Director ID Numbers – Compulsory for all Directors from 1 November 2021 – Act Now

Introduction

All persons holding the role of a company director will soon be required to be identified by a unique Director Identification Number (“Director ID”). Your Director ID will be a unique identifier that you need to apply for and keep permanently – similar to a tax file number.

The introduction of Director IDs is the first step of the Modernising Business Registers (“MBR”) Program which will unify the Australian Business Register (“ABR”) and the 31 registers currently administered by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (“ASIC”) into a single contemporary digital registry system to be called the Australian Business Registry Service (“ARBS”) which will be administered by the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”).

What do you need to do?

If you are currently acting as a director of a company registered with ASIC or will become a director in the future, you will need a Director ID. Persons who only hold the role as a company secretary do not require a Director ID.

The following timetable sets out the dates by which directors will need to have obtained their own Director ID:

Whilst you may have some time to obtain your own Director ID number, we recommend that you attend to this as soon as possible to avoid any potential difficulties that may arise during either the myGovID application process or the actual Director ID application process.

Civil or criminal penalties may apply for directors who do not comply with Director ID requirements including failing to obtain your Director ID within the required time periods. These penalties include material financial penalties and even jail time depending on the nature of the breach.

How to apply?

The easiest way for Australian directors to apply for their Director ID number is online. To do this, directors will need to have a myGovID account with either a “Standard” or “Strong” identity strength. Please note that myGovID is different to myGov which you may already have.

The following link sets out how to apply for your Director ID if you are an Australian Director:

https://www.abrs.gov.au/director-identification-number/apply-director-identification-number

Important note:Please ensure that all details (e.g. name, address, date of birth, place of birth, etc) are correct when setting up myGovID as it will be these details that will ultimately need to be linked to your company director records. If you are a director of multiple companies, it may be worth checking details listed with each company to ensure that details used to apply for your Director ID are as consistent as possible to minimise the need to update ASIC registers afterwards (see below).

Foreign directors will need to apply for their Director ID via a paper application which can be accessed using the following link:

https://www.abrs.gov.au/director-identification-number/apply-director-identification-number/verify-your-identity

After you have applied for your Director ID

In late 2023, the ARBS will commence the process of linking Director ID’s to individual companies. Prior to this, it will be essential to ensure that your personal details on file with ASIC are up to date and consistent with your myGovID record. This extends to ensuring that personal details are consistent across each company that you are a director. We note that where a person is a director of multiple companies, it is currently not uncommon to see discrepancies with names (e.g. shortened names or incorrect spelling), addresses, date of births and place of births. It will be essential that all these details are brought up to date and are consistent with your myGovID record before the linking of Director ID’s to individual companies commences.

Questions?

Should you have any questions in relation to Director ID requirements, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Navarra Kovac on (02) 8824 8422 or info@navarrakovac.com.au.