Olivia is the Head of Legal at Lawpath, where she helps Australian businesses navigate complex legal challenges with practical, commercially minded advice. She specialises in employment matters, contract drafting, pre-litigation strategy, dispute resolution, commercial law and startup compliance, and has supported clients across technology, healthcare, professional services and retail. Olivia is passionate about making legal services accessible, personable and effective for every client.
To renew company registration in Australia, you complete ASIC’s annual review: check the annual statement ASIC sends on your company’s review date, pay the annual review fee within two months, and have your directors pass a solvency resolution. For a standard Pty Ltd, the fee is $342 from 1 July 2026.
Here’s the catch. Nobody rings to remind you. ASIC sends one statement, sometimes to an inbox nobody has opened since the company was set up, and the first sign of trouble is a late fee. The good news? Once you know the rhythm, this is one of the easiest jobs on your compliance list.
- Your company doesn’t expire, but it can be deregistered. ASIC can start deregistering a company once its annual review fee is 12 months overdue.
- The 2026–27 fee is $342 for a standard Pty Ltd. Public companies pay $1,591 and special purpose companies, such as SMSF trustees, pay $70.
- You have two deadlines, not one. Fix wrong details within 28 days of the statement’s issue date. Pay the fee within two months of the review date.
- Late fees are $102 or $428, and they stack. They apply per document, so a late payment and a late correction mean two separate late fees.
- Your ACN never changes. Your business name does renew. A registered business name runs on its own one- or three-year cycle and needs renewing separately.
Table of Contents
Does your company registration actually expire?
No. A company stays registered until it’s deregistered, and its ACN stays the same for life. What people call ASIC company renewal is the annual review, a yearly check-in that keeps the company in good standing.
The word “renewal” causes plenty of confusion. Owners picture a licence that lapses on a set date. In reality, nothing switches off on your review date. The risk builds slowly: late fees first, then deregistration if the fee sits unpaid for a year.
Most mix-ups happen because owners hold more than one registration. Here’s what each one needs:
| Registration | Does it expire? | What you do each year |
|---|---|---|
| Company (ACN) | No | Complete the annual review: check the statement, pay the fee, pass a solvency resolution |
| Business name | Yes, after one or three years | Renew and pay before the renewal date |
| ABN | No | Keep your details current. An ABN can be cancelled if the business stops operating |
Trade under a brand name and you have two cycles running side by side. Paying one bill doesn’t cover the other. If the acronyms are starting to blur, our guide to the difference between an ACN and an ABN sorts them out in two minutes.
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How much does it cost to renew company registration in 2026–27?
ASIC indexes its fees every 1 July. These annual review fees apply from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027:
| Company type | Annual review fee | 10-year advance payment |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietary company (Pty Ltd) | $342 | $2,538 |
| Special purpose company (proprietary), such as an SMSF trustee | $70 | $482 |
| Public company | $1,591 | $10,000 |
Late fees: $102 or $428 each time
Late fees sit on top of the original fee. Pay up to one month late and ASIC adds $102. Leave it longer and the late fee jumps to $428, which is more than the review fee itself.
They also apply per document. Here’s how one distracted year plays out for a standard Pty Ltd:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Annual review fee | $342 |
| Fee paid six weeks late | $428 |
| Address correction lodged two months late | $428 |
| Total | $1,198 |
That’s $856 in penalties for two jobs that cost nothing to do on time. ASIC’s late fees guidance sets out exactly when each one kicks in.
Is paying 10 years in advance worth it?
For a Pty Ltd, ten years upfront costs $2,538. Ten annual payments at today’s $342 would cost $3,420, before any future indexation. That’s a saving of $882.
There’s a catch. ASIC doesn’t refund advance payments. If there’s a real chance you’ll close the company in the next few years, stick with annual payments. Prepaying also doesn’t skip the review itself. You still check the statement and pass a solvency resolution every year.
How do you renew company registration online, step by step?
Here’s how to renew company registration online, start to finish. Once the statement arrives, most companies can finish it in one sitting.
Step 1: Find your annual review date
Your review date is the anniversary of the day ASIC registered your company. Registered on 14 March? Expect your statement around 14 March every year. Check your certificate of registration if you’re unsure.
Put the date in your calendar now, with a reminder two weeks before. Cheapest compliance tool you’ll ever use.
Step 2: Check the annual statement within 28 days
ASIC sends the statement to your company or its registered agent. It lists your registered office, principal place of business, directors, secretary, shareholders and share structure. Your corporate key is printed on it too.
Read every line. Anything wrong has to be corrected within 28 days of the issue date, or a late fee applies. You can update your company details online using that corporate key. Lost yours? Here’s what an ASIC corporate key is and how to get a new one.
Two errors turn up constantly. One is an old registered office address after a move. The other is a director who left the business but was never removed from the register.
Changes during the year have their own 28-day window, counted from the date of the change. Don’t save them up for review time.
Step 3: Pay the annual review fee within two months
The fee is due two months after your review date. Your statement includes an invoice with BPAY and Post Billpay details. Pay from the company’s account and keep the receipt.
Before you pay, make sure the invoice is genuine. Fake ASIC notices are everywhere at renewal time, and we cover how to spot them further down.
Step 4: Pass a solvency resolution
Within two months of the review date, your directors must resolve whether the company can pay its debts as and when they fall due. This obligation comes from the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
A sole director signs it alone. With several directors, the board decides by majority. Either way, base the answer on an honest look at cash flow and upcoming bills, not just today’s bank balance.
A positive resolution stays in your company records. ASIC never sees it. You only lodge Form 485 if directors decide the company can’t pay its debts, or if no resolution is passed within the two months. Companies that lodged a financial report with ASIC in the previous 12 months are exempt.
Short on time? Our solvency resolution template gives you the wording, ready to sign.
Step 5: File everything together
Keep the statement, receipt and signed resolution in one folder. Your accountant will want them. So will a lender or buyer doing due diligence on the company later.
An easier way to complete your Annual ASIC Renewal
What happens if you don’t renew your company with ASIC?
Nothing dramatic at first, which is exactly why owners drift. Here’s the real timeline for a missed ASIC company renewal:
- Two months after the review date: the fee is overdue and a $102 late fee applies.
- One month after that: the late fee becomes $428.
- 12 months after the due date: ASIC can start deregistering the company for non-payment.
- Two months after ASIC publishes its notice: the company can be deregistered.
You can usually stop an ASIC-initiated deregistration by paying everything owed during that notice window. Act then. It’s far cheaper than the alternative.
Once deregistered, a company no longer exists as a legal entity. Property it owned vests in ASIC, bank accounts become unusable, and anything signed in its name gets messy fast.
Reinstatement is possible, but ASIC wants every outstanding fee, late fee and lodgement brought up to date first, plus a reinstatement fee. Some cases need a court order. Compare that with paying $342 on time.
Is renewing a business name the same as renewing a company?
No, and this one catches plenty of people out. A business name is the brand you trade under. It’s registered separately, for one or three years, and ASIC cancels it two months after the renewal date if you don’t pay.
Paying your company’s annual review fee doesn’t renew the business name. The reverse is also true. Let the name lapse and someone else can register it.
One handy quirk: when a company holds a business name, the name’s renewal date matches the company’s annual review date. One date, two bills. Budget for both. If you need a new trading name, you can register a business name through Lawpath.
Your ABN doesn’t renew at all. It stays active while you keep trading and keep your details up to date.
What we see in Lawpath consultations about company renewal
Our team talks to company owners about ASIC renewals all year round. The same five patterns come up again and again.
The statement went to an inbox nobody reads
This is the big one. The annual statement went to an old email address, a former accountant or a previous registered agent. By the time the owner hears about it, the first late fee has often been charged already.
Fix it today, not at review time. Check which contact details and agent ASIC has on record for your company.
Everyone thought someone else had paid
Directors assume the accountant paid. The accountant assumed a director did. We also hear from owners who mistook the ASIC invoice for a service provider’s fee and set it aside. Decide who owns the renewal, write it down, and confirm the payment cleared.
“It’s not trading, so it doesn’t need renewing”
Wrong, and expensive. A dormant company still receives an annual statement and still owes the full fee. Our accountants also remind dormant-company owners that tax returns don’t stop just because sales did.
Paid the fee, forgot the resolution
The fee comes with an invoice. The solvency resolution comes with nothing. Plenty of directors pay, tick the job off and leave the resolution unsigned. It only surfaces when an accountant, lender or buyer asks to see it.
Two companies, two reviews
Holding and operating company structures each have their own review date and fee. So does a company acting as trustee of a family trust, and owners with a corporate trustee are often surprised it gets its own bill. Keep one list of every entity you control, with each review date beside it.
How do you spot a fake ASIC renewal notice?
Renewal season is scam season. Fake “ASIC” invoices and look-alike renewal services target owners who know a bill is due. Four checks will catch nearly all of them:
- Check the sender. Genuine ASIC emails come from an asic.gov.au address.
- Log in yourself. Go to ASIC’s website directly rather than clicking a link in an email or text.
- Match the biller code. The BPAY biller code on your invoice should match ASIC’s published payment details.
- Read the fine print. Some private services offer to “renew” your registration for far more than the ASIC fee. That isn’t the government charge.
Should you keep a dormant company or deregister it?
Keeping a company that has stopped trading for good costs at least $342 a year, plus tax return preparation. Over five years, that’s real money for an empty shell.
Sometimes that’s still worth it. Maybe it holds an asset, protects a name, or you plan to restart. In those cases, paying the fee keeps the door open.
If you’re done, voluntary deregistration costs $52 from 1 July 2026. The company must qualify: all members agree, it isn’t carrying on business, its assets are worth less than $1,000, it has no outstanding liabilities and it isn’t party to legal proceedings.
Our guide on how to deregister your company covers the steps. Got unpaid debts? Then the shortcut isn’t available, so talk to a lawyer before you simply stop paying and let ASIC deregister it for you.
How can Lawpath handle your ASIC company renewal for you?
Prefer never to think about this again? Our ASIC compliance service takes the job of renewing your company registration off your plate. Lawpath becomes your ASIC registered agent, so statements come to us instead of disappearing into an old inbox.
When your statement arrives, it lands in your Lawpath dashboard with an alert, along with a solvency resolution ready for signing. You check the details, sign and pay. Company changes can be lodged from the same place, so your records stay current all year.
Setting up takes a few minutes. You sign Form 362 to appoint Lawpath as your registered agent, and we handle ASIC’s correspondence from there.
Your company renewal checklist
- Find your review date and set a reminder two weeks before it.
- Confirm ASIC has your current email, registered office and agent details.
- When the statement arrives, check every detail within 28 days.
- Lodge any corrections online using your corporate key.
- Pay the annual review fee within two months of the review date.
- Pass the solvency resolution in the same two months and file it.
- Check your business name renewal date while you’re at it.
Frequently asked questions about company renewal
Do I need to renew my company registration every year?
Yes, in practice. Your company doesn’t expire, but you must complete ASIC’s annual review every year: check the statement, pay the annual review fee and pass a solvency resolution. Leave the fee unpaid for 12 months and ASIC can start deregistering the company.
How do I renew my company registration online?
Wait for ASIC’s annual statement, check it, and lodge any corrections online with your corporate key within 28 days. Pay the fee by BPAY or Post Billpay within two months of your review date, then have your directors sign a solvency resolution for your records.
How much is the ASIC company renewal fee in 2026?
From 1 July 2026, the annual review fee is $342 for a standard Pty Ltd, $1,591 for a public company and $70 for a special purpose proprietary company, such as an SMSF trustee. Late fees of $102 or $428 apply on top if you pay late.
Does an ACN expire?
No. Your ACN stays with the company for life and never needs renewing. What you renew each year is the company’s standing with ASIC, through the annual review. Business names are different. They expire after one or three years unless you renew them.
What if I never received my annual statement?
You still owe the fee. Ask ASIC or your registered agent for a copy, check your details straight away and pay as soon as you can to limit late fees. Then update the contact details ASIC holds so next year’s statement reaches you.
Do I have to pay the ASIC fee if my company isn’t trading?
Yes. A dormant company pays the same annual review fee as an active one. If you’ll never use it again and it meets ASIC’s criteria, including no debts and no business activity, voluntary deregistration stops the fees.
Do I lodge the solvency resolution with ASIC?
Not if it’s positive. Keep it with your company records. You only notify ASIC, using Form 485, if directors resolve the company can’t pay its debts or if no resolution is passed within two months of the review date.
How long before ASIC deregisters a company for not paying?
ASIC can start deregistration once the annual review fee is at least 12 months overdue. It publishes a notice and can deregister the company two months later. Paying everything owed during that notice period can stop the process.
Who can renew company registration for me?
Any director can do it, or you can appoint a registered agent such as an accountant or Lawpath. An agent receives ASIC’s statements for you, which stops them getting lost. The directors stay legally responsible, so check that the fee and solvency resolution are actually done.
Can I change my company’s annual review date?
Yes. You can apply to ASIC to change it by lodging Form 488. Groups with several companies sometimes do this so every review lands in the same month, which makes reminders and budgeting much simpler.
Can ASIC waive a late fee?
You can ask ASIC to review a late fee, but don’t count on a waiver, because approvals are limited. Prevention is cheaper. Set a calendar reminder and keep your contact details current.
Already copped a late fee? You’re not alone. It happens to careful, organised founders all the time, usually because of one stray email. Pay what’s owed, fix your contact details, and you’re back on track this week.
Then make next year automatic. Hand your annual review to Lawpath and stop chasing ASIC statements for good.
