Changing your business structure
If you change your business structure, you may need to cancel your Australian business number (ABN) and apply for a new one.
Before changing your business structure, it’s important to consider any impact this may have on your business and clients. A new business structure may change your tax obligations and other business registrations.
Where a new ABN has been granted, you must ensure all invoices and business documents are updated with the new ABN.
Examples of when you need to cancel your ABN include:
- individual/sole trader to partnership
- partnership to company
- individual/sole trader to company
- company/incorporated/unincorporated entity to trust.
We recommend you seek professional advice before cancelling your ABN.
Keeping the same ABN after a change in business structure
There are some circumstances where an entity can keep the same ABN after a change in business structure, including when the entity goes from an:
- Australian private company to Australian public company (and vice versa)
- Australian private or public company to Other incorporated entity under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006
- incorporated association, registered under state or territory law, to Australian public company (limited by guarantee).
Entity type changes can’t be actioned online or via the Change of registration details form. You must contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to have the entity type reviewed.
Correcting the entity type
In very limited circumstances, the Registrar will consider correcting an ABN record where an administrative error was made at the time of registration. For example, if an incorrect entity type was selected when applying for an ABN, the record would be corrected. Other changes may include correcting the entity from an:
- Australian private company to Australian public company (and vice versa)
- other unincorporated entity to other incorporated entity.
If you’ve made a mistake with your entity type when applying for your ABN, contact the ATO. You will need to provide evidence of your entity registration, such as state or territory documents showing incorporation. We will review your request to establish if a correction is appropriate.
For more information, see Business structures - key tax obligations.