What business name holder details you need to provide
The information you need to provide when registering a business name depends on who is the holder of the business. Find out more information below.
Important information
ASIC does not register trusts, partnerships or joint ventures. We only register companies and business names. For more information, refer to:
This page contains:
- Individual (sole trader)
- Incorporated entity (company, registered body, other)
- Unincorporated entity (Trust)
- Partnership
- Joint venture
Individual (sole trader)
Individual (sole trader) will need to provide:
- date and place of birth. The birth details provided are for the purposes of identification. They will not be displayed on the public register or in any public searches.
- residential address. This will be used for administrative or law enforcement purposes only. It will not be publicly available.
Incorporated entity (company, registered body, other incorporated entity)
Company or registered bodies will not need to provide any holder details. We will obtain the ACN or ARBN from the Australian Business Register.
No further information is needed as we will use the information already available on our companies register.
Other incorporated entities will need to appoint an organisation representative who may be contacted by the public about your business name. Their details will appear on the public register.
An organisation representative must be a member of the governing body of the organisation, for example, the president, secretary or member of the committee of management of an association or other body.
Unincorporated entity (Trust, superannuation fund, unincorporated association)
Trusts and superannuation funds must provide details of at least one trustee as an organisation representative.
Find out more information about registering a business name with a Trust set-up.
Other unincorporated entities will need to appoint an organisation representative who may be contacted by the public about your business name. Their details will appear on the public register.
An organisation representative must be a member of the governing body of the organisation, for example, the president, secretary or member of the committee of management of an association or other body.
Partnership
If the proposed business name holder is a partnership, you will need to provide us with details of all partners. Partners may be an individual, company, registered body or other incorporated body.
If the partner is:
- an individual, you will need to provide us with information about the individual, e.g. their birth details and residential address – see Individual (sole trader) above.
- a company or registered body, you will need to provide us with either the ACN or the ARBN of the company and we will obtain the information from the Australian Business Register and ASIC's companies register.
- an incorporated entity without an ACN or ARBN, we will ask you to appoint an organisation representative for that partner.
You will need to nominate an email address for each partner.
Joint venture
If the proposed business name holder is a joint venture, you do not need a separate ABN for the joint venture. You can apply to hold a business name as a joint venture as long as each entity in the joint venture has an ABN or ABN application reference number.
If the joint venture partner is:
- an individual, you will need to provide us with information about the individual, e.g. their birth details and residential address. See Individual (sole trader) above.
- a company or registered body, you will need to provide us with either the ACN or the ARBN of the company and we will obtain the information from the Australian Business Register and ASIC's companies register.
- an incorporated entity without an ACN or ARBN, we will ask you to appoint an organisation representative for that partner.
You will need to nominate an email address for each partner or joint venture partner.
Important information
Please note, ASIC does not register trusts, partnerships or joint ventures. To register a company or business name, please visit company registration or business name registration.