>>The DoFT and the ASC cooperate with regards to listing services... and thats
>>about it as far as I know.
>
>You are talking about BUSINESS NAME registration, which has been around for
>decades and is, as you say, state-based. An ARBN is not the same thing.

And ARBN is the number assigned by the State of Recognision to a Business
Name.

It's similar in essence to the ACN which is assigned by the Federal entity
known as the ASC (Australian Securities Commission).

>A Business Name is an alias for a person or company. There could even be a
>requirement that the person be an Australian resident or the company
>Australian-registered, I dunno.

With a company there must be a local agent.  Normally this is an accounting
firm.  International Comapnaies general use Partner firms of their local
companies in the country they wish to register in.

THis is how all my companies operate throughout the world.  That way I
don't need partners who may prove unreliable and all the documents come
back to me, well actually my accountant.  My accountant isn't one of the
big four.

A Business name is a Trading name, other than the persons name - generally.
 You must have at least ONE resident of the State in which you wish to
register as a partner to the business.

>Once registered, the name can be used to
>open bank accounts or as the basis for a domain name. If you've ever seen
>"John and Jane Smith trading as Foobar Enterprises", that's a business name.

Where use for a domain name is concerned, it would be totally illegal to
register a business name to secure a domain name, unless you trade under
the business name.  The Act requires that you intend to trade to make
profit from the Business Name.

>Australian Company Number (ACN) and the Australian Registered Body Number
>(ARBN). It's federal, not state-based. I have read in ASC brochures and at
>the following Web sites
>
>    http://www.monash.edu.au/informatics/physiol/Ghack/arbn.htm
>    http://www.mines.sa.gov.au/053391.htm
>
>that ARBNs are intended to register foreign companies trading in Australia.

That's quite interesting. I hadn't heard it put that way before.  I'll give
you the benefit of my doubt there, because it does make sense, I've never
registered an international company within AU before :)

>It's interesting that some Australian organisations, including the Westpac
>bank, have ARBNs and not ACNs.

Point taken.

>That's why I mentioned ARBNs in the first place. I thought they might be
>just what Jim Hawthorn was looking for. The page above from SA Mines site
>is all about "How to register a foreign company in Australia" which should
>be helpful.

An offshore company can get an ACN, but it's registered as OFFSHORE. I
can't for the life of me think of the name we researched recently that was
a good example of this.  If I can I'll post it to you.

There is special legislation and requirements for an OFFSHORE company.


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