As part of recent amendments introduced by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Act 2020 (Cth) in June, all persons holding the role of a company director, will soon be required to be identified by a unique “director identification number” (director ID).
A director ID is a unique identifier that you need to apply for once and keep permanently. Read here for more information on the benefits and requirements of director ID’s.
Although Australian directors must apply for their director ID themselves through the myGovID app, foreign directors must apply using a different process.
Foreign directors – How do I apply?
To complete your online application, you will need to lodge a paper application and provide:
- A certified copy of one primary document, such as a foreign birth certificate, foreign passport; and
- A certified copy of one secondary document, such as a national photo ID, driver’s license.
The following people are authorised to certify your identity documents outside Australia:
- Notary publics
- Staff at your nearest Australian embassy, high commission or consulate, including consulates headed by Austrade honorary consuls
An authorised certifier must, in the presence of the applicant, certify that each copy is a true and correct copy of the original document. This involves:
- Sighting the original document;
- Stamping, signing and annotating the copy of the identity document to state, ‘I have sighted the original document and certify this to be a true and correct copy of the original document sighted’;
- Initialling each page; and
- Listing their name, date of certification, phone number and position.
For a list of Australian embassies, high commissions and consulates by country, visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) here.
The paper application will be available from November via ABRS here.
Once the paper application forms become available, we will be able to assist with forwarding these forms to you for completion.
Documents in languages other than English
If your identity documents are not written in English, you must arrange for them to be translated into English.
Translations must be completed by an approved translation service and certified as a true and correct copy. It should display an official stamp (or similar) that shows the certifier’s accreditation.
Translations should also be accompanied by a certified copy of the original document in the language of origin. The certifier must sign and stamp the original copy of the document as a true and correct copy.
Contact your closest Australian embassy, high commission or consulate to find out more about an authorised translation service in your country via DFAT here.
Whether you are a foreign or Australian director, please contact your Pitcher Partners representative if you have any further questions regarding your directorship or the director ID.
