Director Identification Number Update
You only have until the end of this month to apply for your director identification number (DIN) if you have not done so.
There are tough penalties for directors who do not obtain their DIN by the end of November 2022. Fines could be as much as $1.1 million for failure to have a DIN when required.
Tips for Applying for Director ID
A director must apply for their DIN personally; a lawyer, or agent, cannot apply for a DIN on a director’s behalf.
For detailed information, and step-by-step guidance to complete your DIN application, visit the ABRS website. The easiest way to apply is online. Nonetheless, procedures such as these can be frustrating for us all, in which case, you can also apply by telephone with the ABRS (call 13 62 50 or +61 2 6216 3440 from overseas). Providing your individual Australian tax file number by phone is optional but it speeds up the process. Applicants can also request by phone to lodge a paper form.
There are different ways of verifying your identity.
For the online process, there are two steps. Applicants will first need to either use their myGovID credential, or create a myGovID in a similar process to a ‘100 point’ check required to open a bank account. A myGovID is different from a myGov account which many people will have already set up. To create a myGovID, you’ll need at least two documents such as a driver’s licence, passport, birth certificate, visa, citizenship certificate, ImmiCard or Medicare card.
Then, the next step for applicants by phone or online is to answer two questions about their ATO record. These questions will be based on information about either your Notice of Assessment, PAYG payment summary, dividend statement, Centrelink payment summary, bank account details held by the ATO, or superannuation account details.
Applicants lodging a paper form will need only provide copies of their identity documents, but these must be certified by an authorised certifier.
Do directors of an Incorporated Association require a DIN?
A person requires a DIN if they are a director of any of the following organisations:
a company (for example, a company limited by guarantee registered under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth))
an Indigenous corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
a corporate trustee (for example, of a self-managed super fund)
a Registrable Australian Body (RAB) (for example, an incorporated association that is registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as a RAB)
a foreign company registered with ASIC that carries on business in Australia
Incorporated associations are registered under state and territory legislation, which is not administered by ASIC. Incorporated associations can only carry on business in the state they're registered in.
Directors of Incorporated Associations will not require a DIN for that role but would obviously require one if they fill other roles referred to above.
Background and more information
ABRS is responsible for delivering the director ID service and is part of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
ASIC is responsible for enforcing related offences. It’s a criminal offence if directors do not apply on time and penalties may apply.
For more information about director ID penalties, visit our Director identification number web page.
For more information about director ID, visit abrs.gov.au/directorID.
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For more information, please contact Gavin McInnes on 07 3367 8681 or gmcinnes@grmlaw.com.au.
The information contained in this article is general in nature and cannot be regarded as anything more than general comment. Readers of this article should not act on the basis of this comment without consulting one of GRM LAW 's legal practitioners who will consider their particular circumstances.
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