Company Searches
Almost 1.7 million companies are registered in Australia and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) maintains a database that includes information relating to each of these companies; information which is accessible to the general public.
ASIC’s information about an Australian company’s includes:
- share structure
- directors;
- shareholders (members)
- registered addresses
- organisation details
- registered charges
Through Search facilities, financial, corporate and statutory information contained in ASIC records can be obtained. For those internal to a company, such as company officeholders, the information obtained through searches can assist to obtain missing details in a company’s records and historical data. For those external to a company, information obtained through searches can assist to make informed decisions or in research to gain a strategic advantage.
Examples of these searches on ASIC records are as follows:
Company Extract Search
Company searches (as historic search or a current search) provide a wide range of information about a company, including historic information, (including previous directors and shareholders) and current information (which provides a snap-shot of the company situation as of "today".
ASIC Director Name or Personal Name Search
Details of individuals involved with Australian companies can be obtained, including former names, date of birth, residential address, directorships held, and shareholdings.
Company Searches Search
An ASIC company charge search provides summaries of all charges registered over the company, including fixed and floating charges and bank guarantees. These types of searches are often used in conjunction with a company search (either a current extract or historical and current extract) to provide a useful summary and indication of a company’s financial position.
Corporate Relationships Search
A particularly useful way to trace complex corporate structures is the Corporate Relationship search. This type of search is often used to track down a corporate chain, as it simply shows entities in which shares are held by the primary company (i.e. its subsidiaries).
Document Image Search
In order to assess the underlying documents (doc images) behind changes to the ASIC registers a "Document Image" search retrieves details of every document received by ASIC which has been scanned to a computer file and issued with a unique document number. This type of search assists in determining who signed and / or lodged a document with ASIC, assessing particular terms in charges, and viewing what was disclosed in the documents lodged.
Business Name Search
A business name search provides a snap-shot of a business. These searches are carried out on a state basis and so identical business names may exist from state to state. Added to this, each state government provides data differently, so depending on the state searched the data returned may vary, however the most common data provided in a business name search includes the business’ status, address, the owners, the owners’ address (in some states) and documents lodged (in some states).
Reckon Docs provides a comprehensive range of search facilities. For more information call 1300 139 001.
This article is provided for information purposes only. Reckon Docs Pty Ltd (formerly Reckon Espreon) does not provide legal, accounting, financial, investment or other advice and you should seek such advice before acting in reliance on any information in this article.