FEDERAL BUDGET 2010: National business names register to save SMEs $1.5 billion

The Government will spend $125.2 million over the next four years to establish a single, national register for business names that will mean entrepreneurs no longer need to register their business name across every State and Territory.

The creation of the online registry, which was agreed to back in July 2009 as part of the Council of Australian Governments’ push towards improved national compliance, will allow business people to register their business name once and pay only one registration fee.

Small Business Minister Craig Emerson claims the new register will save small businesses $1.5 billion over the next eight years.

The funding will also be used to create:

• An easier way to search for trademarks online.
• A new Business Licensing Information Services to provide companies with information about their licensing and registration requirements.
• Online accounts to allow entrepreneurs to monitor their registrations and subscribe to information about regulatory changes.

Under the COAG agreement, administration of business names will be transferred from the states and territories to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

“These changes will bring an end to the rail-gauge economics of eight different State and Territory systems for registering and renewing business names,” Emerson said in a statement.