Changing company addresses

We explain how companies registered in Australia need to keep their email and address details up to date with ASIC.

How to change company addresses

You can make a change of address through ASIC's website. It's important to keep your information up to date so you receive information and avoid late fees.

Changes to your registered office address, principal place of business and the residential address of any officeholders or members must be made online.

To change your company addresses:

  1. Register for online access using your company's corporate key
  2. Log in to our online portal with your company's ACN or ABN
  3. Enter your username and password
  4. Select 'Start new form' and select 'Change to company details' (484)

To avoid late fees, you must tell us about any changes to your address within 28 days. For more information, visit ASIC fees.

A company may have a contact address; this is optional and different to registered office. To update your company's contact address, you need to lodge a Form 486 Notification to nominate, change or cease a contact address for a company.

Company officeholders are responsible for letting us know about any changes to their company details.

Example: Jarryd gets a late fee

Jarryd recently moved his company to a new storefront. In the rush of changing to his new principal place of business, he forgot to update his address details with ASIC.

A month later, Jarryd logged into his online account to change his address to reflect the address of his new principal place of business. Because it was outside the 28 day timeframe, the company was charged a $93 late fee.

If he had waited longer and lodged the change of address more than a month late, the company would have been charged a $387 late fee.

To avoid fees in the future, Jarryd realises it's important to update his details as soon as they change.

How to check your current company address details

To check your current company addresses you can:

If your address details are incorrect, use our online services to update them.

What address details ASIC needs

All Australian companies must give ASIC:

  • the address of their registered office and principal place of business
  • the residential address of each officeholder, and
  • the address of each member of a proprietary company (if there are less than 20 members),
  • the company's contact address (if it chooses to have one).

These addresses are visible when conducting a company search.

If we receive information that an address may be incorrect or when mail gets returned, we may highlight this fact in our register.

Types of company addresses

Email address

You can notify a change to your email address through our online services.

If you're registered for online lodgement, an email is sent when the annual statement is ready.

Registered office

An Australian company must have a registered office to receive correspondence. A registered office does not need to be the same as the company's principal place of business, but it cannot be a post office box.

If the company does not occupy the premises, the occupier of the address must give written consent to use the address as its registered office.

You must notify us of any address changes within 28 days. Once you've made the change online, the new address will appear on our register within seven days.

Registered agent

Registered agents must tell us of changes to their address as soon as possible by completing Form RA01 Notification to register, change details of, or cease as an agent.

Contact address

To update your company's contact address, lodge a Form 486 Notification to nominate, change or cease a contact address for a company. This address can be a post office box.

If you have a registered agent, you must cease them first by completing a Form 362 Notification by a company to nominate or cease a registered agent or contact address

Principal place of business

An Australian company must tell us the address of its principal place of business. It cannot be a post office box

Tell us of a change to your principal place of business address online. You must notify ASIC of any changes within 28 days.

Company officeholder's residential address

You must tell us the residential address of all directors, alternate directors and secretaries of a company. The address cannot be a post office box.

Tell us of a change to a company officeholder's residential address online by completing a Change to company details.

Note: If the officeholder has their residential address suppressed, the change must be notified by lodging a Form 379 Request to suppress residential address or change residential and/or alternative address.

You must notify ASIC of any changes within 28 days.

Proprietary company member's (shareholder) address

You must tell us the address of a member (shareholder) of a proprietary company, whether they are an individual or a company. This can be a post office box.

Where a proprietary company has more than 20 members in a share class, you only need to tell us the address of the top 20 members.

Tell us of a change to a proprietary company member's (shareholder) address online by completing a Change to company details.

You must notify ASIC of any changes within 28 days.

Where does ASIC send correspondence?

Officeholders registered for online lodgement will receive their annual statement online.

Otherwise, ASIC sends correspondence to the registered agent or contact address. If a registered agent or contact address is not available, the registered office address is used.

If we don't receive a response and there are still unpaid invoices, we'll send correspondence to an officeholder's residential address.

ASIC is sending me mail for a company I've never heard of

If you are receiving mail for a company that isn't located at your address, see  'What to do if you receive mail for a company that isn't yours'.

Suppression of residential address

In some cases, officeholders may apply for suppression of residential address

This may be because:

  • they have a silent enrolment status by the Australian Electoral Commission
  • they are not recorded on an electoral roll in Australia

If they are not recorded on the electoral roll in Australia, ASIC will decide if their usual residential address on the corporate register may put their personal safety or the personal safety of family members at risk.

The officeholder will then need to complete a Form 378 Application to use an alternative address and/or a Form 379 Request to suppress residential address or change residential and/or alternative address.

Where there is no physical change to an address

If an Australian address changes, but there is no change in the physical location, you must still notify us by completing a Change to company details. For example, a lot number is now a street number or a town/suburb has changed due to alteration of council boundaries.

You must also attach a letter from the company officer or liquidator informing us that the address has changed.

Charities

If your company, registered body or foreign company is a charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) some of your reporting obligations to ASIC will no longer apply. Find out what to do if you are a charity.

It is important that you keep your company address information current to ensure you meet your legal obligations and to avoid paying late fees.

Using our online services is fastest and most convenient way to keep your company address up to date. 

Video: Updating company addresses with ASIC

To help out new (and old) officeholders, we've made a short video that explains your obligations, what information you need to update, and how you can notify us when you change your address.

 

Video transcript: Updating company addresses with ASIC

Here at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, our job is help regulate all Australian companies. Your job as a company officeholder is to make sure your company complies with the law. This includes keeping all of your details up to date, including your company addresses.

Your company has different types of addresses and we use each one differently:

  • Your registered office address is where we'll send any letters or correspondence. This must be a physical address in Australia
  • If your company is managed by an accountant or an agent, we'll send any correspondence to their contact address instead
  • Your principal place of business is where your business is located. This must also be a physical address in Australia and is kept for our records
  • You need to tell us of any changes to your officeholder's residential address and you also need to tell us of any changes to your member's addresses. A member's address can be a post office box or a physical address.

If any of your company addresses change, you must let us know within 28 days. Otherwise, your company will get a late fee. In some cases, we may even deregister your company.

You can use our online services keep your details up to date. Visit asic.gov.au/addresses to learn how to update your information online.

Visit ASIC's website for more information about your other company obligations. You can also check out our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts for more information.

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Last updated: 19/12/2023 04:54