Director ID Registration

From 1 November 2021, Australian Company Directors are required by law to verify their identity with the Australian Business Registry Service (ABRS) and obtain a Director ID.

A Director Identification number (Director ID) is a unique 15-digit identifier you will keep forever. It will help to prevent the use of false or fraudulent director identities.

Directors need to apply for their own director ID. It’s free to apply. Please refer to the ABRS website for details on the due dates to complete the registration.

Directors will only ever have one director ID. They’ll keep it forever even if they:

  • change companies
  • stop being a director
  • change their name
  • move interstate or overseas.

Why You Need a Director ID?

Shareholders, employees, creditors, consumers, external administrators, and regulators are entitled to know the names and certain details of the directors of a company.

All directors are required by law to verify their identity with myGovID before receiving a director ID. This is important because it will help to:

  • prevent the use of false or fraudulent director identities
  • make it easier for external administrators and regulators to trace directors’ relationships with companies over time
  • identify and eliminate director involvement in unlawful activity, such as illegal phoenix activity.

Illegal phoenix activity is when a company is liquidated, wound up or abandoned to avoid paying its debts. A new company is then started to continue the same business activities without the debt. When this happens:

  • employees miss out on wages, superannuation and entitlements
  • suppliers or sub-contractors are left unpaid
  • other businesses are put at a competitive disadvantage
  • the community misses out on revenue that could have contributed to community services.

Apply for your Director ID

To obtain a Director ID you will need to complete the identification requirements through MyGovID

MyGovID is an application designed to allow users to authenticate with the Australian Government websites and services and was developed by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA).

The identification process requires you to verify your identity using a combination of identification documents and existing ATO held information.

Details on how to apply for Director ID can be found here

Notify us of your Director ID

When you receive your Director ID, please immediately provide it to us so that we can add it to our Company Register systems.

How to Manage your Director ID

If you have a myGovID, from November 2021 you can log in to ABRS online to view your Director ID or update your details whenever you need to:

check your Director ID number and status, including when it was issued;
view things to do, actions in progress and past activity; and
edit your profile preferences and some of your personal details.

Your Director ID obligations include:

  • applying for a Director ID within the relevant timeframe for your situation;
  • applying for a Director ID when directed by the Registrar to do so;
  • not applying for more than one Director ID (unless directed by the Registrar to do so);
  • not misrepresenting your Director ID to a Commonwealth body, company, registered Australian body or
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation; and
  • not being involved in a breach of the above Director ID obligations.

If you don’t meet your obligations:

There may be civil or criminal penalties and you may be issued with an infringement notice.

NEXT STEPS

We recommend that if you are a Company Director, you should immediately go to the ABRS website to apply for your Director ID.

Please contact our office if you require any further information regarding your Director ID requirements (08) 8531 0577 or admin@weallcount.com.au

General advice warning: The advice provided is general advice only as, in preparing it we did not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Before making an investment decision on the basis of this advice, you should consider how appropriate the advice is to your particular investment needs, and objectives. You should also consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision relating to a financial product.

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