Australian company directors are now required by law to apply for a director identification number ("director ID").

A director ID is a unique identifier given to an eligible officer who has verified their identified their identity with the Australian Business Registry Services ("ABRS"). The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) defines an "eligible officer" to include "a director of a company, or of a body corporate that is a registered Australian body or registered foreign company, who:

  • is appointed to the position of director; or
  • is appointed to the position of an alternate director and is acting in that capacity".

A person will only ever have one director ID and directors will need to keep their director ID even if they cease to be a director, become a director of a different company, change their name or more interstate or overseas.

The timeframe of when you have to apply for your director ID is dependent upon when you first became a director and applies as follows:

Date you first become a director Date you must apply
On or before 31 October 2021 By 30 November 2022
Between 1 November 2021 and 4 April 2022 Within 28 days of appointment
From 5 April 2022 Before appointment

The ABRS estimates that the total director population in Australia is more than 2.5 million and approximately 700,000 directors have still not applied for their director IDs.1

If you became a director of a company on or before 31 October 2021 and have not already applied for your director ID, the time to act is now. A 14 day grace period has been announced by the ABRS for directors who were required to apply for their director IDs by 30 November 2022 and these directors must apply before 14 December 2022 to avoid penalties.

If you are becoming a director for the first time, you will now need to apply for your director ID prior to being appointed as a director of a company.

Applications for a director ID can be made online, over the phone or by paper application if you live outside Australia and cannot apply online. For further details in relation to applying for a director ID please refer to the ABRS website. https://www.abrs.gov.au/director-identification-number/apply-director-identification-number?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk-Gv3oXp-wIVDBwrCh1cbwWFEAAYASACEgLz5vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you have any queries about director IDs or would like further information, then please feel free to contact our Commercial Team.

Footnote

1 https://www.ato.gov.au/Media-centre/Media-releases/Statement-from-ABRS-Registrar-Chris-Jordan-on-the-director-ID-deadline/

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.