Guide
Life admin checklist for Australian households
Life admin is the unpaid paperwork of running a home. Rego, the tax return, the school form in the bottom of a bag. None of it is hard. All of it has a date, and the dates never line up. This checklist puts it in one place so you can stop holding it in your head.
Money
If you lodge your own tax return, the deadline is 31 October. A registered tax agent can usually lodge later, but you need to be on their books before that date. Put it in your calendar now, with a reminder two weeks ahead to find your receipts.
- Tax return: 31 October if you lodge it yourself
- Bills on direct debit: check the amounts twice a year, prices move quietly
- Subscriptions: read your card statement once a quarter and cancel what you forgot you had
- Super: check your balance and that your employer is paying in
Car
Registration rules and renewal periods differ in each state and territory, so check your own road authority. The common trap is the same everywhere: the notice goes to an old address or an old email and the first you hear of it is a fine.
- Rego renewal date, plus a reminder a fortnight before
- Insurance renewal: get one other quote before you let it roll over
- Licence expiry date
- Next service
Health
Medicare cards expire, and so do concession cards and referrals. A specialist referral from a GP normally runs for 12 months, so a follow-up appointment can need a fresh one. Private health premiums usually change on 1 April, which makes March a good month to compare.
- Medicare and concession card expiry dates
- Referral expiry dates for anyone seeing a specialist
- Dental and optical check-ups
- Repeat scripts running low
Home
For energy, the government comparison sites are free and carry no commission: Energy Made Easy in most states and Victorian Energy Compare in Victoria. Ten minutes once a year with a recent bill in your hand is enough.
- Lease end date or rate rise date on the mortgage
- Home and contents renewal
- Energy plan comparison, once a year
- Smoke alarm test
School and kids
School admin arrives in small pieces: a permission slip, a photo day, a fundraiser, a changed pickup. The fix is one list for all of it, written down the moment it lands, with the due date next to it.
- Term dates and pupil-free days in the calendar at the start of the year
- Forms and payments, each with its due date
- Immunisation records up to date
- Activities: term fees and end dates
Documents
An adult Australian passport lasts 10 years and a child's lasts 5. Many countries want six months left on it when you arrive. Check every passport in the house before you book anything.
- Passport expiry dates for the whole family
- Will and powers of attorney: do they still match your life
- Where the birth certificates are
How to keep it running
A checklist you read once changes nothing. What works is small: one place for everything, a date on every item, and ten minutes a week to look at it.
That is the job Mirey was built for. You tell her what is on your mind in plain words. She turns it into proposed tasks, reminders and lists, and you review each one before it is saved. She does not book, call or pay for anything. Mirey is currently free to use.