Australia’s Business Register (2025 Update)
The Australian business registry system is siloed across multiple databases, which can make it confusing for financial crime professionals conducting due diligence on Australian companies.
While modern, usable registers, these registers aren’t without faults. Australia still doesn’t provide information on beneficial ownership, though it does provide information on shareholders and ownership structures, which must be manually parsed.
Kyckr’s UBO Verify automatically verifies Australian UBOs using underlying shareholder data extracted from registry filings, saving compliance teams hours, if not days. Book a demo to find out more.
This guide to ASIC and the Australian Business Register covers what data is available, how to access it, and the register’s most recent updates.
What is the Australian Business Register?
Australia’s corporate landscape is governed by two main registers: the Australian Business Register (ABR) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) register. While similar, they serve distinct functions:
ABR: Contains ABN details for all Australian business entities: companies, sole traders, trusts, partnerships, NFPs. Core data includes entity type, business names, ABN status, GST registration, and basic contact information.
ASIC: Australia’s financial regulator and corporate structure register. Goes deeper on companies specifically: directors, secretaries, shareholders, corporate history, financials, related entities. Think of it as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and Companies House rolled into one.
In practice: ABR confirms existence. ASIC reveals control. A due diligence check typically starts with the ABR (confirming the entity’s existence, ABN, and GST status) and moves to ASIC for deeper insight into control, officers, and history.
What’s the Difference Between an ACN and an ABN?
The ACN and ABN are distinct numbers with different purposes.
ACN: A nine-digit number issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to every company registered in Australia. Think of it as a unique identifier for companies used to monitor and manage company records.
ABN: An eleven-digit number issued by the Australian Business Register (ABR) that identifies businesses operating in Australia. It’s used for tax and business purposes: registering for GST, for example, claiming credits, and conducting business transactions.
Remember: When a company registers for an ABN, its ACN is included in their ABN. Essentially, the ABN incorporates the ACN.
What Data Is Available?
ASIC provides data on 3.4 million companies, processing 3.1 million updates annually. Data includes:
Basic: Company name, number, status, and address.
Shareholder: Names, addresses and share capital.
Officers: Director's names, addresses and appointment date.
Historical: Former names, addresses, officers, and financial reports.
Financial: Financial audits and accounts.
But how do you access that data?
How to Access Information via the ASIC Portal: A Step-by-Step Guide
Searching on ASIC Connect’s online portal is free, but users must pay to download company extracts. It’s a simple process.
Accessing ASIC Connect
1. Access the ASIC Website
Begin by accessing the ASIC Connect portal.
2. Navigate to the Search Database
Look for the ‘Search ASIC Registers’. Once you find it, select the ‘Organisation and Business Names’ register.
3. Enter Search Criteria
On the search page, you'll see fields to enter your search criteria. Here you can enter the business name or the number.
4. Run the Search
After entering the criteria and specifying the parameters, click the ‘Search’ button to initiate the search. ASIC will then generate a list of matching business names and organisations.
5. Review the Results
You'll see a list of business names and organisations that match your search criteria. Basic information: name of the entity, registration number, and status (e.g., registered, deregistered). Here, you can also print a PDF of the results.
6. View Detailed Information
Click on a specific business name or organisation in the search results for more information. It’ll show you registration dates, addresses, and historical records or documents filed with ASIC.
There’s information available for purchase. Once you’ve found your company, you’ll see the documents available.
Documents Available On ASIC Connect
Documents available on ASIC Connect
Current Company Extract ($10 AUS online, $13 AUS by post): A company overview, including the company name, the ACN/ABN, the organisation details, the director’s name, address, date of birth and appointment date, share information, names of shareholders, their addresses and shares held, and financial reports.
Current and Historical Company Information ($20 online, $23 by post): Includes the same data found in the Current Company Information extract, as well as previous organisation details, historical address, previous directors and officeholders, previous share structure and shareholders, and financial reports.
Roles and Relationship Extract ($23 online, $26 by post): A company’s registration details, along with the details of any other relational roles held in another company.
Other Ways To Access Information: API and Open Data
API
ASIC offers API access to ‘approved brokers’, providing live access to multiple registers, including the Company Register, Business Names Register, and Professional Register. Via API, you will receive:
Company Details: Name, registration number (ACN), status and registration date.
Officeholder Details: Director and secretary names, positions, appointment dates, and any changes to their roles or status over time.
Historical Records: Access to historical filings, documents, and records submitted by the company to ASIC. Annual reports, financial statements, changes to company details, and other regulatory filings.
Open Data
ASIC also provides access to 12 datasets on company information, financial data, and other regulatory details, available for download from data.gov.au, including the ASIC Company Dataset.
These usually include basic information, such as name, ACN, type, class, status, date of registration, ABN, and historic names.
Remember: This excludes some important information. For example, company officials’ details and shareholder details. However, this information is available via paid company extracts for purchase by credit card.
Is It Reliable?
Like most company registers, ASIC relies on companies to tell the truth. However, its role has changed in recent years.
The ATO’s Officeholder Data-Matching Program cross-checks information from the ASIC, ORIC, and ACNC registers against ATO client records to confirm directors hold a valid Director ID and link them to their company appointments.
In short, ASIC is turning from “librarian to gatekeeper" as part of a wider registry trend noted by Kyckr CEO Steve Lamb.
Reforms (2025 Update)
ASIC's Registry Overhaul: The RegistryConnect Initiative
ASIC has launched the RegistryConnect programme to modernise and secure its business registers. Its priorities include:
Enhanced search functionality for the companies register.
Integration of Director IDs directly into register systems.
Stronger user authentication protocols to prevent fraudulent access.
Improved data quality and integrity across all registers.
Bolstered cybersecurity defences against registry misuse and fraud.
Trading Names Disappear from Public View
A major operational change takes effect on 1 November 2025: unregistered "trading names" will be removed from public visibility on the Australian Business Register (ABR) and ABN Lookup.
Trading names, informal aliases businesses use without formal registration, have historically been visible alongside registered business names. But businesses relying on an unregistered trading name after 31 October 2025 will find it no longer appears in public searches.
Why this matters: Businesses may become harder to identify if they operate under trading names that aren't formally registered.
The $530 Million Programme That Failed
The Australian Government officially abandoned the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) programme in August 2023, which aimed to consolidate the ABR and 31 ASIC registers under a unified system.
The project faced extraordinary cost overruns, ballooning from an initial estimate of around $480 million to a projected $2.7 billion, alongside persistent implementation challenges, including pandemic disruptions and complex inter-agency coordination issues.
Why you should care: Without the planned consolidation, Australia's business register architecture remains fragmented across legacy systems.
Calls to Split ASIC in Two
Structural reform of ASIC itself is now on the agenda following a scathing Senate Economics Committee report in July 2024 that recommended the regulator be divided into two separate agencies: one focused on corporations, the other on financial services.
The committee's critique was sharp, citing ASIC's overly broad remit, slow prosecution of white-collar crime, and problematic internal culture.
The facts: While immediate implementation appears unlikely in the current parliamentary term, the recommendation signals mounting pressure for enhanced regulatory effectiveness and enforcement capability.
Australia’s Beneficial Ownership Reforms (2025-2027)
Australia doesn’t have a UBO register, but it plans to implement one.
On 27 August 2025, ASIC announced that it will receive an extra $207 million in funding over the next 2 years. This will enable it to set up a beneficial ownership register.
Policy development work and the public consultation process will commence in early 2027.
Automatically Verify Australian UBOs With Kyckr
UBO Verify
ASIC doesn’t provide beneficial ownership information, a huge bottleneck for financial crime teams as they must manually verify corporate ownership structures. This introduces friction during onboarding and potentially sacrifices revenue
UBO Verify does that work for you. With one click, users can verify Australian UBOs. Our tool extracts underlying shareholder data from fresh, official registry filings and calculates the UBO based on a threshold you set.
Spektr’s CPO Jeremy Joly called it “a game-changer”.
Book a demo to find out more.