Guidelines for ministerial consent-restricted words and expressions-Proprietary, Limited or No Liability

'Proprietary', 'Limited' and 'No Liability' are restricted words under Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Names Determination.

The use of the words 'Proprietary', 'Limited' or 'No Liability', or their abbreviations 'Pty', 'Ltd' or 'NL', in a business name may mislead members of the public into believing they are dealing with a company registered under the Corporations Act 2001, a limited partnership or an incorporated association when this is not the case.

Criteria for the Assessment of Applications 

Applicants seeking Ministerial consent to the use of the words 'Proprietary', 'Limited' or 'No Liability' in a proposed business name will need to demonstrate:

(a)    the words 'Proprietary', 'Limited' or 'No Liability', or their abbreviations, are permitted to be included in the business name because of the legislation under which the entity is incorporated or registered; or

(b)   the context in which the words 'Proprietary', 'Limited' or 'No Liability', or their abbreviations, are used is not likely to mislead members of the public into believing the business name is a body that is registered under the Corporations Act 2001.

An applicant seeking to use the words 'Proprietary', 'Limited' or 'No Liability', or their abbreviations, will need to provide evidence that the entity is required or permitted to use the word in its name.

Further links	Description
Business Names Registration Act 2011	This Act details the legislative framework for business names in Australia.
Business Names Registration (Availability of Names) Determination 2015	This Determination provides the rules for determining whether proposed business names are identical or nearly identical, restricted words and expressions, and the kinds of names that are undesirable.