ASIC late fees and penalties 2026: what directors need to know

ASIC imposes fees and penalties across a range of non-compliance events. Understanding the current fee schedule and enforcement approach is essential for every director and every accounting firm managing corporate clients. ASIC continues to focus on non-lodgement, overdue annual reviews and director ID compliance.

The most common penalties relate to the annual review fee. If payment is not received within two months of the review date, ASIC charges a late fee: $102 for up to one month overdue, $428 for more than one month overdue. These are per-entity fees that apply in addition to the underlying annual review fee. If review fees remain unpaid at least 12 months after the due date, ASIC may commence deregistration under section 601AB(1A) of the Corporations Act.

Change notifications must be lodged with ASIC within 28 days of the change occurring. This includes changes to directors (Form 484), company secretaries, registered office address, principal place of business, and share structure. Late notification automatically attracts a late lodgement fee of $102 if up to one month late, or $428 if more than one month late (2026–27 amounts), and the failure to notify is itself an offence under the Corporations Act. ASIC can also issue infringement notices for persistent non-compliance.

The Commonwealth penalty unit value is $364 for offences committed on or after 1 July 2026 (it was $330 from 7 November 2024 to 30 June 2026), and is indexed every three years. Maximum penalties for individuals are calculated by multiplying the penalty unit value by the number of units specified for the offence, and corporate penalties can be up to five times the individual amount. So an offence carrying 50 penalty units is $18,200 for an individual, or 250 penalty units ($91,000) for a body corporate. The penalty for each offence is set out in Schedule 3 to the Corporations Act; failing to notify a change of registered office address under section 142, for example, is a strict liability offence.

More serious breaches carry substantially higher consequences. Civil penalties for serious breaches can exceed $1,820,000 for an individual and many millions of dollars for a company, and criminal penalties can include imprisonment. Large proprietary companies that fail to lodge financial reports remain a focus of ASIC surveillance.

Insolvent trading, where a company incurs a debt while insolvent (or becomes insolvent by incurring it) and there are reasonable grounds to suspect insolvency, carries civil penalties for individual directors of up to the greater of 5,000 penalty units (currently $1,820,000) or three times the benefit obtained, together with personal liability to compensate creditors, and criminal penalties including imprisonment for dishonest breaches. The connection between ASIC compliance and insolvent trading is often overlooked: a director who fails to pass a solvency resolution may be signalling that the company is not, in fact, solvent.

Director Identification Number non-compliance is the newest enforcement category. Directors who do not have a director ID when required commit an offence under section 1272C carrying up to 60 penalty units (currently $21,840), and the same conduct can also attract a civil penalty. The Registrar, through the Australian Business Registry Services, administers director IDs.

The most effective protection against ASIC penalties is a reliable compliance system. Whether that means a dedicated internal resource, a registered agent, or an outsourced corporate secretarial provider, the key is ensuring deadlines are tracked proactively and obligations are met before they become overdue. Contact us for a free compliance health check.