media release (12-106MR)

ASIC launches national Business Names Register

Published

A new online system to register, renew and search business names has been unveiled by ASIC today, cutting red tape and compliance costs for Australian business.

The national Business Names Register replaces eight state and territory systems, simplifying business registration in Australia by offering a single online service. The launch of this initiative, together with the joint Australian Business Number (ABN)/Business Name registration transaction scheduled for later this year, is expected to deliver approximately $480 million in benefits to business, consumers and the Government over eight years.

Under the new streamlined service, businesses only need to register their name once to have national effect and have the option of registering their name at a cost of $30 annually, or $70 for three years. Previously, a business operating and registering their business name in every state and territory incurred a cost of more than $1,000 for the same period.

ASIC’s Business Names Register contains over 84 million migrated data records previously held by state and territory agencies across Australia. This includes over 1.6 million existing business name registrations which have been automatically transferred to ASIC’s national register. ASIC will contact current business name holders when it is time to renew their business name.

ASIC Commissioner, Mr Greg Tanzer said today’s launch highlighted ASIC’s commitment to providing efficient registration and licensing, particularly helpful for small business.

‘The national Business Names Register will provide genuine time and cost benefits for Australian business, particularly small business where every bit counts. Instead of trawling through several sites to check a business name, register and then maintain a registration, Australian business owners will be able to do all this business on one national site.

‘Our new Business Names Register is all about making it easier to do business. For the first time, businesses trading in more than one state or territory will only need to register once nationally – removing the inconvenience caused by registration of business names under the law of more than one jurisdiction within Australia’, Mr Tanzer said.

‘Consumers can also obtain contact and ownership details of any business currently registered in Australia, resulting in greater transparency and accessibility.’

Under the new system, future business owners can also look up the availability of a business name through a real-time automated check. Before choosing a new business name, business owners can search ASIC’s register to make sure that a similar name, or an identical one, is not being used by another business.

ASIC also encourages new business owners to check for existing registered trade marks and domain names to avoid running into legal difficulty at a later stage. Importantly, registering a business name does not provide any proprietary rights over a name – only a trade mark can give that kind of protection. To help with this, new business name applicants can follow a free link to the simplified Australian trade mark search (TM Check) and domain name searches.

Further enhancements to the national Business Names Register will be delivered progressively between 28 May and November 2012. These initiatives include a joint ABN (Australian Business Number) and Business Name registration transaction for new businesses to access from the ABR website.

The new national business names registration service is a key regulatory reform under the Council of Australian Government’s Seamless National Economy Agenda.

Key features of ASIC’s new register:

  • One central point to register, renew and search business names

  • Cuts red tape and compliance costs for business

  • $30 annual registration fee or $70 for 3 years

  • Existing businesses do not need to do anything – current state and territory business name registrations have been automatically transferred to the national Business Names Register.

More information for business:

Media interviews:

Commissioner Greg Tanzer and ASIC’s Deputy Chief of Operations, Kathrine Morgan-Wicks, are available for interview. Requests should be directed to ASIC’s Media Unit on 1300 208 215 or media.unit@asic.gov.au 

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Topics

business names