Modernising Business Registers Business Advisory Group key messages 29 September 2020

Welcome and introductions

Rosanne Bell opened the meeting as co-chair.

Action items update

• BAG–23 – this item has been completed as it will an ongoing commitment.
• BAG–24 – a formal international standard for Director ID is not going to be established. The relevant ISO country code elements have been adopted. This item will remain open and information provided to members.
• BAG–25 – an update on Director ID numbering to be provided at a future meeting

Program update

Michelle Crosby gave a high-level overview of current program progress.

There has been media coverage this morning on the government’s funding announcement for the program.

Important decisions are still being made, including what data is collected and what is to be made available.

Looking forward, a Registrar will be appointed, ASIC functions will transition to the ATO and there will be a private beta for Director ID.

At the ABR Advisory Council, ATO and ASIC heads talked about the importance of the program.

Industry support is helping the program to drive outcomes.

Mary Arrowsmith gave an update on Director ID since the last meeting. A decision has been made to have a 15-digit number, with a country code and a check-digit. Consideration was given to future proofing the number and international engagement with the number.

Initiatives being worked on include compliance frameworks for Director ID and Companies space.

Work is being done with Treasury to seek a policy decision on the public/ private nature of the Director ID number.

There was discussion around the timeframes required for software providers to respond around changes needed.

Tax Practitioners Stewardship Group update

Matthew Addison

An overview was provided on the purpose and member composition of the Tax Practitioners Stewardship Group (TPSG). The group offers a lens through tax practitioners and aims to improve the client experience and administration of tax and super systems.

The MBR program can gain learnings from other large programs administered by the ATO. These include:

• collaboration and early co-design
• feedback loop from meeting to meeting; reasons for government response
• communication products (co-designed)
• established agreed data standards
• collaborative understanding of Stakeholders Natural Business Systems and Governments
• implementation journey
• efficiency and effectiveness for the Intermediaries and Business
• risk assessment and mitigation.

MBR information services and search

Harrison Lee

The mission is to use registry data to unlock social and economic value.

Where information fits into the business life cycle.

ASIC Registry: Machinery of Government (MoG) change

Andrea Paschalis

The legislation that passed in June this year gave legal authority to transfer the ASIC registry and people over to the ATO.

Principles were developed to support the MoG change.

Transition is being planned so it is not detrimental to the customer or staff experience. An indicative timeline was presented.

An overview was given of what day one of the transition will look like for staff.

Eight different work streams have been stood up between ASIC and the ATO to support the transition. These include:

• People
• Branding
• Change and Communications
• IT, Law and Policy
• Business Operations
• Finance and Property
• Records.

Change management strategies and communication strategies are being used. ASIC staff are being consulted on the transition.

High on the priority is the transfer of the commercial agreements with digital service providers and information brokers over to the ATO.

CBRS Brand and Identity

Andrea Paschalis and Sally Bektas

What will a new brand and identify look like for the new registry business.

There needs to be a level of brand and identify to insulate the new register from the ATO. It will be a part of a broader government service.

There has been a lot of consultation across the ATO, in Treasury, Prime Minister and Cabinet and stakeholders.

In addition, there has also been a significant amount of market research through in-depth interviews with stakeholders.

There is a process to finalise the brand and identity, with approval needed from the Minister’s office.

Other Business

Rosanne Bell

Proposed item for the next meeting will be partnering with Treasury to present on the pros and cons of administering the number, including the public versus private nature and what the policy outcome is.