Enrolling your baby in Medicare

You need to enrol your newborn baby in Medicare as soon as possible. A newborn is a child aged up to 52 weeks or up to their first birthday.

Your hospital or midwife will give you a Parent Pack after the birth. It’ll include a Newborn Child Declaration form. A doctor or midwife must sign the form on the last page. Use this declaration as proof of your child’s birth to enrol them in Medicare.

If you lose your Newborn Child Declaration form, you’ll need your child’s birth certificate to enrol them to Medicare.

If your child is over 52 weeks old, you’ll need your child's birth certificate. You can mail or email your Medicare enrolment form to Medicare Enrolment Services with your supporting documents.

You don’t need to get your supporting documents certified.

Read more about the supporting documents you need to enrol in Medicare.

Read about how to enrol your child in Medicare if:

• you adopted them
• they were born overseas.

If you claim a Centrelink family payment

You can enrol your baby online when you claim any of these family payments:

• Family Tax Benefit including Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement
• Parental Leave Pay.

Use your completed Newborn Child Declaration form in your claim. It’s in the Parent Pack your hospital or midwife gives you.

If your Centrelink account is linked to myGov, sign in now to submit a copy of the form.

Sign in to myGov

You can also do this using the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

We’ll enrol your baby and add them to your Medicare card. We’ll also add them to the Australian Immunisation Register.

We’ll send you a new Medicare card with your baby on it. You should get it in 3 to 4 weeks.

You can also use the Newborn Child Declaration form to register your baby for both:

• My Health Record on the Australian Digital Health Agency website
• the Medicare Safety Net.

Keep in mind, you can add your baby to another Medicare card. This means you can add your baby to the Medicare card for both parents. You can only list them on 2 cards. To do this, complete an Application to copy or transfer from one Medicare card to another form.

Read more about claiming family payments when your baby arrives.

If you don’t claim a Centrelink family payment

Using your online account or mobile device

If your Medicare online account is linked to myGov and you’re not claiming any family payments, sign in now to enrol your baby.

Sign in to myGov

You can also enrol your baby using the Express Plus Medicare Mobile app.

Read our guide to enrol a baby in Medicare using your online account.

If you don’t have a myGov account or a Medicare online account, you’ll need to create them.

You’ll need to upload a proof of birth document.

We’ll enrol your baby and add them to your Medicare card. We’ll also add them to the Australian Immunisation Register.

We’ll send you a new Medicare card with your baby on it. You should get it in 3 to 4 weeks. You can get a digital version of your updated card immediately in the Express Plus Medicare app.

You can also choose to register your baby for both:

• My Health Record on the Australian Digital Health Agency website
• your Medicare Safety Net family.

Keep in mind, you can add your baby to another Medicare card. This means you can add your baby to the Medicare card for both parents. You can only list them on 2 cards. To do this, complete an Application to copy or transfer from one Medicare card to another form.

Using your Newborn Child Declaration form

If your Medicare online account is linked to myGov, sign in now to upload your Newborn Child Declaration form using your Medicare online account.

Sign in to myGov

We’ll enrol your baby and add them to your Medicare card. We’ll also add them to the Australian Immunisation Register.

We’ll send you a new Medicare card with your baby on it. You should get it in 3 to 4 weeks. You can get a digital version of your updated card immediately in the Express Plus Medicare app.

You can also use the Newborn Child Declaration to register your child for both:

• My Health Record on the Australian Digital Health Agency website
• the Medicare Safety Net family.

Keep in mind, you can add your baby to another Medicare card. This means you can add your baby to the Medicare card for both parents. You can only list them on 2 cards. To do this, complete an Application to copy or transfer from one Medicare card to another form.

Using the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medicare enrolment and amendment form

You can use the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medicare enrolment and amendment form to enrol your baby. You’ll need to get a referee to sign the form. The form explains who can be a referee.

You can fill in the form at home and send it to us by mail or email to Medicare Enrolment Services. You should attach copies of your supporting documents. They don’t have to be certified.

Call the Indigenous access line if you need help with the form.

Read more about Medicare services for Indigenous Australians.

If you don’t have a Newborn Child Declaration form

If you lose your Newborn Child Declaration form, there are other ways you can enrol your baby.

If your Medicare online account is linked to myGov, sign in now to enrol your baby.

Sign in to myGov

You can also fill in the Medicare enrolment form at home and send it to us by mail or email to Medicare Enrolment Services. You’ll need to attach proof of birth documents. They don’t have to be certified.

You’ll need to provide proof of birth documents.

This can be any of the following:

• a birth certificate or extract
• other Australian Government documents that verify the child’s name and date of birth
• a letter from the doctor or midwife who attended the birth.

If you’re using a letter from the doctor or midwife as proof, it must include:

• details of the child’s parents
• the child’s name, date and place of birth
• the doctor or midwife’s signature, qualifications, contact information and registration number.

We’ll enrol your baby and add them to your Medicare card. We’ll also add them to the Australian Immunisation Register.

We’ll send you a new Medicare card with your baby on it. You should get it in 3 to 4 weeks. You can get a digital version of your updated card immediately in the Express Plus Medicare app.

Keep in mind, you can add your baby to another Medicare card. This means you can add your baby to the Medicare card for both parents. You can only list them on 2 cards. To do this, complete an Application to copy or transfer from one Medicare card to another form.