We Are Not the Government ABR | AusBusinessRegister.com.au

AusBusinessRegister.com.au is a privately-owned Australian professional-services firm. We help foreign companies register and operate in Australia. The name of our website looks similar to the name of an Australian Government agency, and people land on this site every week looking for the government one. This page exists to clear that up.

If you came here trying to register an ABN, look up an existing ABN, apply for a Director ID, or interact directly with ASIC, you almost certainly want one of the government links below, not us.

The short version

If you need a government service, please use the government website. We have no ability to issue an ABN, change a record on the ABN register, or grant a Director ID. Only the relevant government agency can do those things.

Who we actually are

AusBusinessRegister.com.au is a Sydney-based professional-services firm. We work with foreign-owned businesses (typically subsidiaries, branches, and start-ups expanding into Australia) on the practical work of getting set up and staying compliant. The firm is led by Director James Carey, CA CTA JP (Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Adviser, Justice of the Peace), with 15+ years of experience in this area, and is part of the Prime Partners group.

Our typical scope of work includes:

Registering an Australian proprietary company or branch with ASIC
Acting as resident director or local agent where the foreign parent does not have an Australian person to fill the role
Setting up the ATO registrations (TFN, ABN, GST, PAYG withholding) on the client’s behalf
Helping with Director ID applications for non-resident directors (the application itself is made by the individual to ABRS)
Ongoing ASIC, ATO and payroll compliance once the entity is operating
FIRB pre-clearance and notification work where the structure requires it

We do those things for a fee, under a written engagement. We are not free, and we are not the government.

Government registers and agencies we work with

Below are the actual government services people often confuse with us. If your question is “how do I do X with the ABR/ABRS/ASIC/ATO”, these are the right starting points.

Australian Business Register (ABR)

What it is: the official register of Australian Business Numbers (ABNs) and related identifiers.
Operated by: the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS), within the Australian Taxation Office.
Where: abr.gov.au and abr.business.gov.au
Use it for: applying for an ABN, updating ABN details, looking up an entity (via ABN Lookup).

We are not the ABR. We can prepare and lodge an ABN application as part of a wider engagement, but the ABN itself is issued by the ABR.

Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS)

What it is: the body within the ATO that operates the ABR and the Director Identification Number (Director ID) regime.
Where: abrs.gov.au
Use it for: applying for a Director ID, and (over time) the modernised business registers program.

We are not the ABRS. The Director ID application is made by the individual director to ABRS. We cannot apply on someone’s behalf, although we routinely walk non-resident directors through the documentary requirements before they apply.

ABN Lookup

What it is: the public-facing search tool for the ABN register.
Where: abnlookup.business.gov.au
Use it for: looking up an entity’s ABN, ACN, GST registration status, business name, and trading status.

ABN Lookup is free. We do not run it.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

What it is: the corporate, markets and financial services regulator. ASIC maintains the company register, the business names register, and the registers of Australian financial services and credit licensees.
Where: asic.gov.au
Use it for: registering a company, registering a business name, lodging company changes, paying ASIC fees, and searching company records.

We are not ASIC. We act for clients in dealings with ASIC, including registering proprietary companies and branches and lodging ongoing forms, but every transaction is recorded against the client’s entity in ASIC’s register, not ours.

Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

What it is: the federal tax administrator. Operates the ABR through ABRS.
Where: ato.gov.au
Use it for: TFN, GST, PAYG withholding, fringe benefits tax, GST registration, business activity statements, and all federal tax matters.

We are not the ATO. We are registered tax practitioners who deal with the ATO on clients’ behalf under a tax agent appointment, but the ATO is the regulator and the only body that can issue, amend, or cancel a tax registration.

FIRB and Treasury (Foreign Investment Review Board)

What it is: the body that advises the Treasurer on Australia’s foreign investment policy. FIRB applications are administered by Treasury.
Where: firb.gov.au
Use it for: notifying or applying for foreign investment approval, paying FIRB application fees, and reading current thresholds.

We are not FIRB or Treasury. We help clients work out whether a transaction needs notification and prepare the application, but the decision is the Treasurer’s.

How to tell us apart at a glance

Domain. Government services use .gov.au. We use .com.au.
Cost. Government registrations have published fees set in regulation (and many lookups are free). Our work is paid professional services, quoted to you in writing before we start.
What you receive. From a government register you receive a registration, a number, or a record. From us you receive professional advice and the work of someone acting on your behalf with that register.
What we cannot do. We cannot issue an ABN, grant a Director ID, change ASIC’s records by fiat, or override the ATO. Where you need any of those things, we work through the relevant agency the same way any other person would.

Why the name is similar

We chose the name AusBusinessRegister.com.au because what we do, day to day, is help foreign businesses get and stay on the Australian registers (ASIC, the ABR, the various ATO registers). The name describes the service. We understand it can be read at a glance as the name of the government register, which is why this page exists. We are happy to be told apart from the government, and we make a point of saying so on every page that risks the confusion.

If you reached us by mistake

If you intended to reach the government register, please use the relevant link above. There is nothing you need to do here, and you do not need to contact us.

If you intended to reach a paid professional services firm to help you with Australian registration, compliance, or directorship, you are in the right place. The fastest route is:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 2 8599 9890
Office: 1 James Place, North Sydney NSW 2060

We will be straight with you about whether what you need is something we do, something the government does for free, or something that needs a different specialist (for example, an immigration lawyer or registered migration agent for visa work).

James Carey, CA CTA JP

Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser with over 15 years experience in Australian corporate law, ASIC compliance, and foreign company registration. James is the Director of AusBusinessRegister.com.au and a Justice of the Peace in NSW.

Last reviewed: April 2026 • ABN: 76 646 626 806 • ASIC Registered Agent

Disclaimer: This content is general information only and does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice. While we strive to keep information accurate and up to date, laws and regulations change frequently. For advice specific to your circumstances, please consult a qualified professional adviser.