Dominic is the CEO of Lawpath, dedicating his days to making legal, accounting and compliance easier, faster and more accessible to businesses. Dominic is a recognised thought-leader in Australian legal disruption, and was recognised as a winner of the Australian Legal Innovation Index and recently a winner of the LexisNexis 40 Under 40 (APAC).
No, an ABN doesn’t expire, but it can be cancelled. The Australian Business Register (ABR) says your ABN is “for life”. You’re only entitled to it while you’re running an enterprise. If your business stops showing signs of life, the ABR can cancel the number for you.
That condition is the part most people miss. No expiry date means no renewal reminder, so it feels like there’s nothing to manage. Then a quiet year or a side business you parked turns into a cancelled ABN, and you find out when a client’s accounts team sends your invoice back.
Does an ABN expire if you don’t use it?
There’s no expiry date sitting on the certificate. What the ABR watches is activity. It runs an ABN cancellation program that looks for ABNs it’s confident are no longer being used. ABR guidance says your ABN may be identified as inactive and cancelled if:
- you haven’t reported business income
- your lodgments aren’t up to date, which suggests the business has stopped
- your latest income tax return says you’ve stopped business
- you lodge a final tax return.
Companies have one extra trigger. If ASIC tells the ABR your company has been deregistered, the ABR cancels the company’s ABN.
So the question to ask is whether your paperwork shows a business that’s still running. A sole trader with a small side business who reports it in every tax return looks active. One who had a big year, then stopped lodging, looks closed, however busy they really are.
How does the ABR decide your ABN is inactive?
Once the ABR flags your ABN, it contacts you or your tax agent by email, letter or SMS. Your next move depends on one question. Are you still in business?
Still trading? Respond using the automated phone service number in the message. The ABR says this is the fastest way to tell it you still need your ABN. Other ways of contacting it may not arrive in time to stop the cancellation.
Finished trading? You don’t need to do anything. The ABR will cancel the ABN.
Read these messages carefully before you act on them. The ABR says it will never ask for confidential details in its communications. It also publishes a page explaining how to check that an email, letter or SMS really came from it.
Entitlement reviews are a separate check
The ABR also runs random reviews to confirm you’re entitled to an ABN at all. These can happen when you apply or any time after. You can be picked if your tax return, other lodgments or third-party information suggests you’ve stopped operating, or if you’ve reapplied after an ABN was refused or cancelled.
In a review, the ABR asks for evidence that you’re running the business, or took steps to start it from the start date in your application. The ABR’s examples include:
- advertising, or setting up a website or social media account for the business
- getting business licences or insurance, such as public liability or professional indemnity
- leasing or buying premises, equipment or stock
- issuing quotes or bidding for work
- consulting financial, business or tax advisers
- applying for finance.
An unsuccessful review ends with cancellation. Start a folder for this evidence on day one if you’re building something slowly. A screenshot of your first quote costs you nothing now and saves a scramble later.
How do you keep your ABN active?
Keep it active by showing up in the ATO’s records as a business. The ABR’s own list is short:
- Report any income or loss under your ABN in the business section of your income tax return, even if you didn’t make a profit.
- Lodge your business activity statement (BAS) if you’re registered for GST or PAYG withholding.
- Lodge a taxable payments annual report (TPAR) if you need to because you paid contractors for services.
- Update your ABN details within 28 days of a change to your postal or physical address, business activity, associates or contact details.
The ATO adds that you must lodge activity statements as required, even when they’re nil. Most ABN holders also need to lodge an annual income tax return, whether the business made a profit or a loss.
A loss year still counts as a business year. Report it. The ABR can only see the business that appears in your returns.
If lodging is the thing that keeps slipping, hand it to someone whose job it is. Lawpath’s accounting services for sole traders include preparing and lodging your BAS, and you can book BAS lodgement on its own if that’s all you need.
When should you cancel your ABN yourself?
ABR guidance says to cancel your ABN when your business:
- has been sold
- has closed down
- is no longer operating in Australia or making supplies connected with Australia.
Structure changes can also mean you need to cancel. If your business has stopped, you must update your details or cancel your ABN within 28 days.
Why cancel rather than wait for the ABR to do it? Because a live ABN keeps your obligations live. The ATO says that if your business has stopped trading and you don’t cancel, you’ll continue to have lodgment obligations. It’s also an offence to use an ABN after it’s been cancelled.
Two situations need more thought. If you’re a sole trader closing one business to start another, also as a sole trader, the ATO says you don’t need to cancel your ABN. Update your business activity on the ABR within 28 days instead.
Pausing is different. Don’t cancel your ABN.
What to do before you cancel
Business.gov.au recommends finishing your obligations before you cancel. That can mean lodging activity statements and PAYG withholding reports, repaying GST credit refunds and paying any outstanding tax debts. If you want to cancel PAYG withholding, cancel it before you cancel the ABN.
Check your postal address on the ABR as well. The ATO sends the cancellation notice there.
Cancelling your ABN also cancels your GST, luxury car tax, wine equalisation tax and fuel tax credit registrations. It removes any authorised myID relationships with your ABN too, which may stop you using some government online services.
How to cancel
Online through the ABR is the fastest way, using a myID linked to your ABN through Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). You can also call the ABR on 13 92 26 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Another option is to lodge an Application to cancel registration form (NAT 2955), or ask your registered tax or BAS agent to do it for you.
Can you reactivate a cancelled ABN?
There’s no reactivate button. You reapply for an ABN through the ABR, and it only shows as active on ABN Lookup once it’s been issued again.
In most cases you’ll get your old number back. The ABR says that if your business structure hasn’t changed, it registers you with the same ABN. The ATO says the same for sole traders. If you cancel your ABN and later start a new business as a sole trader, you’ll be registered with the same ABN.
Disputing the cancellation leaves you two options. You can reapply online or lodge an objection. Know that reapplying after a cancellation is one of the things that can trigger an entitlement review, so have your evidence ready when you apply.
Deregistered companies take an extra step. You’ll need to re-register the company with ASIC before you reapply for its ABN.
When you’ll need a new number
Your ABN belongs to the entity, so a new structure usually means a new number. The ABR’s examples of when you need to cancel your ABN and apply for a new one include going from:
- sole trader to partnership
- partnership to company
- sole trader to company
- a company or other entity to a trust.
There are narrow exceptions, such as a private company becoming a public company. Once you have a new ABN, update every invoice and business document with it.
ABR guidance recommends getting professional advice before you cancel in a restructure. Our guide on how to change from a sole trader to a company covers the steps, and you can register a company online when you’re ready.
Bigger questions, such as contracts or assets moving across, can go to a Lawpath Legal lawyer.
What happens to GST when your ABN is cancelled?
When you cancel your ABN, your GST registration goes with it. The same happens if the ABR cancels the ABN for you.
Watch the timing, because the GST deadline is shorter. The ATO says you must cancel your GST registration within 21 days of selling or closing your business, or of changing your business structure. The ABN deadline is 28 days.
ATO GST cancellation rules also limit the date you can pick:
- The cancellation date should be the last day you want to be registered.
- You can’t backdate it if you kept operating on a GST-registered basis after that date.
- You can’t cancel if you’ve already lodged an activity statement for the period that includes that date.
GST can be dropped while you keep your ABN. Below the compulsory registration threshold, currently $75,000, you can choose to cancel GST registration, unless you’re a taxi or ride-sourcing driver or fall into another excluded group.
A company that has stopped trading but is still registered with ASIC must cancel its GST registration, and can choose to keep its ABN.
Cancelling GST doesn’t end every BAS obligation. You’ll still lodge a BAS if you’re registered for PAYG withholding, are in the PAYG instalments system or have fringe benefits tax obligations. If you need GST again later, our guide on how to register for GST walks through it.
What happens to your business name if your ABN is cancelled?
This is the registration that does expire. ASIC business names run for 1 or 3 years, and ASIC sends a renewal notice at least 30 days before it’s due, usually by email. You also need an ABN to register a business name in the first place.
ASIC can cancel a business name if it’s satisfied you’re not carrying on a business under that name and haven’t for the last 3 months.
ASIC emails you first, or posts the notice to your service of documents address if it has no email for you. Do nothing and ASIC cancels the name 2 months after sending the notice.
Stopping a cancellation, or restoring the name within 6 months, is only possible if the reason was that you didn’t renew on time. A name lost for any other reason has to be registered again, if it’s still available.
Wait until the ABR has finalised a reapplication before you apply for a business name, ASIC says.
Check the name’s status on ASIC Connect if your ABN has been cancelled.
Closing for good? Deal with the name directly rather than leaving it to lapse. Our guide on how to cancel your business name explains the process.
Moving to a company? You can transfer the business name from a sole trader to a company instead of losing it. And if you need a name for a new venture, you can register a business name through Lawpath.
How do you check your ABN status?
ABN Lookup is free and needs no login. Here’s how to use it:
- Go to ABN Lookup.
- Search by ABN, ACN or business name.
- Check the ABN status. It will say Active or Cancelled.
- Open the Historical details tab to see the dates. Each entry has a From date and a To date, and “(current)” means it’s still in effect.
ABN Lookup shows your GST status too. It only reflects changes after the ABR has recorded them, so a reapplication or cancellation can take a little time to appear.
Your business name has its own register. ASIC’s Business Names Register shows the next renewal date and whether the registration is current, for free.
Make this a habit. Check your own ABN once a year when you lodge your tax return, and check a supplier’s ABN before you pay their first invoice.
ABN expiry FAQs
How long does an ABN last in Australia?
An ABN has no expiry date. The ABR describes it as being for life, as long as you’re running an enterprise. It can be cancelled if your business looks inactive or you stop being entitled to it.
Can the ABR cancel my ABN without me knowing?
When the ABR flags an ABN as inactive, it contacts you or your agent by email, letter or SMS. If your contact details are out of date, you may miss that message. That’s one reason the 28-day rule for updating your details matters.
Can I get my old ABN back after it’s been cancelled?
Usually, yes. You reapply through the ABR, and if your business structure hasn’t changed, the ABR will in most cases register you with the same ABN. If your structure has changed, you’ll need a new one. An ABN is free from the government, or Lawpath can register it for $55.
Do I need a new ABN if I go from sole trader to company?
Yes. A company is a separate entity, so it needs its own ABN. The ABR lists sole trader to company as one of the changes where you cancel the old ABN and apply for a new one.
Will cancelling my ABN cancel my GST registration?
Yes. Cancelling your ABN cancels your GST registration, along with luxury car tax, wine equalisation tax and fuel tax credit registrations. The same applies if the ABR cancels the ABN. If you’re closing or selling, the GST deadline is 21 days, which is shorter than the 28 days for your ABN.
Can I keep my ABN if my business isn’t making money?
Yes, if you’re still running an enterprise. Profit isn’t the test. Report your income or loss in the business section of your tax return each year, and keep any BAS lodgments up to date, even nil ones.
Can I keep using my ABN after it’s been cancelled?
No. The ABR says it’s an offence to use your ABN after it’s been cancelled. Reapply first, and check ABN Lookup shows it as active before you send another invoice. An ABN is free from the government, or Lawpath can register it for $55.
How do I check if someone else’s ABN is active?
Search their ABN, ACN or business name on ABN Lookup. The result shows whether the ABN is active or cancelled, the business type and its GST status.
Keep your ABN active with a once-a-year check
The fix for almost every problem in this guide is boring and cheap. Lodge your returns, report your losses, update your details within 28 days, and look up your own ABN once a year. Do that and your records give the cancellation program no reason to flag you.
If your ABN has already been cancelled, the ABR says reapplying is easy, and most people get the same number back. An ABN is free from the government, or Lawpath can register it for $55. Lawpath can help you reapply for your ABN online, so you can get back to running the business.
Start your ABN application in minutes!
This article is general information only. It isn’t legal, tax or financial advice. Speak to a qualified adviser about your circumstances.
