Guide
Company Extract Australia: How to Read an ASIC Extract
Section by section — what it shows, what it hides, and where the risks live.
A company extract is the closest thing Australia has to a company's fingerprint. It shows who owns it, who runs it, where it lives, and (in the historical version) every move it has ever made. This guide unpacks what each section means and the specific red flags that make a lawyer stop and ask questions.
Ordering an Extract
Two prices, both from ASIC:
- Current extract — $9. Snapshot of today.
- Historical extract — $19. Snapshot + full change history.
Brokers (InfoTrack, Equifax, CreditorWatch, SAI Global) resell the same data with better search UX and optional bundled searches (PPSR, court, bankruptcy). For serious diligence, run both current and historical.
Anatomy of a Current Extract
1. Company Details
Legal name, ACN, ABN, type (Pty Ltd, Ltd, NL), class (proprietary limited by shares is standard), sub-class (large or small), registration date, place of registration, status.
Watch for: "large proprietary" thresholds trigger financial reporting obligations — relevant if you're diligencing a target that claims to be a "small" business.
2. Address Information
Registered office and principal place of business. Serviced-office addresses aren't fatal but combine badly with other red flags.
3. Officeholders
Every current director, secretary and alternate director. Name, date of birth (partial), place of birth, address, appointment date.
Watch for: a director appointed within the last 30 days on a company that's supposedly been trading for years; a director resigned within days of the deal being proposed.
4. Share Structure
Classes of shares (ordinary, preference, redeemable), total issued in each class, amount paid, amount unpaid.
Watch for: unpaid amounts (someone owes the company money for their shares); unusual preference classes with drag rights that aren't mentioned in the SPA.
5. Members (Shareholders)
Every current shareholder, class held, number held, and whether "beneficially owned". If "no", the shares are held on trust and the beneficial owner is not on the register.
Watch for: mismatches between the register and the cap table the vendor gave you.
6. Ultimate Holding Company
If the target is a subsidiary, this is its parent. Trace up the chain until you find a company with no parent — that's who really controls it.
7. Documents Lodged (Last 12 Months)
Every 484 (change of officer/address/share), 388 (financial statements), 205 (notification of resolution), and so on. This is where you spot activity between the last diligence run and today.
What Only the Historical Extract Shows
- Every former director and secretary, with appointment and resignation dates
- Every former shareholder
- Every share issue, transfer, cancellation, buy-back
- Every previous company name
- Every previous registered office / principal place of business
- Every notification of external administration event
The historical extract turns a snapshot into a story. If a director resigned two weeks before the deal timeline, you want to know before you sign.
Red Flags Checklist
| Signal | What it might mean |
|---|---|
| Multiple name changes | Rebranding after reputational trouble |
| Sole director resigned recently | Dispute, tax investigation, or ill health |
| Shares held "non-beneficially" | Trust or nominee — ask for the beneficial owner |
| Registered office = accountant's office | Normal; but the accountant is not the company |
| Share issues at wildly different prices in the same year | Undisclosed capital raise or bad record-keeping |
| No annual review paid | Company heading for strike-off |
Extract vs Company Search vs ABN Lookup
All three overlap; none replace each other:
- Company search: the front door — free status check.
- Company extract: paid deep-dive into ASIC data.
- ABN Lookup: free tax-side data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a company extract in Australia?
Order directly from ASIC (asic.gov.au) or from a broker like InfoTrack, Equifax or CreditorWatch. ASIC prices: current extract $9, historical extract $19. Delivered as a PDF, usually within minutes.
What's the difference between a current and historical extract?
The current extract is a snapshot of today. The historical extract adds every change ever recorded — director appointments/resignations, share issues, name changes, address changes. For diligence you almost always want the historical.
Can anyone order a company extract?
Yes. The ASIC register is public and you don't need consent from the company. There's no notification to the company that you ordered it.
How current is the data in an extract?
As current as the company's last filing. Companies must lodge changes (new directors, share transfers) within 28 days of the event. An extract shows what has been filed — recent unfiled changes won't appear.
Next Step
Running diligence on a target or a shareholder dispute? See our business acquisitions service or book a 15-minute call.
Talk to us
Ready to talk it through?
Send us a note about what you're working on. We'll respond within one business day and, if we're a fit, book a free 15-minute consultation with a senior lawyer.