ASIC Form 157 Sets Requirements for Name Changes of Companies Under External Administration

Key Takeaways

• ASIC's Form 157 allows an external administrator, controller, or receiver to apply to change the name of a company under external administration.
• The administrator must certify that the change is in the interests of creditors as a whole.
• Compliance and restructuring teams should confirm the correct certification, signatory, and lodgement steps before filing.
• Note that the document is dated 2026-09-16 but the form itself carries a 1 July 2014 version date, so this appears to be a republication of an existing form rather than a new rule.

Deep Dive

ASIC's Form 157 allows an external administrator, controller, or receiver to apply to change the name of a company under external administration. The administrator must certify that the change is in the interests of creditors as a whole. Compliance and restructuring teams should confirm the correct certification, signatory, and lodgement steps before filing. Note that the document is dated 2026-09-16 but the form itself carries a 1 July 2014 version date, so this appears to be a republication of an existing form rather than a new rule.

Form 157 is made under section 157A of the Corporations Act 2001. It lets a company under external administration apply to change its name. The applicant can propose a new name, including the required legal elements, or ask for the name to default to the company's ACN. If the default is chosen, the applicant selects a prefix, either "A.C.N." or "Australian Company Number". If the proposed name is identical to a registered business name, the applicant must declare that they own, or represent the owner of, that business name and list its registration details.

The form requires one of three statements from the external administrator. The first is for a liquidator, administrator, or deed administrator. The second is for a managing controller entitled to enforce a security interest over the whole or substantially the whole of the company's property. The third is for a receiver whose property includes goodwill in relation to the company name. Each statement requires the signatory to be satisfied that the change is in the interests of creditors as a whole. The form cannot be used by a liquidator in a members' voluntary winding-up (s157A(2)). The external administrator must sign the form personally and provide their registration number and firm details.

Lodgement is by post to ASIC, PO Box 4000, Gippsland Mail Centre VIC 3841. A lodgement fee applies, and the amount is not stated in the document; it must be confirmed on ASIC's forms and fees page. No filing deadline is specified. Any annexures must meet formal requirements: A4 paper, margins of at least 10mm, company name and ACN or ARBN, consecutive page numbering, block letters in dark ink, an identifying mark and endorsement wording, and signature and date by the same person who signed the form.

Recommended actions: confirm the form version in use against ASIC's current published version, since the document is dated 2026 but the form is versioned 2014. Maintain file evidence supporting the creditor-interest determination, such as the rationale for sale or rebranding of the business. Check that proposed names do not conflict with registered business names or trademarks. Verify that the correct statement is completed and that inapplicable options are struck out. Finally, confirm the fee and the lodgement method.

Risk implications are moderate and mainly procedural. An incorrect certification, a wrong signatory, or an unresolved business name conflict could lead to rejection or delay, and could expose the administrator to scrutiny over their duties to creditors. The form also collects personal information, so lodgement files should be handled under ASIC's privacy policy and internal data handling standards.

Source: Australian Securities and Investments Commission