Scammed by a Renewal Notice? Happens to the Best of Us.

Scammers have found a new target: your company and business name renewals. Between fake invoices, phishing emails and official-looking renewal notices, it's becoming increasingly difficult to tell what's legitimate and what's not.  

Turns out, even paperwork isn't safe from a nudge, a nag, and a "pay now" button.  



The Notices That Aren't From ASIC.  

Here's how it usually plays out: a letter or email lands in your inbox referencing a real obligation, your company's annual review, or your business name renewal. It looks official. Proper formatting, a reference number, sometimes a barcode or QR code, a "pay now" button, and a fee that looks about right for something government related.  

Except it isn't from ASIC at all. It's from a private company offering to do your Annual Company Review or business name renewal on your behalf, for a fee well above what ASIC charges. If you read the fine print closely, some of these notices will even state: this is not a bill, you do not have to pay any money. It's an optional paid service, styled to look as close to an official government notice as it can get away with.  

Technically legal. Deliberately confusing. And it's been landing in business owners' inboxes and mailboxes for years.  

 

The Industry's Fed Up.  

According to a recent Accountants Daily report, unsolicited renewal notices have been catching out businesses for years, leaving accountants to untangle the confusion after clients pay unnecessary third-party fees.  

ASIC has warned that these notices can appear official when they're not. Red flags include urgent wording, short payment deadlines, early payment discounts, and fees that make it unclear how much, if any, is actually payable to ASIC.  

The good news? Company annual reviews and business name renewals can be completed directly through ASIC for the standard statutory fee, or through your accountant, without involving a third party.  


What a Genuine ASIC Renewal Looks Like.  

So how do you tell the real thing from the imitation? A genuine ASIC business name renewal notice will:  

  • Come from the email address ASIC.Transaction.No-reply@asic.gov.au  
  • Reference your account number and business name details  
  • Direct you to renew through ASIC Connect or the official "pay now" process at asic.gov.au  
  • Include clear guidance on cancelling the business name if you no longer need it  

If an email or letter is pushing you toward a different website, a different payment portal, or a company you don't recognise, pause and check before you pay.  

 

A Few Things to Check  

If a renewal notice arrives and something about the branding, the fee, the urgency, or the "act now for a discount" language feels off—it probably is. Before paying anything, check:  

  1. Who is the notice from? (Check the sender's email address, not just the logo.)  
  2. Does it match your actual ASIC review or renewal date?  
  3. Have you asked us first?  

We keep track of your company review and business name renewal dates as part of looking after your compliance, so if something unexpected turns up in your inbox, forward it to us before you click "pay now." It takes us two minutes to check, and it can save you a genuinely unnecessary fee.  

Renewals are annoying enough without someone else trying to make a buck off your confusion. So if a notice ever looks a little off, don't pay first, send it our way and we'll sort out whether it's real.  


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