If you’re a public company, you must notify us of any changes to your public officer or your contact details within 28 days.
If your entity operates in a structure other than a company, such as a partnership, trust, or non-company entity, you also need to make sure that your authorised contact, trustee, and partner details are up to date.
You can update your details online through the Australian Business RegisterExternal Link or Online services for business. You can also review who has been authorised to act on behalf of your entity in Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM)External Link.
If your public officer details aren’t up to date
'Recently we’ve been seeing issues where the public officer’s details, or the company's contact details, are incorrect or outdated,' said Assistant Commissioner Mike Ingersoll, Public Groups. 'Your current public officer must be recorded as the public officer for your entity on our systems, and able to establish their identity when we contact them.'
If your details aren’t current, this can result in:
- correspondence from the ATO being delayed or never received
- processing delays and potential refund hold-ups for income tax returns and schedules, which must be signed by the correct public officer
- your correspondence being sent to an unauthorised person or address
- longer compliance activity due to an incorrect person being notified about compliance reviews or audits.
Who can notify us of changes to a public officer
For new registrations, an individual authorised under the rules or articles of association of the company can notify us when a public officer is appointed.
For new appointments or notification of a public officer details, an individual must meet all the following criteria:
- they have been previously identified as the primary or authorised contact for the company
- they can establish their identity
- they can provide a declaration they are authorised either
- by the company’s rules or articles to make the change
- to provide the information on behalf of the authorised person (including notification of the appointment of a public officer).
The new public officer can request the change themselves if they provide evidence of their appointment. See how to update contact details.
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