ABN & business related questions
What is an ABN?
The Australian Business Number (ABN) was introduced on 1 July 2000
to enable businesses in Australia to deal with a range of government departments and agencies using
a single identification number. The ABN is a public number which does not replace your tax file
number.
ABN registration details become part of the Australian Business Register (ABR), which the ATO
maintains on behalf of the Commonwealth. You can access the publicly available information contained
in the ABR through the ABN Lookup website.
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How do I apply for an ABN?
You can apply for an ABN
online from the ABR website.
If you require any assistance with your application or have any queries about its progress, please contact the ABR .
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What is the status of my ABN registration?
Please contact the ABR for information about the progress of your ABN application.
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How long does it take to get an ABN?
Provided you supply all the information required, you will usually receive on-line notification of your
ABN immediately upon completion of the ABN application.
If you omit information or it cannot be verified an ABN will not be allocated immediately.
Under these circumstances your application will be processed manually and can take up to 28 days.
To check the progress of your application please contact the ABR .
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How much does it cost to get an ABN?
The ATO does not impose a fee for applying for an ABN online or by paper application.
If you consult a tax agent to complete an application for you they may charge a fee for their services. Otherwise, there is no cost.
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How do I reactivate/cancel my ABN?
- Reactivate your ABN
-
If your ABN has been cancelled, you can apply to reactivate it. Please refer to
How do I reactivate my ABN?
on the ABR website for more information.
- Cancel your ABN
-
You must inform the Australian Business Register (ABR) if you have ceased trading or your business has been sold.
Please refer to Application to cancel registration
on the ATO website for more information.
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What is the difference between an 'active' ABN and a 'cancelled' ABN?
An ABN with a status of 'active' means that the registration is current.
An ABN with a status of 'cancelled' means that the ABN has been deactivated and is no longer current.
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Can I use the same ABN for more than one business?
You can conduct any number of businesses/activities under the same ABN provided they all operate under the same business structure.
If your second or subsequent business operates under a different structure you need to apply for a separate ABN for these new businesses.
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Can I replace an ABN?
An ABN may be replaced or changed at the discretion of the Registrar of the ABR.
Please refer to Replacement of an ABN
on the ABR website for more information.
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What is an ACN or ARBN?
Australia Company Numbers (ACNs) and Australian Registered Body Numbers (ARBNs) are 9 digit numbers
issued by Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).
- An ACN is issued to an entity when it registers as a company under corporations law.
-
An ARBN is issued to an entity when it registers with ASIC other than as a company,
for example, foreign companies and registrable Australian bodies.
ACNs and ARBNs must conform to the Australian Company Number (ACN) check digit
to be valid. For more information about companies and company structures please visit ASIC .
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How often is ABN Lookup updated?
ABN Lookup receives updates from the Australian Business Register (ABR) every hour.
However, the information provided from the ABR is dependent on the business entities updating their
details when they change. Therefore we are unable to guarantee the information that is
provided on the ABN Lookup website is accurate, up to date or complete.
If you have doubts over the currency of information provided on the ABN Lookup website,
we recommend that you verify the information from other sources.
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Can you provide me with contact details for a business?
Under tax legislation, ABN Lookup only contains the public information provided by a business
when it registers for an ABN. The public information gives the postcode and state/territory
in which the business is located, but does not include the address, email, telephone or
other contact details.
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Where can I find the details about a company?
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is responsible for regulating companies and financial institutions.
A search of the ASIC National Names Index
will provide some basic information about a company. For more detailed information you may need to approach
a business information broker. There is a listing of recommended business information brokers on the ASIC website.
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Can I obtain a copy of our certificate of incorporation?
The ABN Lookup database does not hold information on certificates of incorporation.
Each state and territory has legislation that allows various kinds of non-profit bodies to become bodies
corporate. Bodies incorporated under these Acts are normally community, cultural, educational, sporting or
charitable organisations. Please contact the Incorporated Association Register in your state/territory
Office of Fair Trading or Consumer Affairs for more information.
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How do I register my business trading name?
How you register your business trading name depends on the type of business you conduct. Please refer to
Register your business name
for more information regarding business name registrations in your state.
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How do I add additional business trading names to my ABN?
Providing that the second or subsequent business is conducted under the same
business structure (e.g. same partners) you can use the existing ABN.
To add additional business trading names to your ABN you need to notify the ABR of your Change of registration details .
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Someone else is using my business trading/company name on ABN Lookup. What can I do?
A name registered to you may appear against another ABN record because the ABR does not restrict
entry to registered names only. The ABN Application relies on 'self assessment' and the ABR generally
accepts whatever names are provided by an applicant.
Use/misuse of registered business names is a state government issue. Please refer to
Register your business name
for more information regarding business name registrations in your state.
What does it mean if the details of an ABN are suppressed
A person can apply to have details relating to an entity in the Australian Business Register (ABR) suppressed.
For example, where:
- a person believes that, if the details appear on the public register, they may cause harm to them or those associated with them. For example, where domestic abuse and violence orders are in place
- the public availability of ABR details may endanger a person who is employed in certain fields. For example, psychiatric doctors dealing with dangerous patients, or
- the Registrar of the ABR determines that disclosing certain details are not in the public interest.
A written request for suppression of ABR details must be accompanied by a statutory declaration, giving the reasons for the suppression, and the relevant supporting documentation.
For more information, please see Who can apply to have their ABN details suppressed
on the ABR web site.
Searching ABN Lookup
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What information is available on ABN Lookup?
Only companies and businesses registered with an ABN will appear on ABN Lookup.
The ABN Lookup website holds only the publicly available information about a business including:
- Australian Business Number (ABN) and status
- Entity names and business trading names
- State/territory and postcode of the main business location
- Australian Company Number (ACN), Australian Registered Body Number (ARBN), or Australian Registered Scheme Number (ARSN)
- Goods & Services Tax (GST) registration
- Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) registration
- Charitable tax concessions
The ABN Lookup website does not hold non-public ABR data such as:
- Detailed contact information
- Industry code
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Why can't I find the name I am looking for?
The most common reason for not finding a name on ABN Lookup is that the Australian Business Register (ABR) has
not been notified of a change of details. ABN Lookup contains the public information provided at the time ABN registration
and any subsequent update. To add additional business trading names to an ABN you need to notify the ABR of a Change of registration details .
Another common reason for not finding a name on ABN Lookup is the search criteria used. As ABN Lookup holds almost 20 million names,
searching for single word names such '1', 'Jane', 'Smith', 'Bob' or 'Mark' can be problematic.
The best way to find a name is to include as much of the name as you know.
Where a name search does not complete within a reasonable period, you will get a message to either search again using a
'narrow' search or to use the 'Advanced Search' to add additional words. If the name you are looking for is a single common name,
using the 'narrow' search option will generally find it. If the name consists of several words,
using the 'Advanced Search' link to add just one extra word will improve your results.
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Why doesn't my ABN appear on ABN Lookup?
Your ABN will automatically appear on ABN Lookup on the day it becomes active. However, if you contact ABN Lookup
and advise us of your ABN, we can manually retrieve it from the ABR prior to this date. It will then appear on the ABN Lookup website.
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What do the gold star and half star mean?
The stars on the search results page provide a visual cue as to how well your search criteria match the results record.
Results are ordered by relevance with the closest matches appearing at the top of the list.
A gold star means an exact match whereas a "half" star is a close match.
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What is the maximum number of records returned by a search?
The maximum number of records returned for any search is 200, sorted with the closest match at the top of the list.
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ABN Lookup web services
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Why should I use the ABN Lookup web services?
The ABN Lookup web services allow you to easily incorporate ABN information and search capabilities
into your own applications. The web services also provide greater functionality and more options
than are available through the HTML interface. For example, the name search method allows you to
control how many matching names are returned by the search. As there is no
upper limit, you are not restricted to the top 200 matching names imposed through the HTML interface.
Furthermore, additional search options are available through the web services such as retrieving
ABNs for a selected postcode or for a particular entity type or are registered for GST etc.
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How do I register for access to the ABN Lookup web services?
You can register online for
access to the ABN Lookup web services.
Once we have received your application we will e-mail you an authentication GUID (Globally Unique IDentifier).
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What is a GUID? Do I need one?
GUID stands for Globally Unique Identifier. When you register for access to the ABN Lookup web services
you will be assigned a GUID. A valid GUID is required to access the ABN Lookup web services.
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Is there any sample code available for accessing the web services?
From our Sample code page you can download and trial a
number of working applications that interface with the ABN Lookup web services. The sample applications cover a number of different langauages
and platforms including Visual Basic, C#, Java, php, Microsoft Access and Excel.
To run the sample applications you will need to be a registered user of the ABN Lookup web services.
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Are there working examples of the web services that I can see?
Download the free and very useful ABN Lookup tools to see
working examples of the web services in action. Microsoft Excel and Java versions of the tools are available.
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What information about an ABN is available through the ABN Lookup web services?
Like the ABN Lookup web site, the web services provide access to only the publicly available information about a business.
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Can I use the ABN Lookup web services to apply for an ABN?
The ABN Lookup web services cannot be used to apply for an ABN. Please see How do I apply for an ABN above.
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Can I use the ABN Lookup web services to update my ABN details?
The ABN Lookup web services cannot be used to update ABN details.
To update ABN details you need to notify the ABR of your Change of registration details .