Australian companies are registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. ASIC's register is searched free of charge for basic details and sells company extracts that list officeholders, share structure, the ultimate holding company and, for proprietary companies, the members. Lodged documents are available as images.
Fill Easy returns ASIC extracts and documents by email to agent@fill-easy.com or through the REST API. Records are in English. Every result records the source, the retrieval time and the request ID.
Registry
ASIC, the Commonwealth corporate regulator in the Treasury portfolio
ASIC registers companies under the Corporations Act 2001 and keeps the companies register. Its ASIC Connect service is searched by name or Australian Company Number, and the free result shows the name, type, ABN or ACN, registration date, next review date, the suburb, state and postcode of the registered office and the list of documents lodged.
Paid products add the detail: a current company extract shows officeholders, share structure, ultimate holding company and, for proprietary companies, members; a current and historical extract adds previous addresses, officeholders and members. ASIC's search fees page prices a current company extract at AUD 10 and a current and historical company extract at AUD 21 online, with AUD 3 more for a search requested by mail.
The Australian Business Register, run by the Australian Taxation Office, publishes ABN Lookup, a free search of ABN status, entity type, GST registration and business names that also accepts an ACN.
Australian Company Number (ACN) and Australian Business Number (ABN)
The ACN has nine digits, written as three groups of three (123 456 789), and is allocated by ASIC on registration. The ABN has 11 digits and is issued by the Australian Taxation Office; for a company it is usually the ACN with two leading digits (36 123 456 789).
| Document | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Current company extract | Name, ACN, type, status, registration date and review date, registered office and principal place of business, officeholders with dates of birth and appointment dates, share structure by class with amounts paid and unpaid, ultimate holding company, members of a proprietary company (top twenty per class) and the list of documents lodged. Officeholders' addresses are marked as not available in the extract. |
| Current and historical company extract | Everything in the current extract plus former names, previous addresses, ceased officeholders and former members, as recorded on the register. |
| Lodged document images | Copies of forms lodged with ASIC, such as the application for registration (Form 201), changes to company details (Form 484) and notifications of officeholder changes. |
| Annual financial report (Form 388) | The audited financial report and directors' report that public companies, large proprietary companies and other disclosing entities must lodge each year. |
| ABN Lookup record | ABN and status, entity type, GST registration, main business location and registered business names from the Australian Business Register. |
| Business name extract | The holder of a registered business name, its ABN and the name's registration dates from ASIC's business names register. |
Search ASIC Connect by name or ACN. The free result shows the company's status, type and registration date. For officeholders and share structure, order a current company extract, which Fill Easy returns on request.
The nine-digit ACN is allocated by ASIC when a company is registered. The 11-digit ABN is issued by the tax office to any business, including sole traders and partnerships. A company's ABN is usually its ACN with two digits in front.
For a proprietary company, yes: the ASIC extract lists the top twenty members of each share class. For a public company the register is held by the company, not ASIC, and only substantial holdings in listed companies are public through the ASX.
No. ASIC's sample extract marks each officeholder's address as not available in the extract. The extract still shows each officeholder's name, date of birth and appointment date.
ASIC's search fees page lists a current company extract at AUD 10 and a current and historical company extract at AUD 21 online, plus AUD 3 for a search requested by mail. Fill Easy confirms the total with the order.