A director ID is a free, lifetime 15-digit identifier every Australian company director must hold. Since 5 April 2022, new directors need one before they are appointed. Apply online through ABRS using the myID app (formerly myGovID), by phone on 13 62 50, or by paper form. The maximum criminal penalty for not holding one is $19,800.
In May 2026, two Sydney directors were fined $10,000 each for not holding a director ID. The application that would have kept them out of court is free and, for most people, takes about 15 minutes online.
If you are about to register a company, join a board, or set up a corporate trustee for a family trust or SMSF, you need a director ID before your appointment. This guide walks through the 2026 director ID application process step by step, including what to do if you cannot set up a digital identity.
A director ID is a unique 15-digit identifier issued by Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) to individuals who are directors, or intend to become directors. It is free to obtain, verified against the person's identity documents, and kept for life, even if the person changes companies, stops being a director, or moves overseas.
The regime exists to stop the use of false or fraudulent director identities, particularly illegal phoenix activity, where a company is stripped of assets and abandoned to avoid its debts. Because the ID follows the person rather than the company, regulators can trace a director's history across every entity they have ever controlled. You can read more about the purpose of the regime on the ABRS director ID overview.
One point catches many people out: you must apply for your own director ID. Your accountant, ASIC agent, or lawyer cannot lodge the application for you, because the process verifies your personal identity. As a CPA firm in Melbourne, we guide clients through every step, but the final submission must come from you.
You need a director ID if you are a director, or an alternate director acting in that capacity, of a company registered under the Corporations Act 2001, a registered Australian body, a registered foreign company, or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation. This includes directors of corporate trustees for self-managed super funds and family trusts.
The corporate trustee point is the one we see missed most often. If your SMSF or family trust has a company as trustee, every director of that trustee company needs a director ID, even though the company never trades. The ABRS explains the full list on its who needs to apply page. If you are weighing up an individual versus corporate trustee, our guide to how trusts work in Australia covers the trade-offs, and our SMSF accounting team can help with fund structure.
Choosing between these structures affects far more than identification requirements. Our comparison of company structures in Australia sets out the tax and liability differences.
Anyone appointed as a director of an Australian company on or after 5 April 2022 must hold a director ID before the appointment takes effect. Directors appointed before 1 November 2021 had until 30 November 2022 to apply. There is no grace period for new appointments in 2026: no director ID means no valid appointment.
In practice, this means the director ID sits at the very start of any company registration checklist. ASIC will not register a new company until every proposed director can provide one. The same applies when an existing company appoints an additional director. If you are planning a new venture, our startup advisory service builds this into the setup timeline, and our guide to startup accounting in Australia covers the wider structure decision.
Two founders want to register a company with a 50/50 shareholding, each as a director. Founder A already holds a director ID from a previous company. Founder B has never been a director and has not set up myID.
Founder B's passport is at the embassy for a visa renewal, so she can only reach Standard identity strength using her driver's licence and Medicare card. She then needs two ATO verification documents. Her last notice of assessment is in a lost email archive, so she uses her bank account details from her last tax refund and a PAYG payment summary. Total elapsed time: 6 days waiting on documents, then 15 minutes for the actual application, and the director ID appears on screen instantly. The company registration, budgeted at $636 in ASIC fees for 2026-27, proceeds the same afternoon.
The lesson: the application is quick, but assembling identity documents is not always. Start the director ID process at least two weeks before you need the appointment to take effect.
Apply online in three steps: set up the myID app with at least a Standard identity strength, gather your tax file number, ATO-recorded residential address and two verification documents, then log in to ABRS online and complete the application. Online applications are free and the director ID is usually issued on screen immediately.
Note the name change: myGovID was renamed myID in November 2024. It is the same credential, and it is separate from your myGov account. Many older guides still use the old name.
The three director ID application paths. Source: ABRS application guidance, July 2026.
Download the myID app from the App Store or Google Play and verify your identity documents. A Standard identity strength needs at least 2 of: passport (current or expired less than 3 years), driver's licence or learner's permit, birth certificate, citizenship certificate, Medicare card, visa with foreign passport, or ImmiCard. A Strong identity strength adds a passport plus a face verification check, and simplifies the next step.
With a Standard myID, the ABRS identity verification asks for your residential address as held by the ATO, your TFN (optional, but it speeds things up), and information from 2 of the following:
With a Strong myID, you only need one item: your TFN or your ATO-recorded residential address.
Go to the ABRS application page and log in with myID. A 4-digit code appears in your browser; enter it in the myID app. Answer the verification questions from your documents, confirm the declarations, and submit. Your 15-digit director ID appears on screen straight away. Save it somewhere secure.
If you cannot reach a Standard identity strength in myID, you can apply by phone on 13 62 50 with your TFN and two verification documents ready. If identity cannot be confirmed by phone, or you live outside Australia, you apply by paper form with certified copies of your identity documents.
The phone line operates within Australia on 13 62 50. Overseas directors, common in foreign-owned subsidiaries, use the paper form for people living outside Australia (NAT 75433), while Australian residents without sufficient documents use NAT 75437. Paper applications need certified copies, never originals, and take substantially longer than the instant online result, so overseas directors should start well before any planned appointment date.
We build director IDs into the registration timeline so nothing stalls at the ASIC stage. Talk to us before you lodge.
Contact usFailing to hold a director ID when required is a criminal offence under section 1272C of the Corporations Act 2001, carrying a maximum penalty of 60 penalty units, currently $19,800. In May 2026, two New South Wales directors were each fined $10,000 for the offence, and ASIC has prosecuted 11 directors to date.
Enforcement moved from education to prosecution some time ago. In its May 2026 media release, ASIC confirmed fines totalling more than $40,000 across its director ID prosecutions. The same penalties apply to failing to apply when directed by the Registrar, applying for multiple director IDs, and misrepresenting a director ID, under sections 1272C to 1272H of the Act.
For directors of trading companies, the risk is rarely deliberate evasion. It is usually an old appointment nobody reviewed, or a dormant corporate trustee. An annual compliance review through our business tax services picks these up before ASIC does.
Your director ID is not public and does not appear on ASIC extracts. Give it to the record-holder of each company you direct: usually the company secretary, your ASIC registered agent, or your accountant. If your personal details change, update them with ABRS. If you lose the number, you can retrieve it by logging back in to ABRS online with your myID.
One director ID covers every current and future directorship, so you never apply twice. For owners running multiple entities, we track director IDs as part of corporate secretarial support within our small business accounting service.
| Action | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Apply before any appointment | Required since 5 April 2022; ASIC will not register the company without it |
| Set up myID early | Document gathering, not the application, is what causes delays |
| Check dormant trustee companies | SMSF and family trust corporate trustee directors need one too |
| Store the ID and share with your agent | It is private, lifelong, and needed for every future appointment |
| Do not ignore the obligation | Fines of $10,000 were handed down in May 2026; maximum is $19,800 |
Book an initial online meeting and we will map out your company setup, director obligations, and tax registrations in one session.
Book a meetingDisclaimer: The information provided in this article is general in nature and does not constitute specific tax, legal, or financial advice. We recommend seeking professional advice tailored to your individual circumstances. 42 Advisory is a CPA firm and Registered Tax Agent.
Nothing. Applying for a director ID through ABRS is free, whether you apply online, by phone, or by paper form. Any website charging a fee to obtain one for you is a third-party service, and the application still has to be completed by you personally.
No. The application verifies your personal identity, so only you can submit it. An accountant or ASIC agent can prepare you for the application, explain the documents you need, and record the ID once issued, but cannot lodge it for you.
The online application itself takes around 15 minutes, and the director ID is usually issued on screen immediately. Setting up myID and gathering ATO verification documents is what takes time, so allow at least two weeks before a planned appointment.
Yes. Every director of a corporate trustee needs a director ID, including trustees of self-managed super funds and family trusts, even if the company does nothing but act as trustee. Note that SMSF account details cannot be used as identity verification documents in the application.
Log back in to ABRS online with your myID and your director ID will be displayed in your profile. You never apply a second time; holding more than one director ID is itself an offence under the Corporations Act 2001.