A company change is not finished when the board agrees to it. It is finished when the correct form is lodged with ASIC, accepted, and the company's record reflects the new position. Between those two moments, banks, suppliers, landlords, insurers and anyone searching the register are still looking at the old details.
This guide covers what has to be notified, who can lodge it, how timing works, and what the public register shows afterwards. It is based on ASIC's Changes to company details page and ASIC's June 2025 how-to guide covering changes to company details, officeholders, or a member's name.
What has to be notified to ASIC
ASIC's Changes to company details page is the starting point for most post-registration changes. In practice these fall into the following groups:
- Registered office and principal place of business — a new address, or changes to how the registered office operates.
- Officeholders — appointing or removing a director or secretary, and changes to an officeholder's name or address.
- Members — share issues, transfers and cancellations, and changes to a member's name.
- Company name — a separate process with its own steps, not part of the routine details update.
- Ultimate holding company — where the company is part of a group.
The how-to guide published by ASIC in June 2025 deals specifically with changes to company details, officeholders, or a member's name. If your change sits outside those categories, use ASIC's page to find the correct path rather than assuming one form covers everything.
Separately, ASIC's portals include an Update my agent details option, which is relevant if your company uses a registered agent and that agent's own details have changed.
Who can lodge, and where
Lodgement runs through ASIC's online services. From ASIC's portals you can log in or sign up, then select Update my company details. If you have not used the portals before, ASIC's online services information explains how to sign up.
Companies that use a registered agent normally have the agent lodge on their behalf. Electronic lodgement is subject to the terms and conditions of ASIC's Electronic Lodgement Protocol, so whoever lodges is doing so under those terms.
One exception worth reading before you start: ASIC's guide flags a special case where the company has a sole officeholder and the change relates to that officeholder's name. The process differs from the usual path, so read that section of the PDF first rather than discovering it halfway through.
Timeframes
The practical rule is that the clock starts on the date the change takes effect, not the date you get around to lodging it. Timeframes differ by change type and are set out in the Corporations Act and ASIC's guidance; they are short, measured in days rather than months.
Two consequences follow from that:
- Lodge as soon as your documents are ready. Waiting increases the gap between what is true and what the register says.
- Confirm the exact period for your specific change on ASIC's Changes to company details page. Do not rely on a number quoted in a blog post, a forum, or an old internal procedure note — including any figure that circulates informally. The period depends on the change type, and it is a question you should verify against the current ASIC guidance.
Your company's constitution or a shareholders agreement can also require internal notification faster than the lodgement deadline. That is a separate obligation; lodgement with ASIC does not satisfy it on its own.
There is also an interaction with the annual review. Your annual review statement is downloaded from ASIC separately and includes your annual invoice and payment details. The details it reflects are the ones ASIC currently holds, so a stale address or an unremoved former director tends to resurface as extra work at that point. Keeping details current as you go is cheaper than fixing them under an annual review deadline.
How to lodge a change online
- Get portal access working. Log in to ASIC Connect, or sign up if the company has no access yet. Confirm you can see the company before you start a transaction.
- Choose the right transaction. From the portals, use Update my company details.
- Enter the change with its effective date. Details must match your company records — the resolution, signed consent, share transfer documents, or whatever supports the change.
- Let validation run. The form checks for errors before it can be submitted.
- Select Submit to lodge the form with ASIC.
- Save the confirmation. The on-screen confirmation tells you the document was submitted. If the form validates and is accepted by ASIC, it appears in Forms Submitted.
Submission is not the same as processing. Keep the confirmation, then check the register later to see that the change has actually been recorded.
| Change | Have ready before you start | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Registered office or principal place of business | New address and the date it took effect | Details on the annual review statement come from what ASIC already holds |
| New director or secretary | Identity details ASIC asks for, appointment date, signed consent | Whether the company will still meet its officeholder requirements |
| Officeholder ceases or resigns | Cessation date and the supporting resignation or resolution | Sole officeholder situations need care about what remains on the record |
| Officeholder name or address change | New details and effective date | Sole officeholder name changes follow a different process — read ASIC's guide |
| Share issue, transfer or cancellation | Share class, number of shares, dates, counterparty details | Company records must match what is lodged |
| Member name change | Supporting evidence of the name change | Covered by ASIC's June 2025 how-to guide |
How the updated details appear on the public register
Once ASIC has processed an accepted form, the company's public record shows the new details. Three points matter in practice:
- The register shows what ASIC has recorded. Until the form is processed, the old details remain what a searcher sees.
- Processing is not instant. Allow time between submission and the register updating, and re-check rather than assuming.
- Old information may still exist elsewhere. If you need to know exactly what a third party can retrieve about the company, search your own record and, if needed, obtain a current extract. What appears in searches versus historical documents is a question to confirm directly with ASIC.
If a bank, landlord or counterparty needs proof that a change has happened, the processed register entry and your own company records are what you will be asked for — not the submission confirmation on its own.
Questions to verify before you rely on anything
- What is the exact lodgement deadline for your change type, per ASIC's current guidance?
- Can your change be lodged through ASIC's online services, or does it need a different process?
- Does the sole officeholder name-change exception apply to you?
- Do other parties need separate notification — the ATO, the Australian Business Register, state revenue offices, your bank or insurer? ASIC lodgement does not notify them for you.
- Are your company's own registers and minute book updated to match what you lodge?
Next steps
- Open ASIC's Changes to company details page and identify which change type applies.
- Download ASIC's June 2025 how-to guide for changes to company details, officeholders, or a member's name and follow it step by step.
- Log in to ASIC Connect. If you have no access, sign up, or instruct your registered agent in writing and confirm they have lodged.
- Lodge the change, save the submission confirmation, then re-check the public record to confirm the update has been made.
- Diary the company's annual review so details are correct well before the statement and invoice arrive.
This article is general information about ASIC's published process, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, and it does not account for your company's circumstances. Deadlines, forms, portal steps and register presentation can change — confirm them with ASIC or your registered agent, accountant or lawyer before acting. Australian Ltd is an independent publisher. It is not ASIC, a government body or regulator, a lender, a broker, or a comparison service, and it does not lodge documents on your behalf.