New Director Identification Number Requirements Imminent

Commencing November 2021, directors of Australian companies will be personally required to verify their identity as part of the new Director ID (DIN) regime. The DIN is a unique identifier that directors will be required to apply for once, and then keep forever – including if they stop being a director, move overseas, change to another company or are a director of multiple companies.

Who needs a DIN?

You will be required to register for a DIN if you are an eligible officer of any of the following:

• A company;
• A body corporate that is a registered Australian body;
• A registered foreign company carrying on business in Australia;
• An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation (which are registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) (CATSI Act));
• A corporate trustee; or
• A charity or not-for-profit organisation that is a company.

Timeline

For directors appointed under the Corporations Act, the timeframes they must apply for a DIN are set out in the table below. The date that applies depends on the date that person became a director:

If you become a director

• On or before 31 October 2021, then you must apply for your DIN by 30 November 2022.
• Between 1 November 2021 and 4 April 2022, then you must apply within 28 days of appointment.
• From 5 April 2022, then you must apply before appointment.

Directors of Indigenous corporations:

If you become a director

• On or before 31 October 2021, then you must apply for your DIN by 30 November 2023.
• From 1 November 2021, then you must apply before appointment.

If an individual has applied for, or received, a DIN under one Act, that individual does not need to apply for a DIN under the other Act.

Directors should note that civil and criminal penalties may apply if an application is not filed in accordance with the above timeframes.

Directors who are unable to apply by required date can request an extension. Further details on how to apply for such an extension will be released on the ABRS website in November 2021.

How to apply for a DIN

Applications for a DIN are free, and can be made from 1 November 2021 via the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) website using a myGOVID.

Directors should be taking steps to collate personal identification documents such as a myGovID, a TFN, a relevant residential address, and other identity verification documents.

Please contact us if you require further information about how this relates to you.

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