or CSS/PSS legacy schemes — check what your offer actually puts you into, because the public-sector schemes have their own rules.
Via employerWho: You
5
If you plan to buy, check the Home Buyer Concession Scheme first
The ACT scheme waives conveyance duty for eligible buyers who have not owned property in the previous five years and who live in the home. From 1 July 2026 the income threshold and property price cap were reportedly removed entirely — confirm the current rules directly with the ACT Revenue Office before you rely on them, because this changed very recently.
OnlineWho: You
6
Lodge a return after 30 June
The tax year runs 1 July to 30 June. Self-lodged returns are due 31 October through myTax in myGov, with employer, bank and health fund data pre-filled. A registered tax agent engaged before 31 October extends the deadline substantially.
OnlineWho: YouAnnually

Documents you’ll need

Foreign passport or travel document
Valid visa with work rights
Australian postal address
Australian bank account details for refunds
Private health insurance statement, if you hold hospital cover

Things most newcomers don’t know

The ACT charges foreign purchasers no stamp duty surcharge — it and the Northern Territory are the only jurisdictions that do not.

New South Wales charges 9% on top of ordinary duty, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania 8%, South Australia and Western Australia 7%. The ACT charges nothing. On a AUD 900,000 home that is AUD 63,000–81,000 that a Canberra buyer does not pay and a Sydney buyer does. It is the single largest financial argument for the ACT over NSW for a non-resident buyer, and it is almost never mentioned in relocation advice.

Source: ACT Revenue Office — foreign ownership surcharge for land tax

What you pay instead is an annual 0.75% land tax surcharge, and it has a large exemption.

Foreign persons owning residential land in the ACT pay a land tax surcharge of 0.75% of Average Unimproved Value each year, on top of ordinary land tax where it applies. But a foreign citizen who lives in the property can claim the principal-place-of-residence exemption. The ACT's structure therefore penalises foreign investors and barely touches foreign owner-occupiers — the reverse of the stamp-duty-surcharge states, where you pay on the way in whether you live there or not.

Source: ACT Revenue Office — foreign ownership surcharge for land tax

None of it helps if you cannot legally buy the house in the first place.

Since 1 April 2025 foreign persons, including temporary residents, have been banned from purchasing established dwellings in Australia, with limited exceptions available through the ATO. The measure was legislated to run to 31 March 2027 and the 2026–27 Budget announced an extension. In practice that leaves new dwellings and house-and-land as the realistic route for a temporary resident — which is exactly the segment the ACT's leasehold release programme keeps supplying. Confirm current status with the ATO's foreign investment pages before you make an offer.

Source: ATO — foreign investment in Australia, established dwellings

Superannuation reached 12% on 1 July 2025, and the wording of your offer decides who gets it.

Australian offers are quoted either as base salary 'plus super' or as a 'total package including super'. On AUD 130,000 the difference is roughly AUD 14,000 of cash. Canberra runs the highest median incomes in the country and a lot of offers are quoted as total remuneration, so the phrasing bites here more than most places.

Source: ATO — super guarantee percentage

Common mistakes to avoid

Applying for a TFN before arriving — the online route requires you to be in Australia.
Using a hotel address for the TFN letter and moving out before it arrives.
Missing the 28-day grace period and being withheld at 45–47% on your first pay runs.
Comparing Canberra and Sydney on purchase price without pricing NSW's 9% foreign purchaser surcharge, which the ACT does not levy.
Budgeting an ACT purchase on duty alone and ignoring that ACT general rates are the highest in the country.
Assuming you can buy an established home as a temporary resident — the federal ban has been in force since 1 April 2025.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.