myGov Code Generator

WARNING:- - if you switch devices, eg change phones, and don’t register then you will be forever going in circles with “A device is already registered” to your account making it impossible to use to create codes. If your phone fails and is replaced you are out of luck. The hard lock to the app and a specific device means any device change/upgrade is a dead end for future logins….ugh!! - if you attempt to enter your account passcode the UI jumps around on the screen making it VERY hard to use. When you tap the password field to paste a password in the screen redraws and it makes it near impossible to enter a password. The only way is a very long hold press and yet multiple tries. Customers use password manages to cut/paste. This should not stop that. To the developers:- these issues need fixing to be able to use and trust this app. Being permanently locked out of such an important account auth process related to primary tax revenue collection for the Australian government is ridiculous at best, and I’m shocked this has persisted for years with thee issues. Try these test cases and please update the app for the sanity of ex pats needing access for legit reasons!!

Can’t access abroad. Useless

Australian Government, if you want us to use our MyGov accounts you might like to put a little more resources into updating the code generator app you require us to use to get into our MyGov account. I downloaded the app to my phone but it won’t let me log in as there’s no log in option, only a register option and I’ve previously registered the app to my device, but deleted it at some point off of my phone. Not user friendly at all. And then it requires me to log in to my MyGov account to remove my device and re-register, but I can’t log in without getting the code through the generator app. So please fix this. You’re making it impossible for Aussies outside of Australia to stay connected to MyGov.

I enter all the required info and when I push the REGISTER button, the thinker dial shows for a second and then disappears and nothing happens. It does not register me. Please send help!

The whole idea is great which is Security. However the way that its been implemented is HORRIBLE! I’m an Australian Citizen, created all my ATO, Medicare, Centrelink accounts back in 2010 or 2011 and linked them all to “myGov” right after the option got available. Since then I was using “myGov” with my User & Pass without any issues. I left Australia & I’m in the USA and all I have is my true Username & Password, with no more active Australian phone number. Recently had to “Restore my iPhone” so I downloaded the App again ON THE SAME DEVICE “iPhone X” which the App was working on it earlier BUT stupidly the app says, “ Already connected on another device! “ which is NOT RIGHT! What is this?! Why you’re not able to predict such a simple thing?! This application has blocked my access to everything & I’m on the other side of the world. I can’t sign up again! It seems like if one ATM machine is not working, then you should open a new account!!! Get it fixed! I got the legal advise that all the legal consequences should be addressed to this unwise application. Get it fixed! Make it usable!

This app is essentially a OTP (one time password) generator but foolishly the myGov system has crippled what is normally a very powerful and convenient mechanism for increasing security. You have to use this dedicated app and cannot link up existing systems like Google Auth, Authy or 1Password etc that are designed for exactly this purpose. You can only have the app active on one device. If you lose it or it breaks unexpectedly you are screwed and will be locked out of your account. With every other OTP system you can activate it on more than one device, and in more than one app to provide some redundancy. This is industry practice and it is baffling why myGov has invented their own crippled system instead. It is strongly recommended this system be avoided until myGov allows use of third party OTP apps.

Usually an app is developed to allow users a better experience than navigating a website on a mobile device. Not so with this app, it does not allow a user into MyGov. The geniuses at the Australian Federal Government decided to waist taxpayer dollars reinventing the virtual two-factor Authenticator, already provided for free by google and others. This app has no value.

Ok, so I download and can’t get out of the first step which is the code you have 30 seconds to use. But doesn’t tell you to have the site already open to start. Then once I did that the app just kept producing the30 sec code over and over. Couldn’t use the app so had to delete it.

They should really just allow people to use whatever 2FA app/s they want… Thankfully I found a desktop app (on GitHub some years ago now) that was able to give me the TOTP seed/secret (I think it displayed a QR code and the plaintext) - meaning I can use the 2FA app/s of my choice to get the codes. I just use Bitwarden for all my 2FA codes these days and FreeOTP for Bitwarden itself. It’s handy to use Bitwarden for 2FA as the codes are copied to the clipboard after it inserts the login info. If I delete this app or lose my phone or something I won’t lose access to my myGov account because I have the seed/secret in Bitwarden. I found that not all 2FA apps support the more advanced SHA512 algorithm though - which is what the myGov one uses.

Not only have they reinvented the wheel, but they can’t even keep it updated along side the myGov sign in options. If you swap to passkey, you can’t register the Authenticator app as you can only use a username and password. That’s not even talking about broken scaling on the login screen.