Director ID

Legislation has been passed which will require all current and new directors of Australian companies to hold a unique Director Identification Number (Director ID). The Director IDs are intended to provide traceability of a director’s relationships across companies, to directly tackle phoenix activity and enable the prosecution of culpable directors in Australia.

As an existing Director you will be required to make a one-off application for a Director ID by 30 November 2022 or sooner if you are to be appointed as a Director of any additional company before then.

How to apply for Director IDs

The Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) is responsible for the implementation and administration of the director ID.  The ABRS will have the power to issue Director IDs (once satisfied of a director’s identity) and the responsibility of recording, cancelling, or re-issuing IDs. ASIC will then be responsible for the enforcement of associated offences.

Directors must apply for their Director ID themselves because they will need to verify their identity. No one can apply on your behalf.

Although applications may be made over the phone or through paper form, the fastest way to receive your director ID is to apply online.

Apply online

To complete your online application, you will need:

1. a standard or strong identity strength myGovID. If you don’t have one, visit How to set up myGovID
2. an individual Australian tax file number (TFN). Providing your TFN is optional but it speeds up the process
3. your residential address, as recorded by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
4. information from two documents to verify your identity. Examples of the documents you can use to verify your identity include:

• • bank account details
  • an ATO notice of assessment
  • super account details
  • a dividend statement
  • a Centrelink payment summary
  • PAYG payment summary.

Once you have a myGovID with a Standard or Strong identity strength, and information to verify your identity, you can log in and apply for your director ID. The application process should take less than 5 minutes.

OR

Apply by phone

You can apply by phone if you have:

1. an Australian tax file number (TFN)
2. your residential address as held by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
3. answers to two questions based on details we know about you
4. two Australian identity documents to verify your identity – one primary and one secondary.

Primary documents

4. • Australian full birth certificate (extracts and commemorative certificates are not acceptable)
   • Australian passport (including passports that have expired in the past two years)
   • Australian citizenship certificate or extract from a Register of Citizenship by Descent
   • ImmiCard
   • Visa (if you are using a foreign passport but you are still in Australia)

Secondary documents

4. • Medicare card
   • Australian driver’s licence or learner’s permit. This must show your photo and signature, and the address on the card must match your details on the form.

When you have the information you need to apply, contact ABRS.

OR

Apply with a paper form

If you can’t apply online or over the phone, you can apply using a downloadable form – Application for a director identification number (NAT75329, PDF, 306KB). This is a slower process and you will also need to provide certified copies of your documents to verify your identity. 

For further information on the Director ID, visit Australian Business Registry Services or alternatively contact our office on (08) 9321 2111.