Who can access information on the ABR?

Public information

Anyone can access publicly available information from the Australian Business Register (ABR) via the business.gov.au website at www.business.gov.au

Non-public information

Businesses can look up their own details at www.abr.gov.au if they have an Administrator AUSkey or an ATO primary digital certificate.

Government agencies which sign a memorandum of understanding and have legal entitlement to ABN information can:

• obtain client’s ABN details, including their:
• address for service of notices
• email address (if provided)
• name of public officer or trustee (if applicable)
• industry code
• notify the ABR of client updates
• receive notification of new clients from the ABR, and
• receive notification of client updates from the ABR.

The Registrar can view and update information on the ABR.

The Registrar has the authority to suppress public access to part of an entity’s record in the ABR. However, for a suppression to be approved, there must be exceptional circumstances, most of which are associated with personal safety issues. These include:

• an individual feeling sufficiently threatened to have a domestic abuse or violence order in place, and
• a person being employed in a particular profession that deals with people considered dangerous. A psychiatrist is one example.

For further information on suppression, refer to the Suppression of an ABN policy.

The electronic version of this document is the only authorised version.
Last updated: 17/05/2010