Decorative Imaging Pty Limited and Australian Securities and Investment Commission

This matter concerned an objection to the registration of business names by Decorative Imaging Pty Limited, reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The dispute centred on whether the proposed business names were available for registration under the *Business Names Registration Act 2011* (Cth) and the *Business Names Registration Determination* (BNRD).

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the proposed business names "Deco" and "Deco Australia" were identical or nearly identical to existing registered company or business names, thereby precluding their registration. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the rules for comparing names, including the disregard of corporate identifiers, punctuation, and the order of words, as well as the treatment of geographical indicators.

The Deputy President, Ian Hanger AM QC, adopted a prescriptive approach to the interpretation of the BNR Act and BNRD, preferring the reasoning in *Boyce v ASIC* and *Perth Martial Arts Academy v ASIC* over other decisions. In relation to "Deco", the Tribunal found it to be identical or nearly identical to "De.Co Pty Ltd" after disregarding "Pty Ltd" and punctuation. For "Deco Australia", the Tribunal determined it was not available because the word "Australia" was deemed the same as "Aus" under Schedule 1 of the BNRD, and the word "Deco" was common to both names, with the order of words being disregarded.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decisions under review, finding that both proposed business names were not available for registration.