Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) is streamlining how businesses interact with government and manage their registry obligations, providing one unified source of trusted business information. Modernising Business Registers (MBR) is a key reform supporting deregulation and digital transformation.
The Commissioner of Taxation has been appointed as the Registrar under the:
- Business Names Registration Act 2011
- Commonwealth Registers Act 2020
- Corporations Act 2001
- National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.
ABRS has been established to assist the Registrar to carry out their functions. The Registrar has separate and distinct responsibilities from the Commissioner of Taxation, including administering director IDs and assisting the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to manage its registry functions. The Commissioner of Taxation remains Registrar of the Australian Business Register (ABR) under the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.
The ABRS is the custodian of trusted business information and will become a world-class provider of associated services used by businesses, governments and communities to unlock economic and social value for Australia.
The MBR program will bring together more than 30 ASIC registers and the ABR on the modern ABRS registry system, with high levels of reliability, accessibility and security. ABRS will offer streamlined business registry services, along with high-quality and easily accessible registry data. Director ID is a critical tool for regulators and external administrators, providing transparency of director activity and revealing potential involvement in unlawful activity, including illegal phoenix activity.
Purpose
ABRS provides critical support for businesses, government and communities through existing ABR and ASIC registry services and data. Following the launch of director ID in 2021, the MBR program is transforming registry services and progressively delivering further ABRS functions over the coming years.
The purpose of ABRS is to provide:
- effective, efficient and accessible business registry services that reduce the regulatory burden for business
- a unified, accessible and trusted source of business data that supports the activities of businesses, governments and the community
- robust identity verification and relationship traceability for directors through director ID, which will foster trust and confidence by creating a fairer business environment.
Risk focus
Our risk focus is on ensuring the integrity of our registers. We have well-established systems of risk oversight and management that align with the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy and section 16 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
The Registrar of ABRS has entered into an operational memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ASIC regarding the management of ASIC’s registry functions. Under this MOU, the ATO and ASIC will work together to ensure appropriate oversight and collaboration on registry-related risks.
Our risk focus is also on the successful delivery of the MBR program. In addition to internal risk management systems, the program undergoes regular independent reviews to provide assurance and advice to support implementation.
Performance measures
Forming part of ABRS, the ABR program works with government, digital service providers, the business community and other key stakeholders to support a fairer business environment that fosters greater economic growth and job creation. This will be achieved through increased use of a trusted national business dataset and consistent information exchange standards through Standard Business Reporting (sbr.gov.auExternal Link).
The ABRS performance measures are:
- Increased use of the ABR – Increased use of the ABR as the national business dataset
- Reduced administrative costs – Reduction in the administrative cost to businesses and government in dealing with each other.
The Registrar of ABRS is now responsible for assisting ASIC to perform its registry functions (under a delegation from ASIC). This includes reporting against the associated performance measures through the delegation model. As ASIC registers are migrated to the new registry system, the Registrar will assume primary responsibility for registry functions and associated reporting.
Environment
ABRS will continue to deliver existing ABR and ASIC registry services as we progressively implement the MBR program and deliver modernised services. Throughout this process, our priority is to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for our clients and our staff.
Capability
ABRS program capability requirements are included in Organisational capability.