5 December 2022

If you have not seen by now, Australia has a Director Identification Number (DIN) regime, meaning that directors of companies are required to register for a DIN that they will keep forever, even if they change companies. Any Directors appointed on or after 5 April 2022 will require a DIN prior to being appointed. The deadline for Directors who were appointed (and remain appointed) prior to 31 October 2021 were required to register for a DIN by 30 November 2022; however, the ATO has recently announced it is adopting a pragmatic compliance approach if directors apply for their DIN by 14 December 2022.

Directors can apply for a DIN on the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS).

To apply for a DIN, directors need to:

1. Set up a myGovID.

2. Gather relevant documents such as your tax file number, and residential address as held by ATO.

3. Provide two documents to verify your identity (e.g. bank account details, ATO notice of assessment, super account details, a dividend statement, a Centrelink payment summary, and a PAYG payment summary).

Contact details for the ABRS

You can contact the ABRS between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Friday.

• If you’re in Australia, phone 13 62 50.

• If you’re calling from overseas, phone +61 2 6216 3440.

If you currently live in Australia, you can also apply for your DIN over the phone.

To apply by phone, you’ll be asked to verify your identity. You’ll need:

• your residential address as held by the ATO,

• answers to 2 questions based on details we know about you,

• a primary and secondary Australian identity document, and

• your tax file number (TFN) (optional)

Penalties and offences can still apply to directors who fail to register, with a maximum criminal penalty of $13,200 and civil penalties of $1.1 million.

Although Findex cannot apply for your DIN on your behalf, we can help you decide if you need to apply for a DIN. Please speak to your Findex adviser or get in touch with the Tax Advisory Team if you have any questions about the DIN regime.