Company Details Up To Date?

© Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
Reproduced with permission. ASIC Information sheet 7 (INFO 7).

Details of every company registered in Australia are kept on our corporate register.

Companies must ensure that the details held on our corporate register are kept up to date by telling us of any changes to these details. The Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) requires companies to tell us of changes to details on the appropriate form, generally within 28 days of the change. See INFO 20 Checklist for registered companies and their officers for more information about advising us of changes to your company’s details.

Annual statement

Each year we will send your company an annual statement on its review date. The annual statement will contain a company statement that outlines the details we hold on our register about your company. You must review this information to see if it is correct. If the information is not correct, you must tell us of any changes within 28 days after the issue date of the annual statement. In most cases you can do this on a Form 484 Change to company details (for notifiable changes) or a Form 492 Request for correction (for minor detail corrections).

Return of particulars

As an additional assurance that the information on our corporate database is kept up to date, we may give your company a Return of particulars under section 348A of the Corporations Act. You must respond to the Return of particulars within 2 months or your company will be in contravention of the Corporations Act.

What you will receive

When we send a Return of particulars, you will receive:

• a letter describing what you need to do to meet your legal requirements

• a Company statement setting out the information recorded for your company on our corporate register for review, and

• a Form 483 Company compliance statement to complete and return to us.

What you need to do

When we send a Return of particulars, you must review the information in the Company statement and make a declaration about its accuracy on the Form 483 Company compliance statement.

If the information is not correct, it must be updated using the appropriate ASIC form, usually:

• Form 484 Change to company details—to make changes to company details or supply any information that is missing or incomplete, or

• Form 492 Request for correction—to amend any incorrect information that you have previously lodged with us.

You also need to pay any outstanding fees in full and provide us with a solvency resolution statement (you may be required to pass a solvency resolution).

You must lodge the completed forms and pay outstanding fees within 2 months of the issue date shown on the Return of particulars.

Compliance action

It is important to respond to a Return of particulars within 2 months of the date of issue. If you fail to respond in time, we can commence civil or criminal action against your company.

• In the case of civil action, the court can make orders that your company lodge the response to the Return of particulars and pay us legal costs.

• In the case of criminal action, the court can convict both your company and an officeholder, impose fines and order your company to pay us legal costs.

If you do not respond to the Return of particulars ASIC may also start deregistration action against your company under s601AB(1) of the Corporations Act.

This is Information Sheet 7 (INFO 7). Information sheets provide concise guidance on a specific process or compliance issue or an overview of detailed guidance.

This information is for guidance only and is not intended as specific advice to any reader. Professional advice should be obtained before acting on any information contained herein. The publisher accepts no responsibility for loss occasioned to any person or organisation as a result of action or the refrain of action as a consequence of the contents of this publication.