What our Australia company report includes
Our Australia reports are researched from sources including Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) records, ABR business registry data, court judgement records, PPSR security register filings and established Australian credit and trade sources; fees may apply for certain records. The information returned from any one source reflects what the company has filed and what is publicly accessible when the search is run.
Identity & registration
- ✓ Australian Company Number (ACN, 9-digit)
- ✓ Australian Business Number (ABN, 11-digit)
- ✓ Registered name and trading (business) names
- ✓ Company type (Pty Ltd, Ltd, public, foreign)
- ✓ Date of incorporation and registration history
- ✓ Registered office and principal place of business
People & ownership
- ✓ Directors and company secretary
- ✓ Shareholders and shareholding structure
- ✓ Ultimate holding company where disclosed
- ✓ Beneficial ownership for relevant entities
- ✓ ASX listing status if applicable
Financial & trading
- ✓ Financial statements for large proprietary and public companies
- ✓ Turnover, profitability and balance sheet (where filed)
- ✓ GST registration and tax compliance (case-specific)
- ✓ Number of employees and trading premises
- ✓ Risk indicator and calculated credit limit
Risk & public records
- ✓ Court judgements and Federal/State court actions
- ✓ External administration, liquidation, voluntary administration
- ✓ PPSR security interests over the company
- ✓ Director history including disqualifications
- ✓ Phoenix activity indicators where present
Note on Australia data: ASIC keeps an excellent public record of company identity, directors and registration history, and the ABR confirms tax and GST status. Financial statements are only lodged by large proprietary companies, public companies and regulated entities; the great majority of Australian Pty Ltd companies file no accounts publicly. For these entities, where public information is limited, our agents research the available records to establish trading status and may ask the company for supplementary information, which it may or may not choose to provide.
Why verify a Australian company?
Australia is widely regarded as one of the lowest-risk trading environments in the world, and for good reason: an open registry, an effective insolvency regime, strong director liability law, and a payment culture that is broadly disciplined. What that reputation does not capture is the specific risk that does exist in the Australian SME market, which is phoenix activity: the deliberate liquidation of one company and its near-immediate replacement with a new entity carrying the same directors, the same premises and the same customers, leaving creditors of the original company unpaid.
ASIC and the ATO have tightened the rules around phoenix behaviour significantly in recent years, and the introduction of the Director Identification Number regime has made it much harder to repeat the pattern undetected. Even so, identifying director history, prior failures and related-party structures remains the single most important piece of verification for any new Australian counterparty. Our reports can trace the director record across all registered companies, flag any prior external administration appointments, and identify related entities where ownership or directorship overlaps suggest the operating business has been moved.
Two further issues are worth raising. The first is the gap in public financial disclosure for small Pty Ltd companies, which is wide; if you need to assess covenant strength for a private Australian SME, ASIC will not give it to you. Our agents can help bridge that gap by asking the company for supplementary information, which may include consented bank or trade references, though the company is under no obligation to provide it. The second is the PPSR, Australia's personal property security register, which records security interests over a company's assets. A heavily encumbered SME may look healthy on paper but have nothing unencumbered to offer a new trade creditor.
For trade credit decisions, supply contracts, distribution agreements and investment transactions in Australia, an investigated report adds the information ASIC does not publish: trading status, director history, and a clearer read on covenant strength. An investigated report is recommended where the exposure or the counterparty warrants it.