ABN for businesses outside Australia

ABN for businesses outside Australia

Non-residents may be entitled to an Australian business number (ABN) if they're:

• carrying on or starting an enterprise in Australia
• making supplies connected with Australia's indirect tax zone.

For more information, see ABN entitlement.

Applying for an ABN

Non-residents need to provide either:

• their Australian tax file number (TFN), or
• proof of identity documents and a statement of your business activities in Australia.

You can still apply for an ABN online if you don’t have a TFN.

When you submit your application, record your reference number. You'll need it when sending documents or contacting us. Without it, you may need to lodge a new application.

When you send your documents, complete the Non-resident ABN application – certified identity documents cover sheet. Include your reference number so we can match your documents with your application.

If the cover sheet isn’t included, it could cause delays in processing your application.

Send to:

Australian Taxation Office
Non-resident registrations team
PO Box  3373
Albury NSW 2640 AUSTRALIA

Statement of your business activities in Australia

Write a brief statement describing your business activities in Australia. Indicate if these only involve making purchases in Australia. If you have a place of business in Australia, include your main business location and its mailing address.

Information needs to be provided in English. If translated, it needs to be certified as a true and correct copy by an authorised translation service.

For more information, see Proof of identity for non-residents.

Limited registration entities

If you previously elected to be a limited registration entity (LRE) and have registered for simplified GST, your simplified GST registration will need to be revoked before we can process an ABN and full GST registration.

To revoke your simplified GST registration, you will need to provide:

• your name and ATO reference number (ARN)
• the effective date of revocation of election to be an LRE
• the reason for revocation of election to be a LRE.

This can be provided by phone or email to AustraliaGST@ato.gov.au, or by post when you send us your proof of identity documents.

Contacting the ABR

You can phone us to discuss your application:

Phoning within Australia

1. Phone 1300 146 094 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) or Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), Monday to Friday.
2. Wait until you hear instructions to enter the 3-digit call-back code.
3. Enter the call-back code 118 and #.

Phoning from outside Australia

1. Phone +61 2 6216 1111 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) or Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), Monday to Friday.
2. Ask for 1300 146 094.
3. Wait until you hear instructions to enter the three digit call-back code.
4. Enter the call-back code 118 and #.

For more information, visit Foreign residents doing business in Australia on the ATO website.