Australia

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Overview

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Identifiers

Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Australia and submit them as strings on the application body. Tax ID: 11-digit identifier issued to entities registered in the Australian Business Register under the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999. The first two digits are check digits derived from the remaining nine using a modulus 89 algorithm. Displayed as XX XXX XXX XXX. Mandatory for all businesses (including companies) that carry on an enterprise in Australia; required for GST registration (threshold AUD 75,000 annual turnover). The ABN for a company is typically the company’s ACN with two prefix digits prepended. Freely verifiable via the ABN Lookup portal at abr.business.gov.au. Registration number: 9-digit number assigned by ASIC on registration of a company under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Displayed as XXX XXX XXX (three groups of three digits). Last digit is a check digit. Appears on the Certificate of Registration, company extracts, and must be displayed on all public documents. The ACN is the company’s primary ASIC registry identifier.

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Sector regulators

ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) · APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) · AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) · ATO (Australian Taxation Office) · RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) · ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)

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Legal structures

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How documents combine

For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.

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Documents to collect

The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed. Not applicable in Australia: Operating Permit. Skip these areas — no local artifact exists.

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Collection notes

• Legal Registration: ASIC issues a Certificate of Registration of a Company (under s.1274(2)(b) of the Corporations Act 2001) electronically when the company is first incorporated; it contains the company name, ACN, date of registration, company type, and state of registration. The ASIC Current Company Extract (purchasable via ASIC Connect at connectonline.asic.gov.au for AUD 9) is the standard KYB evidence document — it shows current status, registered office, officeholders, and share structure. Both documents are widely accepted as proof of registration.
• Constitutive Documents: Under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss.134–140, a company may be governed by a Constitution, by the Act’s replaceable rules, or a combination of both. The Constitution is the single constitutive document for companies registered after 1 July 1998. Companies registered before that date may hold a legacy Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association (pre-1998 format) which are treated as a constitution under transitional provisions. A copy of the Constitution must be provided to members on request (s.140) and a copy lodged with ASIC if adopted or amended. There is no prescribed statutory form; the document is a private agreement.
• Tax Registration: The Australian Business Number (ABN) is the primary tax and business identifier, issued by the ATO/ABR under the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999. An ABN confirmation letter or ABN Lookup print-out (abr.business.gov.au) evidences the ABN. If the entity is registered for GST (mandatory above AUD 75,000 annual turnover; AUD 150,000 for non-profits), the ATO issues a GST Registration Confirmation. Companies also hold a Tax File Number (TFN) issued by the ATO for income tax purposes — a 9-digit number used on ATO correspondence; TFN certificates are not routinely issued but TFN letters or ATO-prefilled lodgement records serve as evidence. The ABN is the primary KYB evidence.
• Sector-Specific License: Sector-specific licences are required for regulated financial activities: Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) issued by ASIC under Corporations Act 2001 s.913B for providers of financial product advice, dealing, custody, and managed investment scheme operation; Australian Credit Licence (ACL) issued by ASIC under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 for credit providers; ADI (Authorised Deposit-taking Institution) authorisation issued by APRA under the Banking Act 1959 for banks and credit unions; General/Life Insurance licence issued by APRA under the Insurance Act 1973 and Life Insurance Act 1995; AUSTRAC enrolment required for all reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). For Tranche 2 entities (lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, conveyancers, trust and company service providers): enrolment window opens 31 March 2026; enrolment deadline 29 July 2026; full compliance obligations commence 1 July 2026.
• Governance Records: Every company must maintain a Register of Directors under Corporations Act 2001 s.168; directors must also be disclosed to ASIC. The ASIC Current Company Extract lists all current and former directors and secretaries with appointment dates and service addresses — this is the primary KYB evidence for directors. Changes to directors must be notified to ASIC within 28 days (Form 484). The extract is publicly available via ASIC Connect.
• Signing Authority: No statutory prescribed form. A board (directors’) resolution passed at a duly convened meeting or by written resolution (Corporations Act 2001 s.248A) is the standard instrument authorising a person to act on the company’s behalf. Powers of attorney must comply with state/territory Powers of Attorney Acts; execution by a company is under the company’s common seal or by two directors, or a director and secretary, or a sole director who is also the secretary (s.127). For cross-border use, documents may require notarisation and apostille (Australia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention).
• Address: Conduit universal policy: lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. For the registered office address, the ASIC Current Company Extract confirms the registered address on record. For the principal place of business, standard address evidence applies. Many Australian companies use a registered agent or accountant’s address as their registered office — accept the ASIC extract as registered-address evidence and request utility/bank/lease for the operating address separately if different.
• Good Standing: ASIC does not issue a Certificate of Good Standing. Instead, ASIC issues a Certificate of Registration of a Company (under s.1274(2)(b) Corporations Act 2001) which confirms registration but does not attest to current status, compliance, or absence of insolvency proceedings. In Australia, Certificates of Good Standing are issued by Australian Notary Publics (not a government agency); the notary obtains a current ASIC company extract, searches the insolvency registers (ASIC Insolvency Notices at insolvencynotices.asic.gov.au), and produces a certificate attesting that the company is registered, not in liquidation, and not under external administration. The ASIC Current Company Extract is the primary evidence of current status; a notary-issued Certificate of Good Standing is required only when explicitly requested for overseas use.

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Person roles

When you submit a person on the application body, set their role to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.

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Notes

• ASIC does not issue a Certificate of Good Standing. The ASIC Current Company Extract is the primary status-confirmation document; a notary-issued Certificate of Good Standing is only required for overseas use. Do not attempt to order a government-issued Certificate of Good Standing from ASIC.
• Australia’s ABN and ACN are distinct identifiers: the ACN (9 digits, ASIC-issued) is the company registry number; the ABN (11 digits, ATO/ABR-issued) is the tax and business identifier. Most companies have both. The ABN is the ACN with two prefix digits. Use the ABN for tax evidence and the ACN/ASIC extract for registration evidence.
• Trusts (discretionary and unit trusts) are common operating vehicles in Australia but are not ASIC-registered legal entities. The trustee (typically a Pty Ltd company) is the registered entity. When onboarding an Australian trust, collect: (a) ASIC extract and corporate documents for the trustee company, and (b) the trust deed (constitutive document for the trust). Both the trustee company and the trust require due diligence.
• Incorporated Limited Partnerships (ILPs) are registered under state/territory legislation and are used primarily for venture capital and private equity fund structures. They are separate legal entities but registered at state level — an ILP registered in Victoria, for example, would appear on the Victorian Business Registry rather than ASIC’s register. Verify ILP registration documents from the relevant state/territory authority.
• The AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024 (Royal Assent 10 December 2024) extends Australia’s AML/CTF regime to include Tranche 2 entities (lawyers, accountants, real estate professionals, trust and company service providers, and dealers in precious metals) from 1 July 2026. AUSTRAC enrolment opens 31 March 2026; enrolment deadline is 29 July 2026 (28 days after obligations commence).
• Australia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Documents for overseas use can be apostilled by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or by state/territory authorities.