A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Amendment Regulation 2013 (No. 1)

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2013L00785 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2013 No. 81

Issued by authority of the Assistant Treasurer

A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999

A New Tax System (Australian Business Number)

Amendment Regulation 2013 (No. 1)

 

Section 31 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, inter alia, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed.

Paragraph 26(3)(k) of the Act states that the regulations may prescribe details which the Registrar of the Australian Business Register (ABR) must provide to a person who requests a copy of an entity’s entry in the ABR.  Regulation 8 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Regulations 1999 currently prescribes details for the purposes of paragraph 26(3)(k) of the Act.

The purpose of this Regulation is to effectively extend a transitional period which has allowed trading names that are currently displayed on the ABR, to continue to be displayed until 30 June 2014.  This is done by prescribing ‘a name used for business purposes’ as a detail for the purposes of the Act up until 30 June 2014.

The ABR was established under the Act in 1999, providing a national system for issuing businesses with unique identifying numbers (known as Australian Business Numbers or ABNs).  The States and Territories remained responsible for maintaining business names registers after the ABR was established, however, trading names were listed next to ABNs on the ABR to identify businesses. 

On 28 May 2012, the Australian Government launched the national Business Names Register (BNR) to provide a national register of business names, replacing the State and Territory registers.  From this time businesses were required to register a business name which would appear on the BNR, and it was intended that trading names would no longer be displayed on the ABR.  A one-year transitional period was provided to allow time for businesses to register a business name on the BNR.  This meant that trading names could continue to be displayed on the ABR until 28 May 2013.

However, a large number of businesses did not register a business name and therefore do not have a business name on the BNR.  If the extension was not provided, for a large number of businesses there would be neither a trading name, nor a registered business name, publicly available on either register.  Without the extension, businesses and others who use these public registers to identify businesses would be inconvenienced.  This Regulation provides the extension to 30 June 2014.

The Act does not specify any conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make this Regulation is exercised.

Two weeks of public consultation were conducted on the draft Regulation as the amendments were of a minor nature.

The Regulation commences the day after it is registered.

The details of the Regulation are listed below:

Section 1 – Name of Regulation

This section specifies the name of the Regulation as the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Amendment Regulation 2013 (No. 1).

Section 2 – Commencement

This section provides for the Regulation to commence the day after registration.

Section 3 – Authority

This section states that the Regulation is made under the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.

Schedule 1 – Amendments

Schedule 1 amends Regulation 8 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Regulations 1999 to prescribe as a detail which the Registrar must provide, if a person requests a copy of an entity’s entry in the ABR, the entity’s name used for business purposes (an unregistered business name) if this name appeared on the ABR prior to the commencement of Part 2 of Schedule 2 of the Business Names Registration (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2011 (which occurred on 28 May 2013).

Schedule 1 also specifies in subregulation 8(2) that this requirement will cease to have effect on 1 July 2014.

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The legislative instrument effectively allows unregistered business names displayed on the ABR prior to 28 May 2013 to continue to be displayed until 30 June 2014.

Human rights implications

As this Legislative Instrument only affects businesses in their commercial dealings, it does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

Overview

The A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Amendment Regulation 2013 (No. 1) was introduced to address the transitional issues arising from the launch of the national Business Names Register (BNR) by the Australian Government on 28 May 2012. This regulation was made under the authority of the Assistant Treasurer and is an amendment to the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Regulations 1999. The primary objective of the regulation was to provide an extension, until 30 June 2014, for trading names that were previously listed on the Australian Business Register (ABR) to remain visible. This extension aimed to alleviate the inconvenience for businesses and the public who relied on these registers for business identification, as many businesses had not yet registered their business names on the BNR by the original deadline of 28 May 2013. The regulation ensures that businesses retain some form of public identification during this transitional period.

Scope and Application

The A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Amendment Regulation 2013 (No. 1) applies to businesses whose trading names were listed on the Australian Business Register (ABR) prior to 28 May 2013, and who have not registered a business name with the newly established Business Names Register (BNR). This regulation provides an extension, allowing these unregistered business names to remain on the ABR until 30 June 2014. The primary aim is to mitigate the inconvenience faced by businesses and the public due to the transition from the ABR to the BNR, ensuring continuity in the availability of business identification details during this period. The regulation operates within the scope of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999, with no specified conditions for its enactment other than the authority granted by the Act. This regulation applies nationally across Australia, ensuring a uniform approach to the transition period for all businesses subject to the ABR and BNR systems.

Key Provisions

The A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Amendment Regulation 2013 (No. 1) amends Regulation 8 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Regulations 1999. Section 2 of the Amendment Regulation stipulates that the changes take effect the day after the Regulation is registered. This Regulation is made under the authority of Section 31 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999, which allows the Governor-General to create regulations to prescribe matters required or permitted by the Act. Specifically, the Amendment Regulation extends the display of unregistered business names on the Australian Business Register (ABR) until 30 June 2014. This extension allows for the continued display of trading names that appeared on the ABR before the commencement of Part 2 of Schedule 2 of the Business Names Registration (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2011 on 28 May 2013. The obligations imposed by this Amendment Regulation on the Registrar of the Australian Business Register include continuing to display unregistered business names that were listed on the ABR prior to 28 May 2013. This requirement applies when a person requests a copy of an entity's entry in the ABR. The Regulation mandates that the Registrar must include the entity's name used for business purposes, even if this name was not registered with the new Business Names Register (BNR). This obligation ensures that businesses and the public can still access relevant business identification information during the transitional period. In terms of potential breaches, the Amendment Regulation does not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance. However, the regulation's purpose is to facilitate a smooth transition by providing continuity in business identification information. Failure to adhere to the requirements set out in the Regulation could potentially lead to confusion and inconvenience for businesses and the public who rely on the ABR for accurate identification information. It is worth noting that the Regulation is designed to be compatible with human rights, as it does not affect any of the rights or freedoms recognised in the international instruments listed in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.