ASIC Company Extract: What to Check at Onboarding

An ASIC company extract lets you compare a company’s registered details with your client’s answers. Order a current extract for straightforward onboarding. Choose current and historical when ownership or officeholders have changed, then resolve mismatches before relying on the file.

The Details an ASIC Company Extract Lists

An ASIC company extract is a snapshot of information drawn from ASIC’s company register when you order it. The current version shows registered details. The current and historical version also includes earlier information recorded on the register.

A paid extract adds officeholder details to the basic information in ASIC’s free company search. The free search includes the company’s name, type, identifiers, registration date, next review date, registered-office locality and lodged-document list.

The extract reflects information notified to ASIC. A recent purchase, resignation or share transfer can be missing if the company has not notified it. Compare the extract with the client’s answers and supporting records before accepting either account of a change.

A certificate of registration records the company’s registration. It does not replace an extract for checking current directors or shareholders. ASIC does not certify register extracts or registration certificates.

Current vs Historical Company Extract

Use a current company extract when you need the present register position. Buy the current and historical version when earlier details help explain the company you are taking on.

Extract	What You Get	ASIC Online Fee	When It Is Enough
Current company extract	Current registered details and officeholders	$10 per extract	A straightforward new client with no recent officeholder or shareholder changes
Current and historical company extract	Current details plus historical information recorded by ASIC	$20 per extract	A purchase, recent director change, name change or earlier officeholder you need to trace

ASIC lists these amounts on its ASIC’s register page. ASIC fees are not subject to GST.

Order the historical version when you take over a book of company clients from another practice and need to reconcile older records. It is also useful when the client’s account of a change differs from the current extract. Historical information still depends on what reached the register.

How to Get an ASIC Extract

Order the extract through ASIC Connect using the company’s name or ACN. Have a payment card and an email address ready.

1. Open ASIC’s company search and follow its ASIC Connect search link.
2. Search within Organisation & Business Names by exact name or ACN. Open the company result and confirm you have the right entity.
3. Choose the current or current and historical company extract under the information available for purchase. Add it to the cart.
4. Complete checkout and pay by card. The direct online fees are $10 for current and $20 for current and historical.
5. Download and save the purchased PDF from the delivery provided. ASIC says it sends purchased online search products by email.
6. Open the PDF and check its company name, ACN and extract type. Save it on the client file with the order date and your completed checks.

ASIC information brokers can also supply extracts. Some tax software orders them through a broker, including as part of a bundled service. Compare the total charge and extract type before ordering through that route.

If the search result belongs to a similarly named company, return to the ACN search before paying. If the PDF has not arrived, check the delivery email and your purchase confirmation first. ASIC’s search purchase guidance explains the online delivery route.

What to Check Against the Client’s Answers

Compare the extract with the client’s form and company records, then record each mismatch and who will resolve it. Use ASIC’s extract-reading guide to identify the relevant sections.

• Match the exact company name and ACN. Check company type and class, registered office and principal place of business.
• Read the status. A deregistered company or one under external administration needs a different assessment from an ordinary registered company.
• Compare the directors’ and secretaries’ full names and recorded appointments with the form. Investigate an officeholder the client omitted.
• Check the listed members, each share class and number held. Compare paid status and the amounts paid or unpaid with the company’s share records.
• Read the beneficially held field. Ask who holds the underlying interest when shares are held for another person or entity.
• Check the ultimate holding company. Follow up a company listed there that the client has not mentioned.

ASIC no longer supplies officeholder addresses in these extracts. Collect identity details separately. Verify the representative’s identity and authority to engage you under the Tax Practitioners Board’s client-verification guidance.

For proprietary companies, ASIC records the top 20 members of each share class and others tied with the twentieth member. Compare the company’s own members register when you need the complete membership position. Continue with beneficial owner checks to identify the people behind ownership or control.

Tax Genie checks the ACN’s format as the client types. The extract supplies the registered details behind that number. Keep director ID checks separate from the company extract check.

Worked Example: An Omitted Director

In this fictional example, the client’s form lists one director. The extract lists two, with the second appointment still recorded. The client says the second director resigned six months earlier.

Send a focused follow-up message.

Your form lists one director, but the ASIC extract lists a second director. Please confirm the current position and provide the resignation record or the acknowledgement of the change lodged with ASIC. We also need to confirm who has authority to engage us for the company.

Record the answer and supporting evidence. If a correction is needed, assign it to the company or its registered agent and record the follow-up date.

Common Mismatches and How to Resolve Them

Resolve a mismatch by finding the evidence of the actual change and arranging the appropriate register correction. Typical gaps include a resigned director still listed, an old registered office, an unnotified share transfer or a misspelt name.

The company, often through its registered agent, lodges the relevant change. ASIC’s Form 484 guidance covers changes to addresses, officeholders and share details. Use the Form 484 guide for the correction steps and corporate key guide for company online access.

Keep the original mismatch on the client file. Add the evidence received, person responsible, lodgement acknowledgement and date the register was corrected. Check the resulting register position before marking the issue resolved.

Shares held for another party or an omitted ultimate holding company can leave you checking the wrong people. Ask for the underlying ownership records and complete the applicable identity and authority checks. A company extract alone does not settle beneficial ownership or who can sign the engagement letter.

When to Order a Fresh Extract

Refresh the extract before relying on it for a later share sale, restructure or change of trustee. A saved onboarding PDF records an earlier register position.

Check the register again when the company’s annual statement arrives and reconcile it with your file. Follow up any change the client reports between reviews. Before the next job starts, record which extract you relied on and whether each relevant mismatch is resolved.