A Director Identification Number (DIN) regime is due to be implemented for company directors in Australia. The objective of the new system is to promote good corporate conduct, and its existence comes into effect following legislation receiving Royal assent.
The Commissioner of Taxation has been appointed as the Commonwealth Registrar and they have announced the DIN registration system will commence in November 2021.
Under the legislation the system is required to be operational within 2 years of receiving Royal assent, 22 June 2022.
Transitional rules/current directors
A Director Identification Number (DIN) regime is due to be implemented for company directors in Australia. The objective of the new system is to promote good corporate conduct, and its existence comes into effect following legislation receiving Royal assent.
The Commissioner of Taxation has been appointed as the Commonwealth Registrar and they have announced the DIN registration system will commence in November 2021.
Under the legislation the system is required to be operational within 2 years of receiving Royal assent, 22 June 2022.
| Date of appointment of directorship | Due date for application of DIN |
| On or before 31 October 2021 | By 30 November 2022 |
| Between 1 November 2021 and 4 April 2022 | Within 28 days of appointment |
| From 4 April 2022 | Before appointment |
Requirements
An individual who is a director or an acting alternate director is required to obtain a DIN. At the initial stage of this regime, no other officeholders will be required to register. However, this may change with the abilities of the registrar to keep additional registers in the future.
Four obligations will exist for individuals who are appointed as a director, being:
- requiring them to apply for a DIN before being appointed as a director
- requiring them to apply for a DIN within 28 days of being directed by the registrar to apply for a DIN
- prohibiting a person from knowingly applying for multiple DINs, and
- prohibiting a person from misrepresenting a DIN to a government body or registered body.
A transitional rule will apply for the first 12 months of operation of the new legislation. A new director will have 28 days after an appointment to register for a DIN.
A person may apply for a DIN if they are not a director but intend to become a director within the ensuing 12 months. It is not compulsory for a person to do this, but nevertheless they are allowed to. However, the DIN allocated to a prospective director will be cancelled if the person does not become a director within 12 months of issue.
Identification of directors
A key component of the DIN register is to be able to separately identify different directors by giving them a unique identifier.
In order to do this, the ATO (as the new registrar) will be required to collect information to identify individual directors. The draft instrument has listed the following pieces of information:
- the individual’s names and former names
- the individual’s addresses and former addresses
- the individual’s contact details, and
- the individual’s date and place of birth.
Additions to ITAA 1936 s 202 will allow the ATO (as the new registrar) to request the tax file number (TFN) of an individual in order to verify their identity. It should be noted that, like other applications, it is not mandatory for an individual to quote their TFN, if they have one. However, not quoting the TFN may delay the application process.
Further, the instrument states that the ATO (as the new registrar) may request and collect identity documents or information evidencing the individual’s identity.
The Commissioner of Taxation has been appointed the Commonwealth Registrar in charge of the DIN process. The new online service for DIN registrations is due to be available in November 2021. All of ASIC’s business registers and the ABR will be integrated over time into one system at the ATO.
Therefore, it should be acknowledged that any forms that are lodged on behalf of directors relating or applying to DINs would need to have the same standards applied to them as what already exist for an ABN or ACN application.
You can find out more information on the ASIC website.
If you require any further information please contact the office.