The ABN is a unique business identifier used in dealings with the Australian Government. It is also available to state, territory and local government regulatory bodies. Identification for tax law purposes is only one of the uses of the ABN.
We are authorised by the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999 and other taxation laws to collect certain information relating to your entity. We may use business details supplied on the tax return to update the information held in the Australian Business Register (ABR) in relation to your entity. This may include cancelling the ABN if your entity is no longer entitled to be registered in the ABR.
Where authorised by law, selected information on the ABR may be made publicly available and some may be passed on to other Commonwealth, state, territory and local government agencies. These agencies may use ABR information for purposes authorised by their legislation or for carrying out other functions of their agency. Examples of possible uses include registration, reporting, compliance, validation and updating of databases.
You can find details of agencies that regularly receive information from the ABR at abr.gov.auExternal Link or you can phone us on 13 92 26 between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Friday to have a list of the agencies sent to you.
For more information about privacy, the information we collect and how it may be used, see our Privacy statementExternal Link.