Department of Communities Housing - verifying your identity

The Housing Authority operates within the Department of Communities.

You are responsible for providing documents to verify your identity and that of any co-applicants, additional householder/s and dependents.

To verify your identity with Communities, you need to supply original or certified documents with your application.

Original identity documents must be presented in person for verification where possible. When submitting by post, please provide certified copies of identity documents only. Communities will not accept original identity documents via post.

You must provide documents that demonstrate:

1. The client’s birth or arrival in Australia, and
2. The use of the client’s identity in the community.

For a full list of identity documents that can be provided, refer to the Evidence Requirements Fact Sheet and Identity Policy.

If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander client and you are unable to provide documents to verify identity, you may provide the following as an alternative:

1. A reference from a recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation,
2. A letter from a person authorised to witness a statutory declaration as defined in the Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005, or
3. A reference from an elder.

Clients who are homeless or unable to provide documents due to extenuating circumstances may verify their identity by providing:

1. Evidence of extenuating circumstance;
2. Evidence of valid registration with Centrelink or receipt of Centrelink payment; and
3. One identity document listed in the Evidence Requirements Fact Sheet.

Alternatively a Third Party Identity Provider may be used to verify a client's identification.