With the annual general meeting season approaching for those services with a 30 June financial year, the requirement for potential new board members to obtain a Director Identification Number (Director ID) before appointment now applies to:
- for-profit early childhood services, and
- not-for-profit services structured as:
- companies limited by guarantee, or
- associations or co-operatives holding an Australian Registered Body Number (ARBN)
People referred to as a ‘director’ such as Service Directors are excluded unless they have been formally appointed as a company director under the Corporations Act or the CATSI Act.
New directors of companies regulated by the Corporations Act and of bodies holding an ARBN are now required to have applied for a Director ID before being appointed or elected. Existing company directors as at 31 October 2021 have until 30 November 2022 to obtain their Director ID.
Different timelines apply for directors of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations regulated by the CATSI Act. New directors will be required to have applied for a Director ID before being appointed or elected from 1 November 2022. Directors first appointed on or before 31 October 2022 will have until 30 November 2023 to apply for their Director ID.
Director IDs act like a Tax File Number. Each company director has a single, unique Director ID that is to be connected to all companies for which they hold a directorship. Director IDs can be applied for online through a new government agency, Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS). More information, including a link to register for a Director ID, is available at Director identification number | Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS).