Every Australian company gives ASIC at least two addresses: a registered office and a principal place of business. They sound alike, and they can be the same place, but they do different jobs.
The short version
| Address | What it's for | PO Box OK? |
|---|---|---|
| Registered office | Where official notices and legal documents can be sent or served | No |
| Principal place of business | The main address where your company conducts business | No |
| Contact address (optional) | Where ASIC can send correspondence | Yes |
Source: ASIC, company addresses.
Registered office
Under section 142 of the Corporations Act 2001, every company must have a registered office in Australia, and communications and notices to the company may be addressed there. A document can be served on a company by leaving it at, or posting it to, the registered office (section 109X).
- It must be a physical street address. ASIC says it can’t be a PO Box.
- It doesn’t have to be where your company does business. ASIC gives an accountant’s office as an example.
- If your company doesn’t occupy the premises, you need the occupier’s written consent and must be able to show it to ASIC (section 143). When you give ASIC the address, you state that the occupier has consented.
- A proprietary company’s registered office doesn’t have to be open to the public. A public company’s does, at set hours (section 145).
Principal place of business
ASIC describes it as the main address where your company conducts business. It must be a physical address, and people can see it when they search the companies register.
It should be true. If you work from home, your home may be your principal place of business. If you run the business from a workshop or a shop, it’s that.
You can use a MailStreet address as your principal place of business. It’s up to you to make sure that’s accurate for your business.
Why keep them separate?
- Privacy. Your registered office is on the public register. A separate registered office keeps your home out of that field. See using your home address as a registered office.
- Stability. Your registered office doesn’t change every time you move, so there’s less to update.
- Reliable service of documents. Legal notices land somewhere that’s checked every business day, and you get an alert.
Deadlines when either one changes
Tell ASIC within 28 days of a change to your registered office (section 142) or your principal place of business (section 146). Late fees apply after that. A change of registered office takes effect 7 days after you lodge it, or from a later date you choose. Step by step: how to change your registered office with ASIC.
And your ABN addresses?
The ABR asks for its own addresses: a business address, which needs to be the physical location of your business, and a postal address, which can be a PO Box or your agent’s address (ABR). They’re separate from your ASIC addresses, so update both. More: do I need a street address for my ABN?