1.
The Australian Business Register (ABR) Presentation to the 17th Roundtable on Business Survey Frames
October 2003
Erin Holland, Deputy Commissioner of Taxation and Deputy Registrar of the Australian Business Register, Australian Taxation Office
In delivering the Australian Business Register to the Australian community and government sector, the Australian Taxation Office faces a number of issues relating to the dissemination of ABR information, particularly in the context of a whole of government focus, privacy, security and legal aspects pertaining to the maintenance of the register. Today's presentation aims to provide enough information to elicit discussion that may lead to assisting countries facing these and other similar issues.

2. Australian Business Register
The Australian Taxation Office is responsible for maintaining a register of businesses operating in Australia - the Australian Business Register (ABR). The ABR is an online business registration system and repository of business identifier information. It provides for the allocation of an unique identifier for each business – the Australian Business Number or ABN.
The ABR’s home page is the interactive electronic gateway to streamlining registration and data maintenance in real time. It’s helping to make the experience for business easier, cheaper and more personalised.
The website currently receives about 1 million hits per month which suggests that people are using the register and have started to integrate it into their business practices.
To assist in promoting the website, we are continually identifying practical uses for business and government, and include these as part of our continuous improvement policy.

3. Building relationships with government
Commonwealth, State and local government look to expand their business systems
Over 300 agencies contacted to help support the use of ABNs
The ABR was developed to facilitate the introduction of a major tax reform process in Australia. It was also designed to have a wider whole-of-government role. Australia has three distinct tiers of government. Federal and State governments are largely independent, whilst local government exists through separate State enacted legislation. However, the need is to have all three tiers adopt use of the ABN as an identifier if we are to optimize benefits.
The promotion of further uses of the ABR is a key strategy for the Tax Office in We have already undertaken substantial work with over 300 government agencies. The focus here has been to build relationships and expand the use of the ABN in business systems, with emphasis on systems used in registration related activities and regulatory functions.

4. Government support for ABR increasing
ABR provides a seamless government business tool
Multi-agency Policy Advisory Committee
Australian Taxation Office steps up activity
With products such as e-Tax (the Australian online system for submitting income tax returns) and on-line Tax File Number Auto Registration process for permanent migrants and temporary visitors with work rights in Australia, the ATO has played a leading role in promoting e-commerce initiatives to the Australian community. In terms of integrating the ABR into agency systems - presenting a unified whole-of-government face to the public is becoming more and more practical. The recent Commonwealth government decision where there will now only be one graphic identifier for all of government - the Australian coat of arms, reinforces the measures taken to support such a push.
The ABR provides the necessary tools to ubiquitously access business and government throughout Australia. But the greatest challenge has been to change the traditional public data delivery model – from one focussed on delivery by individual government departments within each tier, to a more whole-of-government focus. We have had to deliver an ABR that is seen to provide benefits on an Agency by Agency basis, whilst maintaining independence. This takes time in developing necessary trust and proving long term commitment.
To this end, the Registrar of the ABR established the multi-agency Policy Advisory Committee, consisting of senior managers from Federal and State government agencies as well as the Australian Taxation Office. The committee meets quarterly with the charter to provide broad public sector input to the ABR’s direction and future development as well as represent the whole-of-government adoption of the register.
Adoption of the ABR has over time gained momentum throughout all three levels of government. Australian Taxation Office relationship managers continue to discuss further enhancement of the ABR with other agencies including State based organisations such as those who register business names. Meanwhile, research and communications programs are being developed to promote the use of an Australian Business Number as the prime business identifier throughout government.
December 2002 saw the introduction of secure online access to ABN records which has proved popular with over 1500 tax practitioners registered to use the ABR view and update services, allowing them to maintain the details of all of their clients. Meanwhile, the use of ABR public data continues to grow with over 2 million hits a month being recently recorded.

5. Government support for ABR increasing
This graphic illustrates the adoption of the ABR throughout government. Interest by agencies increases as awareness and trust is established and as agencies better understand how using ABNs benefits them. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office’s marketing and relationship management practices that fully came on line in late 2002.

6. ABR infrastructure established ABNs issued to business
ABR matrix – a 10 year plan
Registration processes
integrated across major government agencies
duplicated at all levels of government
integrated across all levels of government
ABN – primary business identifier in government systems
2010
Integration
2004
ABN is cross-referenced in government systems
2002
ABR infrastructure established
We are
here
The introduction of the ABR is the first step in the achievement of a vision that will be realised over a 10 year period - a one-stop service for business and government.
1999 – business before the introduction of the ABR
2000 – ABNs issued to businesses with initial targets set at 2.4 million registrations
2002 – ABR infrastructure established and streamlining commences
2003 – this year, over 4.3 million businesses, government entities and charitable institutions registered with an ABN
– Agencies integrate ABN into their systems and processes, and ABR becomes a business as usual tool
The Australian Taxation Office continues to achieve success through concerted communications, engaging relationship management and a visible program of product and market enhancement over its 10 year plan. This 10 year plan becomes an overt statement of commitment by the Australian Taxation Office of where the ABR will be by 2010.
ABNs issued to business
2000
Multiple business identifiers
Before ABN/ABR
1999

7. Publicly available ABR data
Legal Name
ABN
Date of Effect of ABN Registration
Trading Name
Date of Effect of any GST registration
Date of Effect of any GST cancellation
Whether the entity is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient
Date of effect the entity is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient
Type of entity (eg. company, partnership, State government agency)
State or Territory
Postcode of business location
Date of change of ABN
Date of cancellation of ABN
ACN/ARBN
Only some ABN information is publicly available via the ABR. The most common fields used by businesses are the ABN, the legal name of the entity, the trading name, and the GST status of an entity. Information such as the industry coding and post code are not included as part of the public data set. This means it is unlikely that information brokers will use the publicly available data to compile business listings.

8. Non-publicly available ABR Data
Address for service of notices - including Delivery Point Identifier (DPID)
Principal place of business address
address
Industry classification code (Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classifications)
Associates of the entity:
Trustee
Public officer
Director
In addition to the public data, the ABR also stores data that is not available to the general public. This data includes address for service of notices and business address (including DPID), ANZSIC activity description and code, and associates of the legal entity.
This data, referred to as non-public data, can be made available by the Registrar to:
government agencies (only government agencies authorised by the ABN Act will have access to the non-publicly available ABR data), and
the business client to whom the data relates.
The non-publicly available ABR data can be accessed via four key media types CD ROM, internet browser, dial-up or permanent connection. Each delivery method contains its own security mechanisms by which the data is protected.

9. Managing privacy issues
Ongoing consultation with the Federal and State Privacy Commissioners
Memoranda of Understanding (MOU)
ABR home page and transactions
ABR home page – link to ABR Partners.
This section outlines how privacy and security issues surrounding the ABR are managed. Privacy issues have been carefully managed to promote transparency of the Registrar’s relationship with other agencies.
1 Ongoing consultation is occurring with the Federal and State Privacy Commissioners, including documentation reviews.
2 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) articulate the expectations of the Registrar in relation to the ABN Act and the Information Privacy Principles set out in the Federal Privacy Act.
3 ABR home page and transactions contain a privacy statement.
4 The ABR home page includes a link to the ABR Partners screen, which contains a listing of the government agencies that have an MOU with the Registrar. The ABR partners page has been included on the ABR as part of the Registrar’s commitment to transparency in relation to the use of ABN data by Government agencies and has been developed after consultation with the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner.
The ABN Act provides for a high degree of security and privacy of data and prescribes significant penalties for any breach.

10. Managing privacy issues
Privacy and the Community, July 2001 research prepared by Roy Morgan Research
Australians regard privacy as a closely held and highly personal value
90% of respondents believe organisations should advise who will be using data and how it may be used
43% are willing to provide details in return for more efficient services
14% have decided not to deal with government agencies because of privacy concerns
Australians, as shown in research commissioned by the Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner tend to towards one end of the spectrum in attitudes to privacy. This provides the Registrar a continual challenge in balancing personal privacy with the public benefit of sharing information. And it is a balance that is largely perceptual and constantly changing through influences largely outside of the control of the Australian Taxation Office.
To this end, the Registrar is open in communications to the Privacy Commissioners and negotiates and seeks endorsement for processes associated with the implementation and use of the ABR.

11. Security measures Maintaining ABR data
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology has been adopted to allow business clients to access ABR data on-line.
Previous process of registering too slow and confusing
Early trends suggest uptake of online services has increased
The Australian Taxation Office recently implemented a targeted marketing campaign to increase the uptake of the its online services for business. Prior to the implementation of the marketing campaign, the process of registering for and installing a digital certificate was time-consuming and confusing.
Access to the business portal requires Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in the form of an ATO digital certificate. The PKI technology has been designed to allow business clients to access their ABN record and change their details online in real time. Agencies will also be able to use the PKI technology to identify their client’s details on the ABR and download data files.
As part of the drive to increase use of our online services, we reviewed the PKI process, instructions and client support mechanisms. As a result:
- improvements were made to the PKI process which reduced the time taken to install a digital certificate from 3 hours to 1 hour (future enhancements to the certificate will reduce installation time by half again)
- a CD-ROM was produced which contained the software required by a client to install a digital certificate (quicker for clients to install the software from the CD compared to internet download)
- online instructions were reviewed and rewritten so that they were more easily understood.
A full evaluation of the campaign is yet to be conducted, but early trends suggest it has been successful in increasing uptake of online services and, more significantly, moving clients from a reliance on paper registration for ATO digital certificates to online registration.
For government agencies accessing the ABR via offline media, CD-Roms are secured by access passwords, secure courier transportation and storage, and destruction requirements following delivery.

12. Register maintenance
The Australian Taxation Office works towards a higher level of data integrity through:
business clients or their tax agents (for their own records only)
agencies accredited by the Registrar as data providers, and
the Australian Taxation Office whilst facilitating its role as administrator of the ABR.
The Commissioner of Taxation has been given the added responsibility of Registrar of the ABR. Consequently, clients may not make the distinction between the two when interacting with the tax system and advising their details. They may expect that their details will be passed on to other areas of the Australian Taxation Office. The Commissioner however, must consider the type of data that can be shared by both the ATO and ABR. Tax and privacy legislation prohibits the Commissioner from sharing certain ATO data, if that data may then be accessed by other sources. These legislative circumstances also prohibit other agencies from providing data. Therefore, the ABR must be overt in marketing and promoting its services to business and government while at the same time running integrity checks against existing business records.
By law, changes to ABR data can only be made by:
- Business clients or their nominated tax agent
- Agencies accredited by the ABR as data providers
- The Australian Taxation Office – in its role as ABR administrator.
In an effort to maintain and enhance the quality of data in the register, the Australian Taxation Office currently sends out regular surveys to businesses in the system. From a government perspective, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission have also been assisting with integrity checks by providing regular updates on company names.
The Australian Taxation Office continues to examine the efficient and effective means of gathering data for matching purposes, while ensuring the rights of businesses are protected.