I am today confirming that Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) will apply a pragmatic compliance approach to directors who are required to apply for a director ID by 30 November 2022, if they apply by 14 December 2022.
Over 1.8 million directors have now applied for their director ID, with almost 78,000 directors applying in one day alone on 29 November 2022. But with the total director population in Australia estimated to be more than 2.5 million, this means around 700,000 directors still need to apply.
The ABRS will not apply compliance resources to determine whether individuals met their director ID obligations by 30 November 2022 if they apply for a director ID by 14 December 2022.
Whilst penalties or offences can apply, the community can expect ABRS to take a reasonable approach to support people to apply.
By applying for a director ID, you're helping to protect the community from those doing the wrong thing, for example, illegal phoenix activity, which is estimated to cost the community up to $5 billion a year.
Chris Jordan
Commissioner of Taxation and Registrar, Australian Business Registry Services
