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Companies

Apply to a court to reinstate a company

You can apply to a court for an order that ASIC reinstate a company. You are responsible for making sure your application meets all requirements.

Reinstating a company

If a company has been deregistered, you can apply to the court to have it reinstated.

If it is reinstated, the company’s status will change to ‘registered’. It will be treated as if it was never deregistered. It will also have to follow all the requirements of the law. Find out more in:

Regulatory Guide 83 Reinstatement of companies (RG 83)

Who can apply

Before you apply to a court for reinstatement, make sure you are eligible. You can go to court only if:

  • you are a former liquidator, or
  • you believe you have been negatively affected (aggrieved) by the deregistration.

We strongly recommend you get legal advice before you apply.

How to apply

Choose the right court to apply to

You must apply to a superior court such as the Supreme Court, the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit and Family Court.

It is your responsibility to apply to the right court, and to meet its requirements. Different courts may have different requirements.

Prepare your application and supporting documents

Your application to the court should meet the requirements listed in Table 4 of the regulatory guide:

Regulatory Guide 83 Reinstatement of companies (RG 83)

We suggest you get professional help with your application from a lawyer. Requirements may vary between courts.

You will need to include evidence about why the court should make an order for reinstatement.

Apply to the court

Once you have prepared your application, you need to submit it to the court. Ask the court where you should submit the application.

After the court receives and accepts your application for filing, the court will give you a hearing date.

Send a copy of the application and supporting documents to ASIC

Applications to the court for reinstatement should be sent to (served on) ASIC. This is because courts generally seek ASIC’s opinion before making a decision.

Send us a copy of the application and documents so that they arrive at least 28 days before the hearing.

What you need to attach

You need to attach:

  • a liquidator’s consent to act if seeking the appointment of a liquidator
  • evidence of steps taken to notify all company directors at the time of the deregistration about the court application. This is required for all applications, including if the company was in liquidation at the time of deregistration
  • evidence of the steps taken to notify the previous liquidator if there are orders for a new or different liquidator to be appointed or the application seeks to end the liquidation.

Do not forget to attach the above information. The court will need this information when considering your application for reinstatement.

How to send your court application to ASIC

Email your application to court.reinstatements@asic.gov.au.

If you cannot email, you can mail it to:

Court Reinstatements Team
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
GPO Box 9827
Melbourne VIC 3001

Lodge the successful order with ASIC

If the court rules in your favour, you will be given a court order.

You must send us:

  • the original court order, which has an original stamped seal of the court
  • a completed Form 105:

Form 105 Cover page for office copy of a court order (Form 105)

You must send these documents to us by post. Emailing the documents may delay the processing time.

How to send your documents to ASIC

Mail to:

Australian Securities and Investments Commission
PO Box 4000
GIPPSLAND MAIL CENTRE VIC 3841

Next steps

Once we've received the court order, we’ll reinstate the company’s registration. We will also publish a notice in the ASIC Gazette.

If you need help

If you need help, email court.reinstatements@asic.gov.au.