ASIC Filing

TL;DR

Mandatory filings every Australian Pty Ltd lodges with ASIC — incorporation, annual review, share-capital and director changes within 28 days of the event.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the Commonwealth's corporate regulator. Every Pty Ltd company must lodge: an application for registration on incorporation, an annual review (a A$310 review fee plus confirmation that company details are accurate), and within 28 days of the event a notice of any change to directors, registered address, share capital, or shareholders (Form 484).

Missed filings attract escalating penalties (A$87 for late lodgement plus monthly increments) and persistent non-compliance can lead to deregistration. Most Australian startups outsource ASIC compliance to their accountant or use Cake Equity, Splash Equity, or similar cap-table tools that auto-prepare Form 484 lodgements after each round.

Worked example

After closing a A$3M ESVCLP-led Series A, the company lodges Form 484 within 28 days reflecting two new institutional shareholders, an updated share-capital structure (now Series A preference shares alongside ordinary), and a new investor-nominated director — total ASIC fees ~A$50.

Common pitfalls

• Missing the 28-day window after an allotment and accruing late fees per share-capital change.
• Letting the annual review lapse and triggering ASIC's deregistration pipeline.
• Filing inconsistent share-class details that don't match the company's constitution.

When this shows up in a pitch deck

Not in the deck; clean ASIC records are an Australian-investor due-diligence checkbox.

Related terms

• Pty Ltd (Australia) — Australia's standard private-company structure — at least one Australian-resident director, no minimum share capital, ASIC-registered. Default for AU VC.
• ESVCLP — Australia's tax-advantaged VC fund structure granting fund-level tax exemption and a 10% non-refundable carry tax offset for LPs — used by most AU VCs.
• Companies House Filing — Mandatory public filings every UK Ltd makes to Companies House — incorporation, share allotments, PSC register, accounts, and confirmation statement.
• ACRA Filing — Mandatory filings every Singapore Pte Ltd lodges with ACRA — incorporation, annual return, financial statements, and changes to directors or capital.
• Cap Table — A spreadsheet or system-of-record showing every shareholder, share class, option, warrant, and convertible instrument outstanding in a company.

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