What’s the Deal With ABNs? And How to Spot a Dodgy One

If you’ve ever run a business in Australia, or have just dealt with businesses in general, you’ve heard of an ABN — the Australian Business Number. But what is it really? And how do you know if the ABN someone gave you is actually legitimate?

In simple terms, an ABN is like a licence plate for a business. It’s a unique 11-digit number that tells the government (and everyone else) who you are. You need one to send invoices, register for GST, and generally be taken seriously as a business.

But here’s the kicker: just because a business gives you an ABN doesn’t mean it’s all good. There are plenty of red flags to watch out for:

⚠️ Is the business GST-registered when they’re charging you GST?

✅ Does the ABN match the business name on their invoice?

✅ Is the ABN active?

There's more detail to ABNs so head over to our Business Basics overview of ABNs if you want to go deeper including things like:

• Who needs an ABN?
• ABN Exceptions
• The difference between ABNs and ACNs

And remember, the easiest and best way to check an ABN is always with Bizly, where you get not only formal registry information but also also risk and other business information that will help you really know who you're doing business with.