Director ID for foreign directors: applying from outside Australia

Every director of an Australian company needs a Director ID before being appointed, wherever they live. A director outside Australia who can't set up a myID (in practice, anyone without Australian identity documents) applies on the paper form NAT 75433, posted with certified copies of two identity documents. ABRS says processing can take up to 56 business days, so overseas directors should be the first item on any setup plan, not the last.

Who needs one, and when

Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) issues Director IDs and ASIC enforces the rules. According to ABRS, you need one if you are appointed as a director, or as an alternate director acting in that role, of:

• an Australian company (it has an ACN)
• a registered foreign company carrying on business in Australia (it has an ARBN), "regardless of where you live"
• a registered Australian body, or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation.

For Corporations Act companies the timing rule is simple: apply before you are appointed. You can apply up to 12 months ahead of the appointment. If someone is already sitting on the board without one, they must apply now.

People who do not need a Director ID include a company secretary who is not also a director, and someone whose job title says "director" but who was never formally appointed.

The ID is a 15-digit number you keep for life. You only ever hold one, however many boards you join.

The two routes, and which one an overseas director takes

The ABRS application page is clear that the online route comes first: if you can set up a myID at Standard strength, you are expected to apply online. Most foreign founders and parent-company executives can't, because the online identity check runs against Australian records (ATO bank details, notices of assessment, super fund details and the like) that they simply don't have.

One possible exception: ABRS lists a visa (checked through the holder's foreign passport) among the documents that build a myID. A foreign national who holds an Australian visa, a second Australian document and an ATO record (for example, a past Australian tax return) may be able to use the faster online route. Check that before you print the paper form.

Completing form NAT 75433

The form itself is five pages. The details that trip people up:

• Handwritten, block letters, black or dark blue pen. One character per box, no correction fluid.
• Wet signature only. The declaration states that electronic signatures are not recognised. A scanned or DocuSigned form will come back.
• Home address outside Australia must be a street address where you live. A PO box or delivery point is not accepted.
• Postal address is where ABRS will mail the Director ID, so use one where post actually reaches the director.
• TFN is optional. Most foreign directors won't have one, and it is not an offence to leave it out.
• Mobile and email should be ones the director checks, because ABRS will contact them if anything is missing.

Post the original signed form, with the certified copies attached, to the address printed on page 5 (Australian Business Registry Services, Locked Bag 6000, Albury NSW 2640). Keep a copy for your records. ABRS asks applicants not to lodge a second application while the first is being processed.

Identity documents ABRS accepts

You must send certified copies of current documents: either one primary and one secondary document, or two primary documents. The list on the ABRS verify your identity page is:

If any document is in a former name, add a certified copy of the document showing the change, such as a marriage certificate, deed poll or change of name certificate.

Never send originals. ABRS states that documents mailed to it, originals or copies, will not be returned.

Certification: who can sign, and how

Outside Australia, the people ABRS accepts as certifiers are:

1. a notary public, or
2. staff at an Australian embassy, high commission or consulate, including the Vancouver and Prague consulates headed by Austrade Honorary Consuls.

The certifier must see the original and the copy (front and back) at the same time, then sign, stamp if available, and annotate each copy with wording to the effect that they sighted the original and the copy is true and correct. They must add their full name, phone number, qualification, any registration number and the date. For a multi-page document, every page of the copy needs initials and a page number. ABRS warns that copies which don't meet these rules cause delays, so brief the notary on the ABRS wording before the appointment.

Some Australian posts will certify by mail and others need an in-person appointment, so check the post's own website. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade keeps the list.

Apostilles

If your country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, the competent authority there can certify copies by apostille, and a notary can certify public documents such as birth and marriage certificates this way. Attach the apostille to the copies and post everything together. ABRS's own worked example of a UK director (in its Director ID scenarios) walks through this route. Our country pages note which countries are members.

Documents not in English

A non-English document needs a translation by an approved translation service, certified as true and correct and carrying the translator's accreditation stamp. Send it together with a certified copy of the original-language document. Overseas, ABRS points you to the local Australian post for translator options. In Australia, the NAATI directory lists accredited translators.

Running out of time

A board sometimes needs someone appointed before their paper application comes back. The tool for this is the Application for an extension of time to apply for a director ID (NAT 75390). ABRS says it should be completed before the Director ID application, and for non-resident directors it can only be lodged by post. Don't treat the extension as routine. It is far easier to start the Director ID process in week one of a setup than to argue for more time later.

What happens if a director doesn't have one

ASIC lists the offences and maximum penalties for individuals:

Penalty unit values change over time, so check ASIC's current figure rather than relying on an old dollar amount.

The 1 July 2027 change

At the moment the ASIC register doesn't record Director IDs, and you don't quote one when you register a company or change directors. ASIC has announced that from 1 July 2027 companies will have to provide their directors' IDs to ASIC, through the annual review and officeholder change notifications. Overseas directors who have quietly gone without one will become visible. Collect every director's ID into your company records now.

A realistic sequence for a new subsidiary

Say a Singapore parent plans to put two of its own executives on the board of a new Australian Pty Ltd, alongside a resident director:

1. Week 1: each executive checks whether they can get a myID. If not, they download NAT 75433 and book a notary or Australian consulate appointment.
2. Week 1 to 2: certified (and if needed, translated) copies go into the post with the signed form.
3. Up to 56 business days later: each Director ID arrives by post.
4. Then: the company is registered, or the executives are appointed, with signed consents already on file. Our guide to appointing a director covers that step.

The resident director should already hold a Director ID. Ours does, and it is sighted and recorded before appointment, so the overseas directors are usually the critical path. The Director ID guide tool sets out the steps for each director's situation, and the setup timeline shows where they fit in the wider plan.

General information current at 27 October 2026, not legal or tax advice. Check ABRS for the current forms before you post anything.

General information about Australian law and practice, not legal or tax advice for your circumstances. Check the official sources, or ask your adviser, before you act.