Business Names Registration Act 2011
In this Act:
ABN
: see
Australian Business Number
.
View history note
Hide history note(a) the Australian Capital Territory; and
(b) the Northern Territory; and
(ba) Norfolk Island; and
(c) the Jervis Bay Territory; and
(d) the Territory of Christmas Island; and
(e) the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
application fee
, for an application by an entity for an extract of the Business Names Register, means the fee imposed under the
Business Names Registration (Fees) Act 2011
in relation to such an application.
ASIC
means the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
ASIC Act
means the
Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001
.
ASIC member
means a member of ASIC (as defined for the purposes of the ASIC Act).
Australia
(Repealed by No 33 of 2016)
Australian business law
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
Australian Business Number
or
ABN
, for an entity, has the meaning given by the
A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999
.
Australian Business Register
means the register established under section
24
of the
A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999
.
available
: a business name is available to an entity in the circumstances set out in:
(a) section 25 and subsection 31(3) of this Act; and
(b) item 21 of Schedule 1 to the Transitional Act.
business
has the meaning given by section
4
.
business day
means a day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday, a public holiday or a bank holiday in a referring/adopting State or an affected Territory.
business name
means a name used, or to be used, in relation to one or more businesses.
Business Names Register
means the register established and maintained under section
22
.
carrying on
a business includes doing anything in the course of the commencement or termination of the business.
Commonwealth body
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
Commonwealth Minister
means the Minister.
company
means a body registered as a company under the
Corporations Act 2001
.
consent application
means an application for registration of a business name that includes a statement that the entity to whom the business name is currently registered has consented to the registration of the business name to the applicant.
data standards
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
designated secrecy provision
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
disclosure framework
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
disqualified
: an entity is
disqualified
in the circumstances specified in section
32
.
entity
has the meaning given by section
5
.
entity on whose application a decision is reviewable
means an entity on whose application the decision is reviewable under section
56
.
Federal Court
means the Federal Court of Australia.
give
to ASIC has a meaning affected by section
68
and subsection
69(6)
.
Note:
For a document or information to be given or otherwise provided to ASIC under a provision of this Act or the Transitional Act, the manner and format requirements in section 68 must be met.
government body
has the meaning given by subsection
11(3)
.
government entity
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
identical
: means identical under rules made by the Minister under section
26
.
intelligence or security agency
has the meaning given by section
85ZL
of the
Crimes Act 1914
.
(a) means lodge with ASIC in accordance with any applicable requirements under sections 67 and 68 ; and
(b) has a meaning affected by subsection 69(6) .
Note:
A reference in this Act or the Transitional Act to a document that is lodged has a meaning affected by subsection 67(2) (about including certain material lodged with the document).
nearly identical
: means nearly identical under rules made by the Minister under section
26
.
non-entity joint venture
means an arrangement that the Commissioner of Taxation is satisfied is a contractual arrangement:
(a) under which 2 or more parties undertake an economic activity that is subject to the joint control of the parties; and
(b) that is entered into to obtain individual benefits for the parties, in the form of a share of the output of the arrangement rather than joint or collective profits for all the parties.
notified State/Territory register
has the meaning given by section
6
.
notified successor
, in relation to a business name, means an entity entered on the Business Names Register under subsection
40(4)
as a notified successor in relation to the business name.
official employment
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
priority
: an entity has
priority
over a business name in the circumstances set out in section
29
.
protected information
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
referring/adopting State
has the meaning given by section
8
.
registered owner
, in relation to a registered trade mark, has the meaning given by section
6
of the
Trade Marks Act 1995
.
registered trade mark
has the meaning given by section
6
of the
Trade Marks Act 1995
.
Registrar
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
registration fee
, for the registration of a business name to an entity, means the fee imposed under the
Business Names Registration (Fees) Act 2011
in relation to the registration.
renewal fee
, for the renewal of the registration of a business name to an entity, means the fee imposed under the
Business Names Registration (Fees) Act 2011
in relation to the renewal.
reviewable
: a decision is
reviewable
if it is reviewable under section
56
.
secrecy provision
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
staff member
has the same meaning as in the ASIC Act.
State
, when used in a geographical sense, includes the coastal sea of the State.
superannuation fund
has the same meaning as in the
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
.
taxation law
(Repealed by No 57 of 2026)
Territory
, when used in a geographical sense, includes the coastal sea of the Territory.
this Act
includes instruments made under this Act.
Transitional Act
means the
Business Names Registration (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2011
, and includes instruments made under that Act.
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