All business name registrations are managed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

You can register a business name External Site through the ASIC website.

Registration requirement

You will need to have an Australian Business Number (ABN), or be in the process of applying for an ABN External Site and not have been refused.

ABN registrations are free, and you can have multiple business names linked to your ABN.

Once you have an Australian Business Number (ABN), you can register a business name online.

You can do this through the ABN application or through ASIC Connect.

Registration process

To register for a business name:

Decide on a name that's right for your business.

See if the business name you want is available through the check name availability External Site search on the ASIC website.

Register for your business name online.

The National Business Names Registration System replaces previous state and territory registers.

You now only need to register for a business name with ASIC once, and it's registered nationally

You can't register a business name that is identical or too similar to a business name registered to another Australian business or company.

This means that if someone else uses your business name for their business, you don't have any rights to stop them.

Register your business name External Site

Cost of registering

The fees to register your business name with ASIC include:

$34 for 1 year

$79 for 3 years

How long does registration take?

A business name registration application should take you around 15 -20 minutes to complete online.

If you have an ABN, have provided all the required documents, and paid the fee, you should get confirmation in:

Two business days for payment by credit card

Up to five business days for payment made by bpay, eft or bank transfer.