InFocus April 2025 - Volume 34 Issue 3

InFocus April 2025 - Volume 34 Issue 3

Coming Soon: Electronic signatures on Form 362
Stabilising and uplifting the ob体育 Registers
Improved ob体育 Professional Registers Search 鈥� 31 March
New portal for Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence applications 鈥� Coming soon
The ATO is making updates for a more secure experience

Coming Soon: Electronic signatures on Form 362听

ob体育 Registered Agents (RAs) will soon be able to collect and store the Form 362 Notification by a company to nominate or cease a registered agent or contact address electronically, instead of obtaining the physically signed form.

For Company Officeholders, this means you鈥檒l be able to sign the Form 362 electronically by:

physically signing on a touchscreen device (eg. by a stylus or finger) or,
digitally inserting an image of the person鈥檚 usual signature.

This removes the dependency on postal services, saving time and creating greater efficiency.

Some of our current Registry Business Advisory Group (RBAG) members shared their thoughts about this change:

鈥淭he removal of the wet ink signature requirement for ob体育 Form 362 is a significant step forward in streamlining compliance for registered agents and their clients. By eliminating the need for physical signatures, agents can save valuable time, reduce administrative costs, and improve efficiency when appointing or ceasing as an agent. This change also enhances the experience for directors and companies, enabling a quick, seamless transaction and ensuring they can focus more on running their businesses. It鈥檚 a welcome modernisation that aligns with the digital-first approach many businesses now expect."

鈥淩emoving the requirement for the form 362 to be signed in wet signature will save time and improve efficiency by removing the need to print, sign, scan and store hard copy documents. This is a long awaited change and improvement in the process for appointing an ob体育 Registered Agent to a company. We welcome the change and look forward to further efficiency improvements in the near future.鈥�

The ob体育 Electronic Lodgement Protocol (ELP) will be updated to make provision for agents to accept electronic signatures on Form 362 expected this month.

There will be no change to the way agents lodge the form electronically and the option to physically sign a paper version of the document remains available.

Other requirements relating to record keeping and producing the Form 362 upon request by ob体育, will also remain unchanged.

Keep an eye out for the updated ELP on our website later this month.

Stabilising and uplifting the ob体育 Registers听

The government鈥檚 2025-26 Budget includes a significant funding commitment to ob体育鈥檚 RegistryConnect program to stabilise and uplift ob体育鈥檚 Registers.

Through the RegistryConnect program, ob体育 will deliver reliable, secure, trusted, and efficient registry services to support the economy for the benefit of all Australians.

The budget allocated $206.8M over two years from 2025-26 to continue the work of delivering reliable, secure, trusted, and efficient registry services to support the economy for the benefit of all Australians.

With this funding, ob体育 will:

deliver new Companies Register search functionality
deliver new company registration and maintenance services
link Director IDs to the Companies Register
strengthen authentication of registry users
uplift the quality and integrity of registry data
address cyber-security and technology risks
address fraud and scam risks associated with the misuse of registry information, and
improve application, registration, maintenance and search services for professional registers.

For more information about the RegistryConnect Program, visit our Stabilising and uplifting ob体育 business registers web page for more information.

Improved ob体育 Professional Registers Search 鈥� 31 March

ob体育 launched the new in December 2024.鈥疶he new site has been well received and will soon be enhanced with new product features to improve functionality for users. From 31 March 2025, users will be able to purchase professional registers documents and extracts directly from within the search service. This will remove the current redirection to ob体育 Connect Search to make these purchases.听

鈥婽here will be updates to user guides and FAQs to reflect this change. 鈥�

鈥嬧€嬧€€嬧€婩or more information about this change, visit our Professional registers web page.

New portal for Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence applications 鈥� Coming soon

In May 2025, we will launch the new digital AFS licence portal, which includes the ability to apply for, maintain, and vary AFS licences through a more streamlined, secure, and user-friendly process.

The new portal is designed to make the application process more intuitive and easier to navigate. The new digital platform will reduce processing times and improve the overall user experience for AFS licensees and applicants. This is part of the wider digital transformation we are making towards becoming a more efficient and data-informed regulator.

Ahead of the launch, we will make supporting resources available in the ob体育 website to assist AFS licensees and applicants in preparing for the transition. These materials will provide guidance on navigating the new system and understanding the updated processes.

Until the new portal is live, applicants and current AFS license holders may continue to use the existing for applying, maintaining, and varying their licences. If it鈥檚 feasible, we advise holding off on submitting applications or making changes to licences until the new portal launches in May.