There is no reactivate button. You reactivate a cancelled Australian Business Number by applying for an ABN again at abr.gov.au, and if you are going back into business in the same structure, the register generally reissues the same number rather than a new one. It is free, and most applications are approved on the spot. You have to be entitled to it again, which means you are carrying on an enterprise, or have started the arrangements to.
Why the search term and the process do not match
People search for "reactivate ABN" because that is what it feels like from the outside: the number existed, it stopped working, you want it back. The register does not have a reactivation process. It has an application process, and re-applying against an ABN you previously held is how reactivation actually happens.
That difference matters for one practical reason. Because it is an application, it is assessed like an application. Your entitlement is tested again, your identity is matched again, and it can be referred for manual review just like a first-time application can. It is not a switch being flipped back.
There is no such thing as renewing an ABN
An ABN does not expire and there is nothing to renew. If you are searching for how to renew an ABN, one of two things has happened: either the ABN was cancelled, in which case this page is the answer, or it is still active and there is nothing to do at all.
Check which one it is on ABN Lookup before doing anything else. It is free and public, it takes ten seconds, and it will tell you whether the status is active or cancelled and the date it changed. An ABN can be cancelled by the register for showing no signs of business activity, so plenty of people searching this term have a cancelled ABN they never cancelled.
Will you get the same ABN number back?
In most cases, yes. The number is tied to the legal entity, not to the period of trading, so a sole trader who closes up and starts again is still the same legal entity and gets the same eleven digits back.
You get a different number when the entity is different:
- You have changed structure. A company is a separate legal person from the sole trader you used to be, so it gets its own ABN. Same if you are now a partnership or a trust.
- The old ABN belonged to a partnership that has dissolved. A new partnership, even with the same people, is a new entity.
- The entity was wound up. A deregistered company does not come back with its old ABN attached.
If you are not sure which applies, that question is really which structure you are trading under now, and it is worth settling before you start the form, because the application branches on it.
What it costs to reactivate an ABN
Nothing. Applying through the Australian Business Register is free, whether it is your first ABN or your fourth attempt at the same one. There is no reactivation fee, no reinstatement fee and no penalty for having let it lapse.
This is worth stating plainly because the search results for this topic are full of services charging a flat fee to lodge the same free form on your behalf. They rank because they can afford to advertise on a term the free government service does not bid on. Going direct to abr.gov.au costs you nothing and takes about the same time, which is the same advice that applies to a first application.
How to reactivate an ABN, step by step
- Check the current status on ABN Lookup. Confirm it is actually cancelled, and note the cancellation date.
- Confirm you are entitled again. You need to be carrying on an enterprise, or to have started the arrangements for one. Having a plan is not enough.
- Gather the same details as a first application: your TFN, your legal name and date of birth exactly as the ATO holds them, your main business activity, your business address and the date you want the ABN to start.
- Apply at abr.gov.au. Use the standard ABN application. When it asks whether you have held an ABN before, say yes and give the number, which is what links the application to your existing record.
- Set the start date to when you resumed trading, not to today, if you have already started. It can be backdated, but not to before you actually began.
- Re-apply for GST separately if you need it. Cancelling the ABN cancelled your GST registration, and reactivating does not bring it back on its own.
That last step is the one most often missed. Your GST registration is a separate registration with its own threshold, and if you are going straight back to turning over more than $75,000 you need it from the day you resume, not from whenever you remember.
How long does it take?
The same three outcomes as any ABN application. Most are approved immediately and the number appears on screen. Some are referred for manual review, usually because identity details did not match or the register wants more information about the enterprise, and the published timeframe for those is around 20 business days. A few are refused, with reasons and a right of review.
A previously cancelled ABN makes a referral somewhat more likely than a clean first application, particularly if there are outstanding lodgments against the old one. Do not start invoicing on the assumption it will come through, because until the number is active again, no-ABN withholding applies to what your clients pay you.
What to sort out before you re-apply
If the ABN was cancelled with loose ends attached, they follow you into the new application rather than staying behind:
| Loose end | What to do |
|---|---|
| Unlodged activity statements | Lodge them. Outstanding lodgments against the old ABN are the most common reason a re-application gets referred for manual review instead of being approved immediately. |
| An unpaid ATO debt | Cancelling an ABN never cleared it. Pay it or arrange a payment plan, because it is attached to you rather than to the number. |
| A lapsed business name | A registered business name cannot stay attached to a cancelled ABN. Check with ASIC whether yours is still held, and whether someone else has taken it. |
| GST registration | Gone with the ABN, and not restored by reactivating. Re-register separately if you are over the threshold or want to be registered voluntarily. |
| myID authorisations | The links between the ABN and your myID were cut at cancellation. Set the authorisation up again in Relationship Authorisation Manager before you try to lodge anything. |
Once it is active again
Two jobs, neither of which the register prompts you to do.
First, check your details are current. A reactivated ABN often carries details from the last time you traded, which may be an old address, an old phone number or a business activity you no longer do. You have 28 days from becoming aware of a change to fix it, and updating ABN details is free and takes minutes.
Second, put the number back on your invoices before you send the first one. If you carried an old invoice template across from the last time, check the ABN on it matches the one now active, and that you are not still showing a GST line you are no longer registered to charge.
Related reading
- How to cancel an ABN: the other direction, and what to finish first
- How to update your ABN details: the first job once it is active again
- How to get an ABN: entitlement, and what the application asks for
- Do I need to register for GST?: the registration you have to redo
- How to start a business in Australia: the whole sequence, if you are restarting properly
- How to invoice with GST: getting the first invoice out correctly
Frequently asked questions
Nothing. Re-applying through the Australian Business Register at abr.gov.au is free, exactly as a first application is. There is no reactivation fee and no penalty for having let it lapse. Commercial services that charge a flat fee are lodging the same free form for you.
Most re-applications are approved immediately and the number appears on screen. If it is referred for manual review, which is more likely where there are outstanding lodgments against the old ABN, the Australian Business Register works to a published timeframe of around 20 business days.
Usually. The number belongs to the legal entity, so a sole trader restarting as a sole trader normally gets the same eleven digits back. You get a new number if the entity has changed, for example if you are now trading through a company, a partnership or a trust.
It does not expire on a timer, but it can be cancelled. The Australian Business Register reviews ABNs that show no signs of business activity and cancels them, so an ABN you stopped using may already be cancelled without you having done anything. Check the status on ABN Lookup.
You do not. An ABN has no expiry date and no renewal process, so there is no renewal fee and no form to lodge. If yours has stopped working it has been cancelled, either by you or by the register for inactivity, and the fix is to apply again rather than to renew.
Yes, if you need it. Cancelling the ABN cancelled the GST registration with it, and reactivating the ABN does not bring it back. Re-register separately, from the date you resume trading, if your turnover is over the $75,000 threshold or you want to be registered voluntarily.
Sources
The re-application process, entitlement rules and published processing timeframes come from the Australian Business Register and the Australian Taxation Office. Procedures change, so confirm the current position at abr.gov.au or ato.gov.au, or with a registered tax agent. Balaana is bookkeeping software, not a tax agent. This article is general information, not personal tax advice.