Director ID requirements
Update (September 2026): The transitional deadlines referred to below have long since passed. Anyone appointed as a new director must obtain their Director ID before accepting the appointment, not within 28 days afterwards. Directors ought be aware that the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) still issues and administers Director IDs, but since 1 July 2026 ASIC has been the sole enforcement agency for the regime, with power to disqualify a person from managing a corporation for up to three years for failing to apply when directed. Further changes take effect from 1 July 2027, when Director IDs are integrated directly into ASIC's Companies Register, with directors given 7 days to supply their ID to the company and the company 14 days to lodge it whenever director details change. The original article, reflecting the position at the time the Director ID program was first introduced, follows below.
Original: Are you in the process of starting a new company, or appointing a new director to an existing company? If so, be aware that directors of Australian companies must obtain a director identification number (Director ID).
Company directors must authenticate their identification as part of the Director ID program. These requirements have been introduced by ASIC to help prevent the use of fictitious or fraudulent director identities.
New directors who are appointed for the first time between 1 November 2021 and 4 April 2022 have 28 days from date of appointment to apply for their Director ID. However, existing directors who were appointed on or before 31 October 2021 do not have to submit an application for their Director ID until November 30, 2022.
Directors who are unable to apply for their Director ID within the timeframes indicated can request a time extension. You can find more information via the ABRS website: https://www.abrs.gov.au/director-identification-number .
ASIC is responsible for enforcing a failure of a director to obtain their Director ID. If a director fails to submit an application by the deadline, they may be charged with a criminal offence.
If you’re interested to know more about your obligations as a director of an Australian company, please reach out to our commercial lawyers at Dexterity Law here.
The above article was written by Pippin Barry (BA, JD - 2012, The University of Melbourne), an Australian Legal Practitioner.
