Is This The End of Trading Names? -

Is This The End of Trading Names?

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) is working with the Australian Business Register (ABR) to retire the use of trading names in Australia.

After 31 October 2018, trading names will no longer be displayed on the ABR (including the ABN Lookup).

Trading names in the ABR

A trading name refers to an unregistered name that businesses could use before the introduction of the National Business Names Register in 2012. A transition period from 28 May 2012 to 31 October 2018 is in place to allow businesses who have unregistered trading names to register them should they wish to do so.

Do you need to register a business name?

From 31 October 2018, the only names displayed on ABN Lookup will be:

an entity’s legal name; and
an entity’s business name registered with ASIC.

Any unregistered trading names will no longer be displayed from this date onwards.

What you need to do

You should check that your business has correctly registered a business name and if not, evaluate if you should register the business name. You should also be aware of any trading names being used by your entity (if any) and make necessary arrangements to prepare for its retirement. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact Peter North (Director of Business) at (03) 9629 9629.

Is This The End of Trading Names?