ASIC Updates Form 313 for Notifying Australian Address of Offshore Financial and Sustainability Reco

Key Takeaways

• ASIC has issued an updated Form 313 (dated 23 July 2026) that extends the notification of the Australian address for records kept outside Australia to sustainability records, alongside financial records.
• Compliance teams at entities that keep records offshore must confirm they use the new form and meet the distinct lodgement deadlines for each record type.
• Late lodgement triggers late fees.

Deep Dive

ASIC has issued an updated Form 313 (dated 23 July 2026) that extends the notification of the Australian address for records kept outside Australia to sustainability records, alongside financial records. Compliance teams at entities that keep records offshore must confirm they use the new form and meet the distinct lodgement deadlines for each record type. Late lodgement triggers late fees.

Form 313 is the notice an entity must lodge when it keeps financial records, sustainability records, or both outside Australia. It gives the address in Australia where written information about those records is held. It is made under subsections 289(2) (financial records) and 289A(4) (sustainability records) of the Corporations Act 2001. The form covers companies, managed investment schemes (by ARSN), and disclosing entities. The inclusion of sustainability records reflects the expansion of climate and sustainability reporting obligations. Organizations with offshore record-keeping, such as centralized shared-service centers, offshore group finance functions, or cloud and outsourced providers, should assess whether the form applies to them.

The form requires lodgement contact details, entity identifiers (ACN, ARSN, or ASIC identifier), the type of records (financial, sustainability, or both), and a separate Australian address for each record type. This address may be "care of" a third party. A director or secretary of the company, a director or secretary of the responsible entity of a managed scheme, or a director or equivalent of a disclosing entity must sign and certify that the information is true and complete. Annexures are permitted if space is insufficient, but must meet formatting rules: A4 paper, 10mm margins, company name and ACN, consecutive page numbers, and signature by the same signatory as the form. A form is not considered lodged until ASIC receives it and accepts it as compliant with s1274(8). ASIC issues no receipt unless one is requested.

Timelines differ by record type. For financial records, notification is due within 1 month. For sustainability records, it is due no later than the date the sustainability report is required to be lodged for the financial year in which information begins to be kept at that address. If no sustainability report is required for that year, the notice is still due by the date it would have been required. There is no lodgement fee, but late fees apply to notifications outside the lodgement period. The form is lodged by post to ASIC's Gippsland Mail Centre address, which may slow confirmation and increase timing risk.

Recommended actions: (1) inventory where financial and sustainability records and supporting information are held, including outsourced and cloud arrangements; (2) confirm that an Australian address is designated and that notifications are current, especially after any relocation of records; (3) update templates and procedures to use the 23 July 2026 version of the form; (4) set calendar triggers tied to the 1-month financial deadline and the sustainability reporting due date; (5) define authorized signatories and retain evidence of lodgement and ASIC acceptance; and (6) build record-location changes into change management and vendor onboarding.

Risk implications are moderate and mostly administrative. Late fees, potential breaches of record-keeping obligations, and weaker regulatory access to records are the main exposures. The greater risk is for entities with decentralized or offshore operations, where record movements may occur without compliance awareness. Because signatories certify accuracy, inaccurate notifications could create personal exposure for officers. Well-documented processes will lower this risk.

Source: Australian Securities and Investments Commission