GST Registration for New Business Clients

Register a client for GST through Online services for agents when they already hold an ABN. For a new ABN, add GST through the Business Registration Service. Keep their written instruction and assessed date of effect before lodging.

How an Agent Registers a Client for GST

A registered tax or BAS agent can add GST to an existing ABN through Online services for agents. A new business can apply for its ABN and GST together through the Business Registration Service.

For an existing ABN holder, follow these steps in order.

1. Confirm the ABN belongs to the entity carrying on the business. Check the current GST record before adding another registration.
2. Confirm the completed compulsory-registration assessment, or the client’s decision to register voluntarily. Keep written authority to lodge and complete any client-to-agent linking needed for access.
3. Carry the assessed date of effect into the application. Online services for agents only adds registrations for the current monthly or quarterly period. Contact the ATO for backdating.
4. Agree the reporting cycle and accounting basis with the client. Record the permitted choices before opening the application.
5. Select the client, then Profile and Tax registrations. Choose the relevant Account, select Add under current registrations and choose GST. Complete the required fields, select Next, make the declaration and Submit.
6. Retain the application reference and check the accepted registration details before changing the client’s GST settings.

The ATO’s tax registration instructions set out the portal steps and backdating limit. Use the agent portal guide for the wider client-access steps.

The ATO charges no fee for GST registration. If your practice charges for the application, explain that it is your service fee. Keep it separate from fees for other business registrations.

Confirm the Registration Decision

Before lodging, locate the practice’s assessment that registration is compulsory or the client’s instruction for voluntary registration. Confirm that the assessed entity matches the ABN in the application. An active ABN alone does not establish GST registration.

Carry the assessed compulsory date into the application. The day your practice discovers an earlier obligation is not a new starting date. If the assessment is missing or circumstances have changed, resolve that through the GST threshold assessment before lodging.

For example, a fictional sole trader tells you that sales are increasing but cannot recall registering. Check the public GST record and authorised ATO record first. An existing registration needs its settings confirmed, not another application.

Voluntary Registration Below the Threshold

An eligible business below the compulsory threshold can choose GST registration. GST credits on eligible start-up purchases can influence that decision. Registered business customers may also prefer tax invoices that support their own GST credit claims.

Explain both sides before obtaining the instruction. Registration means charging GST on taxable sales, meeting tax invoice requirements and lodging the required activity statements or annual GST return. GST-free and input-taxed sales retain their own treatment.

The ATO’s registration guidance says voluntary registration generally must remain in place for at least 12 months. Record that discussion so the client understands the ongoing work. Use the GST cancellation guide when a later cancellation is appropriate.

GST Registration Requirements and What to Collect

Collect the application details before you lodge. For an Australian business following these registration steps, the entity must hold an ABN or apply for one with GST. Use the ABN application steps when it has none. Complete the new-client ABN and TFN checks separately.

Add these fields to your client form.

• Entity name, entity type and ABN or ABN application reference.
• Business activity and when the enterprise begins or began.
• Current and projected GST turnover, with the practice’s assessment reference.
• Existing GST status and any earlier registration history.
• Requested date of effect and whether registration is compulsory or voluntary.
• Preferred reporting cycle and accounting basis.
• Refund account name, BSB and account number, with account-holder confirmation.
• Written instruction to register and confirmation of the person’s authority for the entity.

The refund details are the ATO’s financial institution details, not a separate GST registration number. Confirm them against the client’s bank record. Use an account held by the entity for direct business refunds. A company’s account belongs to the company, not its director personally.

An authorised agent account or certain trustee arrangements can also be permitted under the refund account rules. Record any such nomination explicitly. In Online services for agents, check Profile and Financial institution details against the activity statement account. These details are for refunds, not a direct-debit authority.

Choose settings the entity qualifies to use. Quarterly reporting generally applies below $20 million GST turnover unless the ATO requires monthly reporting. Monthly reporting is compulsory at or above that amount. Eligible voluntary registrants can elect annual reporting under the ATO’s reporting rules.

Cash accounting generally reports GST when payment occurs. Non-cash accounting generally reports sales at the earlier of an invoice or any payment. Check cash eligibility separately from the reporting cycle. Businesses with aggregated turnover below $10 million can choose either basis. The ATO’s accounting method guidance covers other eligibility routes.

Confirm the Registration Outcome

Confirm GST registration in the authorised ATO record and ABN Lookup. Match the entity and ABN, then compare the accepted date of effect with the application. Keep the ATO’s written registration notification with the client file.

In ABN Lookup, inspect Goods & Services Tax (GST). An unregistered result can read “Not currently registered for GST”. A registered entry shows its effective period. The ABN Lookup glossary explains current and historical details and the From and To fields.

If confirmation is missing or the date differs, record the application reference and the mismatch. Check the authorised ATO registration record and correspondence, then contact the ATO through its tax-professional enquiry route. Resolve the accepted outcome before changing invoicing or activity-statement settings. An application receipt alone does not prove the requested date was accepted.

The GST Registration Number and Backdating

Australia has no separate GST registration number for an ordinary ABN-based business registration. The registered entity quotes its ABN on tax invoices. Retain the ATO notification as evidence of registration and its effective date.

For a client who missed compulsory registration, use the date established by the practice’s assessment. Request backdating through the ATO’s Business enquiries line. The online agent registration function cannot backdate it.

The ATO generally limits backdating to four years before its decision, with an exception for fraud or evasion. Explain that GST can be payable on taxable sales from the accepted earlier date even where the client charged no separate GST. Penalties and interest can also apply.

Before agreeing a catch-up plan, explain which earlier periods are affected and the expected liability. Eligible GST credits require supporting records and their own entitlement checks. Once the date is confirmed, identify the outstanding activity statements and assign the catch-up work. Use the BAS preparation checklist for that separate job.

After the Registration is Confirmed

Record the accepted date of effect, reporting cycle and accounting basis. Add the first activity statement period and its actual due date from the client’s ATO record. Assign the first lodgement to a staff member.

Update your tax software and the client’s bookkeeping file so GST settings use the accepted date of effect. Check the invoice template carries the entity’s ABN and meets tax invoice requirements. For backdating, identify historical transactions needing review before applying changes across the file.

Tell the client when GST begins and how it affects their taxable sales. Discuss whether existing quoted prices include GST and whether future prices need changing. Show the client how to issue tax invoices and explain the records your practice needs.

Ask the client to keep GST money aside for payment. Finish the registration job when the ATO record, bookkeeping settings and client instruction agree, and the first activity statement has an owner.