Changes to the Australian Business Register

To help simplify business start-up, the Australian Business Register (ABR) will upgrade its services on 26 November 2012.

To allow the upgrade to occur, the ABR and AUSkey websites (www.abr.gov.au and www.auskey.abr.gov.au) will be unavailable from:

• 6.00pm Eastern Daylight-saving Time (EDT) Friday, 16 November to midnight EDT Sunday night, 18 November
• noon EDT Friday, 23 November to 7.00am EDT Monday, 26 November.

Overview of changes - simplified registrations

Clients will:

• be able to register for a business name, an AUSkey, GST, fuel tax credits and PAYG withholding as part of their online Australian Business Number (ABN) application
• have their details pre-filled from one registration to the next - for example, some of their ABN details will be pre-filled into their business name application
• need to apply directly with each agency for additional registrations if they elect not to apply at the same time as their ABN application, or already have an ABN
• need to apply for a business name directly with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission if they are not an individual or organisation with an Australian Company Number or Australian registered body number
• still need to go to the AUSkey website www.auskey.abr.gov.au to manage their AUSkeys - for example, cancel an AUSkey, or apply for additional AUSkeys.

For more information about registered business names, visit Australian Securities & Investments Commission - Business names.

Supporting online services for business

Australian Business Account (ABA) users will be provided with a hyperlink that allows them to access the ABR. From their ABA account, they will be able to:

• apply for an ABN
• retrieve their ABN details
• update their ABN record (if they have an AUSkey).

Changes subject to legislative amendment

Subject to the passage of legislation which establishes the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit Commission (ACNC), the ABR will cease collecting deductible gift recipient (DGR) and tax charity concession (TCC) information. The ACNC will build the process for doing this. However, the ABR will continue receiving DGR/TCC information and displaying this in ABN Lookup.

Functionality not included in this release

The following items will not be available in November:

• ability to save and continue an ABN application at a later date
• pre-filling of your tax agent details into an ABN application if you use the login function.