Registration of Government Entities for Taxation Purposes
As a general rule, the registration policy for Australian Government entities, as agreed between Portfolio Ministers in 1999, requires:
- each Department of State, Department of the Parliament and each agency prescribed under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 [
] (the FMA Act), and - each authority and company subject to the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 [] (the CAC Act),
to have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and to be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Two exceptions to the general rule are that:
- a unit within an entity subject to the FMA Act whose operations are materially independent of other operations of the entity concerned, can register as a separate entity; and
- a number of related Australian Government entities that keep accounts on the same basis for the same tax periods can group together to help facilitate GST administration.
Note: in either of these exceptions, the relevant Portfolio Minister must approve the registration before an application can be lodged with the Australian Taxation Office.
The GST legislation also allows for a parent entity, such as a Department of State, to establish GST branches. Where this occurs, each branch accounts for GST separately. Prerequisites are that each GST branch:
- maintains an independent accounting system (the branch is a separate unit within the parent entity's accounting system or is established as a separate cost centre); and
- is separately identifiable either by its location or by the nature of its enterprise.
Note: decisions on branching are the prerogative of the management of the parent entity.
Specific Registration Issues
Please visit these pages for information about the following specific registration issues.
- Creation of a New Agency
- Abolition of a Department/Agency
- Change of Name or Registration Details
- Merger/Amalgamation
Further Information
For further information about the registration of Australian Government entities for taxation purposes, contact the Legislative Review Branch (LRB) within Finance.
E-mail: LRB@finance.gov.au
Phone: (02) 6215 3657
Mail:
Legislative Review Branch
Financial Management Group
Department of Finance and Deregulation
John Gorton Building
King Edward Terrace
PARKES ACT 2600
Contact for information on this page: LRB@finance.gov.au