A Director Identification Number (DIN) is a legal requirement for anyone holding a current directorship or considering a directorship in the future.

Director Identification Numbers - What you need to know

The Director ID information is held and managed by the Australian Business Registry Service (ABRS), and is designed to help prevent the use of false or fraudulent director identities.

What is Director ID?

Your Director ID confirms your identity, and the Registry’s role is to record all directorships held by an individual, including former appointments. Your Director ID is retained even if you stop being a company director, change your name or move interstate or overseas.

When is the deadline to apply for your Director ID?

Current directors have until November 2022 to obtain a Director Identification Number (DIN). However, if you have been recently appointed as a director, you are required to obtain a DIN within 28 days of your appointment. If you don’t meet your obligations to apply for a DIN, you may be issued with an infringement notice and/or a civil or criminal penalty.

The following table sets out the timelines for obtaining a DIN.

* Directors appointed under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) must apply for a Director ID before appointment.

How to apply for your Director ID?

There are three ways to apply for your Director ID as follows:

1. MyGovID (recommended by the ABRS)

a. Set up a myGovID on your smartphone.

b. Gather relevant documents.

c. Submit an application.

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2. By Phone

a. Quote an individual Australian tax file number (TFN). Providing a TFN is optional but it speeds up the process.

b. Provide your residential address as held by the AustralianTaxation Office (ATO).

c. Answer two questions based on details already documented by the ATO.

d. Two Australian identity documents – one primary and one secondary.

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3. With a paper form

a. Download the form at ABRS website.

b. Provide certified true copies of your identity documents.

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Once you have applied for your DIN, you will receive your 15 digit Director Identification Number. More information is available on the ABRS website.

How Sharrock Pitman can help?

As Accredited Commercial Law specialists, we can advise those considering an appointment as a director, as well as current directors, on matters relating to your obligation as a director and corporate governance. If specific advice is sought in relation to the information covered in this article, or any other matters relating to corporations law, restructuring, trademarks, taxation or contracts feel free to contact us on 1300 205 506 or by email at sp@sharrockpitman.com.au.

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The information contained in this article is intended to be of a general nature only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Any legal matters should be discussed specifically with one of our lawyers.

Liability limited by ascheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Written by a member of our Legal Team

Ignatius Suwanto

For further information contact

Ignatius Suwanto

Ignatius Suwanto is a lawyer at Sharrock Pitman Legal. He is a member of our Property Law team. For further information, contact Ignatius on his direct line (03) 8561 3331.

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A Director Identification Number (DIN) is a legal requirement for anyone holding a current directorship or considering a directorship in the future.

However, in this article we will set out the factors that influence how long it will take to obtain a Grant of Probate and to administer an estate in Victoria.

The basics

First things first: what is a Grant of Probate? A Grant of Probate is effectively a document issued by the Supreme Court of Victoria which formally authorises an executor to manage the estate of a deceased person in accordance with their Will. Without Probate, the asset holders (say a bank or share registry) cannot be satisfied as who has the correct authority to receive the deceased's assets and may refuse to pay out.

Sometimes, for smaller estates or if assets are mostly jointly owned with a surviving spouse, asset holders might agree to release payment without requiring a Grant of Probate. This is usually on the basis that the person who receives payment promises to repay (or Indemnify) the asset holder if it turns out they paid to the wrong person.

If there is no Will, then you cannot obtain a Grant of Probate. Instead you obtain Letters of Administration. This is effectively the same, in terms of authorising someone to administer the estate, and would usually be obtained by the person who is the closest next-of-kin to the deceased.

“A Grant of Probate is effectively a document issued by the Supreme Court of Victoria which formally authorises an executor to manage the estate of a deceased person in accordance with their Will.”

Timeframes for Probate in Victoria

In order to obtain a Grant of Probate, the Supreme Court needs to be given information about the assets and liabilities of the estate, the deceased person, the witnesses to the Will, the executors and the Will itself. An advertisement of your intention to apply for Probate must also be published on the Supreme Court website for at least 14 days prior to any application being lodged.

Often, making enquires to obtain all the necessary information can take a number of weeks. Also, you will need the Death Certificate for the application for Grant of Probate and possibly for making proper enquires regarding the assets and liabilities. Waiting for the Death Certificate to issue can therefore add a few more weeks to the process. Overall, if you have your application for Grant of Probate lodged within 1 to 2 months from the date of death, you are making timely progress.

The Court itself usually does not take long to process the application (maybe another 1 to 2 weeks) and this is completed using the electronic Supreme Court filing system. This means you do not have to go to a Court hearing. The timeframe for processing applications for Letters of Administration is even less, given that there is no Will document for the Court to consider. There is also a general discretion for the Court to raise a 'Requisition' asking for more information before they review the application - this can sometimes delay matters.

“Overall, if you have your application for Grant of Probate lodged within 1 to 2 months from the date of death, you are making timely progress.”

So, here we are a few months after death and you finally have a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. It is important to remember that this is the start of the estate administration and not the end. For a very simple estate, you might only need a further month or so to cash the assets and pay them to the correct beneficiaries. However, it can often be more complex than that. Factors that determine the timeframe to administer the estate include:-

Some assets will take time to cash or transfer. For example, if selling a property, final settlement might be 60/90/120 days from the day of sale.
There is a 6 month period for challenges to be brought against the estate and executors must wait until this period expires before distributing the estate, if there is any risk that a disgruntled family member might come forward.
There might need to be final tax returns for the deceased or for the estate. Failing to wait for the ATO to process these could leave the executor personally liable for a tax bill.

You might need to advertise for creditors to come forward and wait for a period of months while this advertising timeframe expires. This protects the executor if they are unsure of all of the deceased's financial dealings and creditors.
It might not always be a good time to immediately cash estate assets. For example, the shares just took a nose-dive, do you still sell regardless of available price?

There is a general rule that executors have an 'executor's year' to complete the estate administration. This means that you should be aiming to have the estate finalised and distributed within 12 months from the date of death.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Need help with Probate?

Our expert legal team is ready to take your call!

Mitchell is the Managing Principal of Sharrock Pitman Legal. He is an Accredited Specialist in Commercial Law (accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria). He also deals with areas of Employment Law, Wills & Estate Planning and Probate and can answer all your questions related to probate.

For further information, contact Mitchell on his direct line:

DIRECT LINE:

(03) 8561 3318

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Director Identification Numbers - What you need to know?

A Director Identification Number (DIN) is a legal requirement for anyone holding a current directorship or considering a directorship in the future.

Director Identification Numbers - What you need to know

What is Director ID?

When is the deadline to apply for your Director ID?