ASIC Form 555 Sets Out Notice Process for Controller Extensions to Report Deadlines

Key Takeaways

• ASIC has published Form 555, which a controller of a company's property may use to notify ASIC that the time to submit the report on company activities and property has been extended under s429(4) of the Corporations Act 2001.
• The form is optional, but lodgement should occur as soon as practicable after the extension is granted.
• Compliance and insolvency teams should confirm that internal procedures capture this notification step.
• This is not a new rule: the form is dated 31 October 2018, though it appears in a 2026-09-15 update.

Deep Dive

ASIC has published Form 555, which a controller of a company's property may use to notify ASIC that the time to submit the report on company activities and property has been extended under s429(4) of the Corporations Act 2001. The form is optional, but lodgement should occur as soon as practicable after the extension is granted. Compliance and insolvency teams should confirm that internal procedures capture this notification step. This is not a new rule: the form is dated 31 October 2018, though it appears in a 2026-09-15 update.

Form 555 supports the notification step under s429(4) of the Corporations Act 2001. Controllers, managing controllers, receivers, and receivers and managers must report on company activities and property under s429(2)(b). When the time to lodge that report is extended, ASIC expects to be told. The form is a prescribed-style template that ASIC prepared to help businesses provide the required information. The supplied content does not describe any new obligation or change in policy, and the 2018 version date suggests this is a republication or catalog entry rather than a substantive amendment.

The form requires company details (name and ACN/ABN), lodgement contact details, the total number of pages, and the date to which the extension is granted. A copy of the notice that granted the extension must be attached. The form must be signed and dated by the controller, managing controller, receiver, or receiver and manager, and must include the registered liquidator number where applicable. If space is insufficient, annexures are allowed. They must meet formatting rules: A4 paper, a 10mm margin, the company name and ACN, consecutive page numbers, block lettering in dark ink, an identifying mark, a prescribed endorsement, and a signature and date from the same signatory as the form.

The key timing requirement is lodgement "as soon as practicable" after the extension is granted. No fixed number of days is stated, so teams should adopt a conservative internal standard and document the date the extension was granted and the date it was lodged. Forms can be mailed to ASIC at PO Box 4000, Gippsland Mail Centre VIC 3841, or lodged electronically through the ASIC website. The guide also includes a privacy notice, because the form may contain personal information.

Recommended actions: (1) add Form 555 to insolvency, restructuring, and receivership checklists and templates; (2) assign responsibility for tracking extension grants and lodgement; (3) set an internal lodgement target, such as a few business days; (4) check that the attached extension notice is complete and that signatory authority is confirmed; (5) confirm that personal information is handled in line with ASIC's privacy policy and internal data protection standards; and (6) verify that the current form version is being used, since the supplied version dates from 2018.

Risk implications are low to moderate. Because use of the form is optional, failure to use it is not itself a breach. However, failure to notify ASIC of an extension, or delays in doing so, could invite regulatory scrutiny, weaken the audit trail, and create questions about whether the controller complied with statutory reporting duties. Institutions acting as secured creditors, appointing controllers, or advising on receiverships should confirm that appointees follow these procedures. No monetary amounts or penalties are specified in the document.

Source: Australian Securities and Investments Commission