A number of our clients have recently received official-looking letters requesting payment for an Annual Company Statement or Business Name Registration. We want to make sure you know what these are—and why you should not pay them.
What the letter looks like
The correspondence arrives by mail, addressed to your company, and references your review date, a dollar amount in the hundreds, and a deadline with a discount code for early payment. It uses formal language and a layout designed to resemble an official compliance notice
Who It’s From
Despite appearances, this letter is not from ASIC. A third-party commercial service provider sends it. In small print at the very bottom, the letter discloses that the company is independent of ASIC and that the document is not a bill. The payment being requested is for a service that Optima Partners either already manages on your behalf, or that you can complete directly with ASIC at a significantly lower cost.
What You Should Do
If you receive one of these letters, do not pay it! Contact our team if you are unsure whether your company’s annual review obligations have been met. If Optima Partners manages your corporate secretarial requirements or business name registration, we will have already taken care of this for you.
What to look out for
When reviewing any correspondence that appears to be a compliance or government notice, check the following before taking any action:
- Does it clearly identify itself as being from ASIC? Genuine ASIC correspondence will directly reference your ASIC account and originate from an official ASIC source.
- Does the fine print state “this is not a bill”? If so, you are under no obligation to pay anything.
- Does the requested amount seem unusually high for a routine compliance lodgement? If in doubt, contact us before taking any action.
If you have already made a payment to one of these services, contact your bank to discuss your options and reach out to our team so we can confirm your actual ASIC obligations are still being met.
We are here to help
Managing ASIC and government requirements, including ASIC annual reviews and business name registration, is part of what we do for our clients. If you have any questions about correspondence you have received, or want to confirm whether your compliance obligations are up to date, please get in touch with us directly.
