Financial reporting for New Zealand companies registered in Australia
Filing financial statements if your NZ company is registered with ASIC
New Zealand companies registered in Australia must file financial statements with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) every year. You have 3 options for filing them.
Documents you must file
ASIC's requirements are the NZ equivalent of a:
- balance sheet
- profit and loss statement
- cash flow statement and any other financial statement documents required under NZ law.
ASIC will contact you if the documents you submit don't fully meet their requirements.
If your company is exempt
You must file financial statements unless your company is exempt. In this case you lodge an annual return directly with ASIC instead.
Your 3 reporting options
There are 3 ways to file your financial statements with ASIC.
- File your financial statements online through the New Zealand Companies Office.
- Email your financial statements and the Registrar's Form AU4 to the New Zealand Companies Office.
- File your financial statements and the Registrar's Form AU4 form directly with ASIC.
If you choose options 1 or 2, we forward the financial statements to ASIC for registration and there is no fee for filing your financial statements.
1. File your financial statements online
To file your financial statements online you must have:
- a RealMe® login
- an online services account for the Companies Register
- authority to act for your company.
How to file financial statements
To file your financial statements, log in to your online services account, enter the company name, company number or New Zealand Business Number (NZBN), and follow these steps.and follow these steps.
- Provide the information about your financial statements, including the correct reporting year and month.
- Select:
- the option, ASIC filing only
- document type, ASIC financial statements.
- Complete the checklist and select continue.
- Select Browse or Choose file to upload your financial statements.
- Select Submit to file your financial statements.
2. File your ASIC financial statements in paper form
Complete the AU4 form for filing financial statements with ASIC.
Email the completed AU4 form and your financial statements to us.
Email: fra@companies.govt.nz
3. File your financial statements directly with ASIC
An NZ company can file their financial statements directly with ASIC. There are fees for filing your statements and you pay a penalty if you file them late.
All help topics
Before you start a company
5 guides
Get an overview of how companies are structured, find out about the company records you need to keep, and what's involved when you incorporate with and report to the Companies Office.
Starting a company
11 guides
You need to comply with New Zealand laws when you incorporate your company with the Companies Office, including reserving a company name, appointing directors, issuing shares and registering for tax.
- Incorporating a company
- Reserving a name for a new company
- Company addresses
- Tax registration
- Registering the appointment of a director
- Registering a shareholder
- Filing director and shareholder consent forms
- Issuing shares in a company
- Incorporating with a company constitution
- How overseas companies set up as a NZ business
- Ultimate holding companies
Keeping company details up to date
13 guides
Once your company is registered with the Companies Office, nominate who will have authority to file your annual returns, and update your name, address, constitution, director and shareholder details.
- Confirming your authority to manage information
- How to file an annual return
- Getting a copy of your company information
- Updating company addresses
- Updating a director's details
- Registering the appointment of a director
- Updating a shareholder's details
- Managing share allocations
- Changing the name of a company
- Adding, amending or removing a company constitution
- Changing your financial reporting month
- Adding or updating additional NZBN information
Shares and shareholders
7 guides
When you incorporate, you must provide details of all company shares and shareholders. As changes occur, you must update this information on your own share register and in your company's annual return.
Company directors
7 guides
Directors have responsibilities to their company and shareholders, and under the Companies Act 1993. You must register all your directors with the Companies Office and they must sign a consent form.
Filing annual returns
7 guides
Find out about filing an annual return — the information you need to update, how to change your filing month or request a time extension — and what happens if you don't file your annual return by the due date.
Complying with the law
11 guides
Find out how New Zealand law affects the directors and shareholders of your company, and your responsibility to create and maintain accurate company records, report to us and file financial statements.
Financial reporting
7 guides
Some large New Zealand and overseas companies, and all FMC reporting entities must submit audited annual financial statements to the Companies Office.
Managing an overseas company in New Zealand
11 guides
Before they can carry out some business activities, companies incorporated in other countries, including Australia, must register with the Companies Office and then keep their company details up to date.
- Registering your company to do business in NZ
- How overseas companies set up as a NZ business
- How to transfer incorporation to NZ
- Financial reporting for overseas companies
- Reporting for NZ companies registered in Australia
- Annual returns for overseas companies
- Updating directors' details
- Updating addresses of overseas companies
- Changing the name of an overseas company
- Updating the constitution of an overseas company
- How to remove a company from the Overseas Register
Closing a company
11 guides
When your company closes down you need to remove it from the register. Your company can be removed if it amalgamates with another company or doesn't file its annual return.
- Before you close your company
- Removing your company from the register
- When the Registrar removes your company
- How to remove a company from the Overseas Register
- Objecting to the removal of a company
- Withdrawing an objection
- How companies amalgamate
- Before you apply for amalgamation
- Preparing documents for a short-form amalgamation
- Preparing documents for a long-form amalgamation
- Applying for company amalgamations
Restoring a company to the register
4 guides
Only some companies can be reinstated to the Companies Register once they've been removed. Find out who can apply, what evidence to provide and if you should apply to the Registrar or the High Court.
When your company fails
9 guides
Find out about voluntary administration, receivership and liquidation (external administration), and the roles and responsibilities of those appointed to manage your company's affairs.
- What happens during voluntary administration
- Appointment and responsibilities of administrators
- What happens after a watershed meeting
- What happens during receivership
- Appointment and responsibilities of receivers
- What happens during liquidation
- Appointment and responsibilities of liquidators
- Filing by administrators, liquidators or receivers
- Holding creditors' meetings
Managing your online account
8 guides
Creating an account with the Companies Office allows you to complete the majority of your transactions online. It's free to set up, but fees apply for some transactions, such as filing annual returns.
- Setting up your online services account
- Confirming your authority to manage information
- Updating your online services account details
- Forgotten your RealMe® username or password
- Customising your online services account
- Schedule of fees
- Managing payments on the Companies Register
- Lodging other documents
Getting support to use the Companies Register
8 guides
Get help with any technical problems you have using the register, such as uploading documents or searching for companies, directors and shareholders.
- Uploading documents to the Companies Register
- Filing documents with electronic signatures
- Forgotten your RealMe® username or password
- Searching the Companies Register
- Searching the PPSR from the Companies Register
- Searching using other applications
- NZBN and the Companies Register
- Suppressing a residential address on the register