Current and historical view of ABN details
ABN Lookup provides access to the publicly available information about an ABN. This includes both current and historical information.
On the ABN details screen, use the 'Current details' tab to view current information only and the 'Historical details' tab to view
both current and historical details. For example, if an entity's name changes over time, the 'Current details' tab displays
the current entity name only whereas the 'Historical details' tab displays both the current and previous entity names.
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ABN details available on ABN Lookup
ABN Lookup provides access to the publicly available information provided by businesses when they
register for an Australian Business Number (ABN). The information available on ABN Lookup is provided through the
A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999
and is described in greater detail below.
ABN and ABN status
The ABN is a unique 11 digit identifier issued to all entities registered in the Australian Business Register (ABR).
An ABN can have a status of active or cancelled. A status of cancelled means the business has ceased trading.
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Entity name
Entity name refers to the name that appears on all official documents or legal papers.
The entity name may be different from the business trading name (that is, the name the entity trades under).
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Entity type
Entity type describes the entity associated with an ABN in terms of income tax, Australian business number (ABN)
and Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation.
For more information see the list of
Entity types that appear on ABN Lookup.
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Goods & Services Tax (GST) status
Goods & Services Tax (GST) is a broad-based tax of 10% on most goods, services or anything else for consumption in Australia.
The information in ABN Lookup indicates if and when an entity is registered for GST.
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Main business location
Main business location consists of the state and postcode only.
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Trading name(s)
Trading name refers to the name under which an entity trades, e.g. ABC Pty Ltd trading as 'Blocks on Blocks'.
An entity may have more than one trading name. It may be different from the entity name.
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Tax concessions for charities and funds
ABN Lookup identifies institutions or funds established for a charitable purpose, namely:
- the relief of poverty or sickness or the needs of the aged
- the advancement of education
- the advancement of religion
- other purposes beneficial to the community
Organisations that are charities need to be endorsed by the ATO to access charity concessions
under the income tax, Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) laws.
Taxation concessions displayed on ABN Lookup are:
- Income Tax Exemption
- Goods and Services Tax (GST) concessions
- Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) rebate (capped to $30,000 per employee)
- Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption (capped to $30,000 per employee)
For more information see
Tax concessions for charities and funds.
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Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status
A Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) is entitled to receive income tax deductible gifts.
All DGRs have to be endorsed unless they are named specifically in the income tax law.
There are two types of DGR endorsement:
- Entities in their own right
- An entity that is only a DGR in relation to a fund, authority or institution it operates
For the second type, only gifts to the fund, authority or institution are tax deductible.
ABN Lookup also records DGR item numbers. Visit the
Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) page for more information.
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ACN/ARBN/ARSN
An Australian Company Number (ACN) is a nine digit number allocated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
when a body becomes registered as a company under Corporations Law.
An Australian Registered Body Number (ARBN) is a nine digit number allocated by ASIC when a body is registered
with them other than as a company, for example, foreign companies and registrable Australian bodies.
An Australian Registered Scheme Number (ARSN) is a nine digit number allocated by ASIC to manage investment schemes registered in Australia.
If an entity with an ABN has an associated ACN, ARBN or ARSN you can search ABN Lookup using that ACN, ARBN or ARSN.
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Dates of effect
Most of the information recorded about an ABN is effective for a defined period.
- The From date is the date that the registration comes into effect.
- The To date is the date that a registration ceases to be effective. '(current)' in the To date column indicates the registration is current.
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ABN last updated
The date that the ABN was last updated from the Australian Business Register (ABR) is displayed at the bottom left of the ABN details screen.
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Record extracted
The date that the ABN record was extracted from ABN Lookup is displayed at the bottom right of the ABN details screen.
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