Under new legislation, all directors of Australian companies (existing or in the future) are now required to have a director identification number (DIN).
This includes if you are director of your SMSF corporate trustee or family trust.
A DIN has been introduced to:
prevent the use of false or fraudulent director identities.
make it easier for external administrators and regulators to trace directors’ relationships with companies over time.
identify and eliminate director involvement in unlawful activity.
What is a DIN?
A DIN is a unique 15-digit identifier that a director will apply for once and will keep forever.
A director can only have one DIN that they must use for all companies
A DIN starts with 036 (which is the 3-digit country code for Australia under International Standard ISO 3166) and ends with an 11-digit number and one ‘check’ digit for error detection.
When do you need to apply for a DIN?
Date you were appointed a director | Date you must apply for a DIN |
On or before 31 October 2021 | By 30 November 2022 |
Between 1 November 2021 and 4 April 2022 | Within 28 days of appointment |
From 5 April 2022 | Before appointment |
How do you apply for a DIN? Unfortunately, we are unable to apply on your behalf as you must verify your own identity through your MyGovID account. Please follow the steps in this link to apply for a DIN. Further details can be found on the ABRS website.