What this guide helps you decide
If you run a small Australian company, you are carrying two overlapping sets of record-keeping duties at once. One comes from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), because you chose to trade through a company. The other comes from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), because the company has tax, superannuation and registration obligations. Both sit on top of employment record duties if you have staff.
This article sets out the registers and documents a small company is generally expected to keep, why each one matters in practice, and where you should confirm the detail for your own circumstances rather than relying on a general guide.
Start with the duty itself, not the filing
ASIC's guidance for company officeholders is direct: as a company officeholder, you must understand and ensure your company meets its record keeping obligations. It is not enough that someone else in the business "handles the admin". The duty sits with the officeholders, and it applies whether the company has one director-shareholder or twenty.
ASIC also frames the purpose clearly — records help in keeping track of the company's business and meeting ASIC's lodgement requirements. That is the practical test to apply when you are unsure whether something belongs in your records: does it help explain what the business did, and would you need it to lodge or respond to a regulator?
The ATO's parallel rule covers transactions relating to your tax, superannuation and registration affairs as you start, run, sell, change or close your business. Note the scope — it runs from setup through to closure, not just the trading years.
The company registers and constitutional documents
These are the company-specific records that exist because you incorporated, not because you earn income.
| Record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Company registration and ASIC documents | Evidence of the company's existence, registered details and lodgement history |
| Register of members and shareholdings | Shows who owns the company and how ownership has changed |
| Register of directors and officeholders | Shows who is responsible for the company at any point in time |
| Company constitution or replaceable rules | The internal rulebook for decision-making |
| Minutes and records of director and member decisions | Evidence that decisions were actually made and by whom |
| Registers of other officeholders or controllers where applicable | Tracks people with control or appointed roles beyond directors |
Business.gov.au lists company registration records among the business records to keep, and ASIC is the authority to check for what your specific company type must maintain. Small proprietary companies with a single director-shareholder will have a lighter set than a company with external investors, so confirm the exact list against ASIC's current guidance rather than assuming a template covers you.
Two practical points matter more than the paperwork itself. First, registers must be kept up to date — a register that records last year's directorship is worse than none, because it misleads anyone relying on it. Second, company directors have the right to access financial books and records at all reasonable times (ASIC). If a director cannot get to the books on request, that is a governance problem, not just a filing one.
Financial records the ATO expects
The ATO requires records of all transactions relating to your tax, super and registration affairs. ASIC separately requires that a company keep up-to-date financial records. In practice that means your bookkeeping system, bank statements, invoices issued and received, receipts, asset and depreciation records, loan documents, and GST records if the company is registered for GST.
The ATO is explicit about the quality of these records: to claim a deduction, you must keep accurate, dated records that clearly show the nature of the expense and how it supports your business activities. This is where small companies most often come unstuck. A bank line item showing a payment is not enough on its own. You need to be able to show what was bought, when, and why it relates to the business.
Practical interpretation: the test is whether a stranger reading the record could understand the transaction. Dated, legible, linked to a receipt or invoice, and not mixed in with private spending.
Employment and contractor records
If the company engages staff, the Fair Work Ombudsman is the relevant authority for employment records. business.gov.au notes that businesses and organisations must keep employee records including working hours, pay, leave and super. Contractor records sit alongside these — engagement agreements, invoices and ABN details — because the distinction between employee and contractor changes which obligations apply.
Superannuation records deserve particular attention. The ATO's record-keeping rules specifically cover superannuation affairs, so keep evidence of what was calculated, when it was paid, and to which fund.
How long to keep them
Retention periods differ by record type and by regulator, which is why a single "seven years" rule is misleading.
- ASIC requires companies to keep records for 7 years.
- The ATO's general position is that most records must be kept for five years — five-year retention appears in ATO guidance and in business.gov.au's summary of financial and business records.
- Employment records are commonly cited at seven years, per business.gov.au and related guidance.
The safe practical approach for a small company is to treat seven years as the default and check whether anything in your industry — licences, permits, warranty periods, long-running contracts — pushes a particular document longer. Destroying records early is the riskier error; over-retention costs storage, not compliance.
Format, access and security
Records must be in English, or easily converted to English, and stored so they are easily accessible for the ATO. Digital records are acceptable; the ATO has noted it is moving towards digital records. That makes cloud accounting and scanned receipts workable, provided you can actually produce the record when asked.
Three conditions follow from this:
- Accessible — you can retrieve a document on request, not eventually. If the ATO or ASIC asks, you must be able to show your records.
- Secure — records must be stored safely and securely. That covers both physical files and the access controls on your accounting software.
- Backed up — a single laptop or a discontinued software subscription is not a records system.
A working checklist
Use this as a starting inventory, then adjust for your company.
- ASIC company registration documents and any changes lodged
- Register of members, register of directors and officeholders, kept current
- Constitution or documented reliance on replaceable rules
- Minutes of director and member decisions
- Financial records: bank statements, invoices, receipts, asset and loan records, GST records if registered
- Tax and super records, including payment evidence
- Employment records: hours, pay, leave, super; contractor agreements and invoices
- Licences, permits and contracts
- Records of business changes and, if applicable, sale or closure
The ATO offers a free tool to check which records your business needs to keep and how well you are keeping them. Running it periodically is a cheap way to find gaps before a review does.
What to verify for your own company
This guide is general information, so confirm the specifics that depend on your facts:
- Which registers your exact company type must maintain, directly with ASIC
- Whether your industry or licences impose longer retention than the general periods
- Which records the ATO requires for your specific tax registrations, including GST
- Employment record detail and pay-related obligations with the Fair Work Ombudsman
- Whether your licences and permits require separate record types — the Australian Business Licence and Information Service can help identify applicable licences
Also check whether any record obligations apply under other laws you are subject to, such as privacy or work health and safety. Business.gov.au advises checking your obligations with relevant agencies including the ATO, ASIC and the Fair Work Ombudsman — that cross-check is the point, not a formality.
Next step
Pick one afternoon and run the checklist above against what you actually hold. Anything you cannot produce today is a gap to close now, while the transactions are still fresh and the counterparties still exist. Start with the registers, since those reflect who owns and controls the company, then work through the financial and employment records with your bookkeeping system open.
If you would rather start from a structured checklist and work through it in order, the guides at /money/home-loans/ and /match/ cover related small-business money decisions and how to narrow options based on your situation.
General information only
This article is general information about Australian record-keeping expectations and is not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, and it does not create a client or advisory relationship. Obligations vary with your company's structure, industry and registrations. Retention periods and requirements change, so confirm current rules with ASIC, the ATO and the Fair Work Ombudsman, or a registered tax agent or lawyer, before acting. Australian Ltd is not a lender, broker, government body or regulator, and does not approve, rank or endorse any provider or product.