ASIC Form 410 Sets Requirements for Company and CCIV Name Reservations in Australia

Key Takeaways

• ASIC's Form 410 (version dated 1 July 2022) is the prescribed application for reserving a company, foreign company, registrable Australian body, or Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle (CCIV) name under the Corporations Act 2001.
• It is an existing form and guide, not a new rule, and the document's 2026 date appears to reflect republication rather than substantive change.
• Compliance teams should still confirm that entity formation, renaming, and registration workflows follow its timing, declaration, and signature requirements.

Deep Dive

ASIC's Form 410 (version dated 1 July 2022) is the prescribed application for reserving a company, foreign company, registrable Australian body, or Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle (CCIV) name under the Corporations Act 2001. It is an existing form and guide, not a new rule, and the document's 2026 date appears to reflect republication rather than substantive change. Compliance teams should still confirm that entity formation, renaming, and registration workflows follow its timing, declaration, and signature requirements.

Form 410 supports name reservations under sections 112, 147-149, 152, and 601DA-601DC of the Corporations Act 2001. It covers new registrations (Australian companies, transfers of registration, foreign companies, registrable Australian bodies), changes of name, and extensions of an existing reservation. For compliance teams at financial institutions, it is relevant to establishing new subsidiaries, fund vehicles (including CCIVs), and branches of foreign entities, as well as to rebranding and restructuring. The update contains no new obligations. The 2022 version date indicates the content is unchanged, so teams should verify against ASIC's current forms page before relying on it.

Key requirements: A name is available unless it is identical to a name currently reserved or registered for another body, identical to a business name held by another person or body, or unacceptable under the Corporations Regulations 2001. Where the proposed name is identical to a registered business name, the applicant must be the holder, or must be reserving the name for the holder, and must declare this and supply the ABN or previous registration details. For a CCIV, the Corporate Director must own the identical business name. Names containing restricted words or phrases require a Ministerial consent application, or a copy of the consent if already granted, lodged with the form. A lodgement fee applies. The form must be signed by the applicant or an authorized agent, and annexures must meet formatting, identification, and signature rules.

Timelines: A reservation lasts 2 months from the date of approval. An extension of up to 2 months must be lodged before the current reservation expires, and it is granted only for valid, detailed reasons. More than two extensions are granted only in exceptional circumstances. If business name details were declared on Form 410, they must be restated on the final registration or change form: Form 201 (Australian company), Form 205 (company name change), Form 409 (foreign company or registered Australian body name change), or Form 5201 (CCIV).

Recommended actions: (1) Build reservation expiry dates into entity-formation trackers with alerts well ahead of lapse. (2) Pre-screen names for business name conflicts and restricted words before lodging. (3) Confirm signing authority and agent authorizations. (4) Make sure downstream forms restate business name details. (5) Handle personal information in line with ASIC's privacy policy. Risks are mainly operational: lost reservations, rejected applications, delayed launches of vehicles or entities, and possible name disputes or misrepresentation if declarations are inaccurate. The overall impact is low.

Source: Australian Securities and Investments Commission