ASIC is alerting companies and business name holders to unsolicited letters, emails and notices from third-party service providers about company annual reviews or business name renewals.

ASIC is aware that these materials may cause confusion as being authorised or sent by ASIC.

These providers are not ASIC. Some may be ASIC registered agents, which are businesses that can act on behalf of a company, where the company has provided authorisation, to assist with ASIC-related tasks, such as lodging documents and keeping company details up to date. However, they may charge an extra fee for these services in addition to the fees charged by ASIC.

While registered agents or authorised lodgers can complete a company’s annual review or business renewal on others’ behalf, any unsolicited approach to provide this service must not create the misleading impression the communication is from ASIC.

ASIC reminds company and business name holders they do not have to use a third-party provider for annual company reviews and business name renewals, they can undertake these processes directly with ASIC or through their existing registered agent.

What to watch out for

Unsolicited correspondence from third parties may:

• look like an invoice, even though you are not required to pay it
• refer to a registration renewal that is not yet due
• use urgent language or short payment timeframes, sometimes with an associated ‘discount’
• quote a fee which does not differentiate between the service fee and the fee charged by ASIC, and
• use publicly available information from ASIC business registers.

When sending unsolicited offers to assist with a company annual review or business name renewal, third-party service providers must:

• not misrepresent themselves as ASIC
• be clear that they are independent of ASIC
• distinguish their service fee from the ASIC fee, and
• make clear that their offer is not an invoice and does not require recipients to pay money.

Tips to help check whether correspondence is from ASIC or a third-party provider

Before paying any fees or responding to a renewal or review notice:

• check who it is from – ASIC emails come from addresses ending in @asic.gov.au
• compare the fee to be charged against ASIC’s published fees
• log in to ASIC Connect or the Company Officeholder Portal to check whether a business name renewal or Company annual review is actually due, and
• be cautious if payment is requested well in advance of any due date.

All correspondence from ASIC will clearly identify ASIC as the sender and will advise you how to complete your transaction directly through ASIC.

How to identify reminders from ASIC

ASIC sends official reminders in limited ways.

Company annual review

ASIC send a company's annual statement to one address only, in the following order of priority:

• the company’s registered agent (if one is appointed)
• the company’s online account or company officeholder portal account (if you’re registered)
• the company’s nominated mailing address, or
• the company’s registered office address or nominated correspondence address.

Download an example of an annual statement (PDF 885 KB)

Business name renewal

ASIC sends business name renewal reminders by email to the address linked to the business name registration. If someone else (such as a registered agent) registered your business name, they may have recorded their own email address. In that case, the renewal notice will be sent to them and you should ask whether they have received it.

Download an example of a renewal notice (PDF 171 KB)

Responding to unsolicited notices and correspondence

If you receive an unsolicited notice about a company annual review or business name renewal from a third-party, you can:

• not respond to the notice and wait for ASIC’s official reminder
• complete the task yourself directly with ASIC by paying the published ASIC fee
• choose to use your current ASIC registered agent to complete your annual company review and/or renew your business name registration,
• choose to use a third-party provider to complete your annual company review and/or renew your business name registration if you are comfortable with their additional fees.

When to report to ASIC

If you receive a suspicious communication claiming to be from ASIC, do not take any action until you are sure it is legitimate. You can report a potential ASIC impersonation scam by:

• Submitting an online enquiry with details and/or an attachment of the suspicious communication.
• Deleting the suspicious communication.

If you think you’ve been targeted by scammers, act quickly. For steps to take and where to report a scam, see what to do if you've been scammed or what to do if your business has been scammed.