24 November 2020
- Company and business name registrations increased slightly in the first nine months of 2020 compared to 2019.
- Guidance and support are available for companies and small business owners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- There has also been a change to the number of companies entering external administration and voluntary deregistration.
New company registrations
In the first nine months of 2020, a total of 176,592 companies were registered, a slight increase compared to the first nine months of 2019 being 172,686.
New company registrations were up 6% for January and February, but down from March to May. The largest drop was in April with 20% - the lowest monthly volume since January 2013.
Volumes were 11% higher compared to the same period in 2019.
|
New company registr- ations |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
|
2019 |
14,605 |
17,404 |
19,087 |
16,625 |
20,682 |
24,802 |
21,047 |
19,573 |
18,861 |
|
2020 |
15,064 |
18,711 |
18,357 |
13,358 |
17,752 |
26,804 |
24,017 |
20,673 |
21,856 |
|
Change |
3% |
8% |
-4% |
-20% |
-14% |
8% |
14% |
6% |
16% |
Business names
In the first nine months of 2020, a total of 341,229 business names were registered. This is an increase when compared to registrations in the first nine months of 2019, being 287,232.
New business name registrations were down 4% for the January to March period. Volumes grew quickly with significant increases from April to September 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
|
Business name registr- ations |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
|
2019 |
30,462 |
32,294 |
32,625 |
28,262 |
32,737 |
30,112 |
36,024 |
33,309 |
31,407 |
|
2020 |
29,225 |
32,276 |
29,797 |
31,249 |
39,766 |
43,088 |
48,128 |
45,086 |
42,614 |
|
Change |
-4% |
0% |
-9% |
11% |
22% |
43% |
34% |
35% |
36% |
External administration
In the first nine months of 2020, 3,828 companies entered external administration. This is a decrease compared to the same period in 2019 where 6,221 companies entered external administration.
Companies entering external administration for the first time increased 6% in February. From March this continued to decrease by larger rates, with September dropping 66%.
|
External administr-ation |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
|
2019 |
470 |
629 |
718 |
615 |
772 |
708 |
846 |
778 |
685 |
|
2020 |
397 |
667 |
683 |
410 |
429 |
364 |
373 |
275 |
230* |
|
Change |
-16% |
6% |
-5% |
-33% |
-44% |
-49% |
-56% |
-65% |
-66%* |
*Figures are provisional and subject to revision given time lag in lodgements of appointment by registered liquidators
Voluntary deregistration
In the first nine months of 2020, a total of 66,583 companies lodged to voluntarily deregister. This was a decrease when compared to the same period in 2019 where 67,580 companies lodged to voluntarily deregister.
From January to April, each month increased in applications to voluntarily deregister a company. During May to September, there was an overall decrease of 5%.
|
Applications to deregister* |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
|
2019 |
5,425 |
6,254 |
6,996 |
6,393 |
7,858 |
8,515 |
9,445 |
8,718 |
7,976 |
|
2020 |
5,963 |
6,587 |
7,005 |
6,477 |
6,968 |
8,674 |
9,154 |
7,950 |
7,805 |
|
Change |
10% |
5% |
0% |
1% |
-11% |
2% |
-3% |
-9% |
-2% |
*Volumes have been amended from article published on 17 July 2020 as a result of additional validation
More information
Advice and support are available if your company or small business has been affected by a downturn in business due to COVID-19. Visit the pages below for more information.
ASIC is Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator.