myGovID to replace AUSkeys
Posted on March 5th, 2020 by WLF
If you are one of the many businesses using the ATO’s Business Portal with an AUSkey, you need to know that the ATO is turning off AUSkeys on Friday, 27 March 2020.
To access the Portal after that date you and your staff or bookkeeper will need a myGovID.
What is a myGovID?
myGovID is the Federal Government’s new way of accessing government services online and is much more secure than AUSkeys.
myGovID is not the same as your myGov account, if you have one, and you don’t need a myGov account to get the ‘ID’. However you do need a compatible smartphone because myGovID uses your phone for two-factor authentication.
What you need to do?
- Download the free myGovID app to your smart phone using the Apple App Store or Google Playstore. The logo you are looking for is this one:
- Open the app and follow the steps to create your myGovID using your personal email address. Because your myGovID is personal to you and each of your staff members, it is recommended that you and they use their personal email address rather than their work email address.
- You will need two pieces of identification that have your full name and match the name you enter into your myGovID. The app can scan your two pieces of ID to verify your identity. It’s a very simple process and your driver’s licence and Medicare card are usually ideal for this purpose.
Once your identity has been accepted, what you do next depends if you are the business owner or an employee or bookkeeper that will be accessing the portal.
I am the business owner
You need to link your myGovID to your business’ ABN, or ABNs if you have more than one business.
- Log into the ‘RAM’ – the Relationship Authorisation Manager – and click on ‘Link your business.’ You should see a list of businesses you are connected to once you fill in some details.
- If you don’t see your business then the Australian Business Register needs to be updated to add you as an Associate of the business. We can do that for you.
- Once you are linked you can then go to the RAM and invite your employees or bookkeepers into the Portal after they have also set up their own myGovID app. Most employees will be “Authorised Users”.
I am a staff member or bookkeeper
- You need to download and set up the myGovID app, preferably using your personal email address.
- Once that has been done, ask the business owner to invite you into the business using the RAM. They will need the email address you used for your myGovID.
- Follow the prompts when you receive the invitation. You will normally be invited in as an ‘Authorised User’.
Using your myGovID
In your browser, navigate to the business portal, then click on the myGovID logo to access the Business Portal. Open the app on your phone and type in the 4-digit code that appears. This is the two-factor authentication to ensure that only authorised people can access your portal accounts.
To remove authorisation is simple. The business owner needs to go into the RAM and remove the user.
For larger businesses the owner can also create ‘Authorised Administrators’ in the business to manage this for them. That simply means inviting users in as ‘Authorised Administrators’ rather than ‘Authorised Users’.
If you currently have employees with an Administrator AUSkey this will not carry over to the new RAM so you will need set them up as described above. Also, if you had employees with restricted access, you will need to set this up again when you add them as Authorised Users.
If you use the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House you will also need a myGovID to access that.
We are here to help
We can help you with setting up the app, linking your myGovID to your business’ ABN, inviting employees and bookkeepers into your portal account.
Don’t leave it until the last minute to act. Start setting up your myGovID now so you will have continuous portal access beyond 27 March 2020.
