National Business Name Registration System
Over the past couple of years the States, Territories and Australian Government have been working on a new national business name registration system. It is expected the new system will ‘launch’ in May 2012.
Currently, a business name is registered in the state or territory in which the business operates. Under the new system, business names and trade names will be registered nationally and will be administered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), rather than the relevant office in each state or territory.
What Does This Mean for Existing Businesses?
The plan is to simply move existing businesses onto the new national system when it goes live in May 2012. As the current holder of a registered business name you won’t need to do anything to transition your name, this will be looked after for you. Furthermore, business name registration is about to reduce in cost! From the 28th May 2012 registration fees of a business name on the national system will be $30.00 per year, or $70.00 for three years. From this date, ASIC will issue reminders to business owners about the renewals of their names, which does not currently happen with each state and territory.
Throughout April & May, ASIC will be visiting capital cities across Australia to host information sessions on the new system, and will post podcasts of their sessions at the ASIC website. You can subscribe to ASIC to receive updates on the business name system as they become available.
