In order to get the best results from the address verification process it's best to understand a little bit about how the address verification process works. This will allow you to make adjustments to your data prior to verification.

The address verification process is a matching exercise in which we try to match your address with its verified equivalent from our database. In order for a match to occur, we have to be confident that the match is correct and to get this confidence we need matching to occur in multiple areas without breaking too many rules.

A basic match requires three things:

1. the street part of the submitted address street number, street name, & street type] matches to the street part of the verified address [number, street_name, street_type] and,
2. The location part of the submitted address (locality/suburb and/or postcode) matches the location part of the verified address and,
3. The state/territory of the address needs to match the state or territory of the verified address.

At the same time as achieving the above criteria, there are additional rules that need to be applied. These are:

1. There needs to be a certain level of spelling accuracy.
2. The submitted address can not include multiple inaccurate locations (eg incorrect suburb, correct city, incorrect postcode).
3. There cannot be other addresses in the database with the same level of matching confidence (ambiguous result).

If an address is unable to be verified it will likely fall into one of three categories below.

1. Incorrect or fictitious addresses - sometimes a supplied address does not actually exist. A user may have “just made an address”. These address will therefore never be able to be verified.
   
   Solution: Enquire with the provider of this address.
   
   
2. Missing addresses - these are correct addresses, but do not currently exist in the AddressFinder database. For example, new subdivisions or housing developments. These addresses will be available as soon as the data from local councils is released to the PSMA and input into the database.
   
   Solution: Our database is updated quarterly in line with updated database releases from the PSMA. If you rerun the failed addresses after the update these new addresses should be available for verification.
   
   
3. Multiple match addresses - this occurs when more than one address in the AddressFinder database matches your submitted address. Rather than return a potentially false positive match we return a match=false response.
   
   Solution: Depending on your needs, you may want to check these address manually with AddressFinder autocomplete tool. The correct address maybe obvious to you and allow you to supplement the address data you have (eg. include the postcode).
   
   

Addresses that can successfully be verified.

Submitted address	Verified address	Notes on components
10 Cyril Street, Waratar NSW	10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	Missing postcode is okay
10 Cyril Street, NSW 2298	10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	Missing locality is fine.
10 Cyril Street, Waratar 2298	10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	Missing state is fine.
10 Cyril Street, 2298	10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	Missing locality and state is fine.
10 Cyril Street 2298	10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	Missing punctuation is fine.
10 Cyril Street, Waratar QLD 2298	10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	Incorrect state (QLD) is fine so long as the locality and postcode are included and correct.
10 Ciril Street, Warratar QLD 2298	10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	Misspelling of address components is fine so long as it is within allowed levels.
United airlines, 10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	Addresses with leading account names (United Airlines) are fine.

Addresses that can not be verified.

Submitted address	Verified address	Notes on components
Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	false	Missing an street number.
10 Street, WARATAH NSW 2298	false	Missing the street name.
10 Cyril, WARATAH NSW 2298	false	Missing the street type.
10 Cyril Road, WARATAH NSW 2298	false	Incorrect street type.
10 Cyril Street	false	Missing all location information.
10 Cyril Street, Waratar	false	Missing state and postcode information.
10 Cyril Street, WARATAH NSW 3456	false	Significantly incorrect postcode.