How to Obtain a Director ID
Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) is offering guidance to agents and intermediaries to assist them in supporting their director clients to apply for their director identification number (director ID). The timing for directors to apply for their director ID depends on the date they first become a director:
- Intending new directors must apply before being appointed.
- Directors appointed on or before October 31, 2021, have until November 30, 2022, to apply.
- New directors appointed for the first time between November 1, 2021, and April 4, 2022, have 28 days from their appointment to apply.
While those appointed on or before October 31, 2021, have until November 30, 2022, to apply, all directors are strongly encouraged to apply now. Directors of companies registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) have a different timeframe in which to apply. More information is available on the ABRS website.
The fastest way to get a director ID is to apply online using the myGovID app.
Assisting Your Clients
You can assist your director clients in successfully applying for their director ID by ensuring they have all the necessary information.
Setting up myGovID
Most successful applicants use two of the following Australian identity documents to verify their identity and set up their myGovID:
- Passport (not more than three years expired)
- Medicare card.
Alternatively, the following personal details can also be used:
- Driver’s licence or learner’s permit
- Visa (using your foreign passport)
- Citizenship certificate
- Birth certificate
- ImmiCard.
Applying at ABRS Online
Directors will log on to ABRS online using their myGovID and will need additional information that the ATO knows about them to continue the application process, including:
- Tax file number (TFN)
- Residential address as held by the ATO
- Information from two documents to verify identity, such as an Australian passport.
Most successful applicants use two of the following:
- Bank account details (to which the individual’s tax refunds or payments are made and received)
- An ATO notice of assessment.
Alternatively, the following can also be used:
- Superannuation account details (must be the individual’s account, not an entity’s account)
- A dividend statement
- A Centrelink payment summary
- A PAYG payment summary (this is different from your income statement or your PAYG instalment activity statement).
How to Apply if Your Director Client Can’t Get a myGovID
If your director client is an Australian resident who cannot obtain a myGovID or interact online, they’ll need to call ABRS to obtain their director ID identifier. If your client currently resides outside Australia and doesn’t have the required Australian identity documents to apply online, they will need to apply using a paper application form. Visit the ABRS website for more information on who needs to apply, when, and how.
Director’s Legal Obligations
ABRS is contacting new directors who haven’t applied for their director ID within prescribed timeframes. Agents of non-compliant directors are also being contacted to prompt their clients to apply. It is a criminal offense if directors do not apply on time, and penalties may apply. ASIC is responsible for enforcing the director ID requirement offenses set out in the Corporations Act 2001.
Do Director IDs Need to Be Provided to ASIC?
There is no need to provide the director ID to ASIC unless requested. There are no changes to ASIC online services (or forms) to make provision for the notification of the director ID.
