If ASIC has written to say it intends to deregister your company, you usually have two months from its published notice to stop it, most often by paying the overdue annual review fees and late fees in full. If the company has already been deregistered, it can sometimes be reinstated through ASIC on Form 581 or by court order. Until then it legally does not exist, and its bank balance and other property belong to ASIC.
For foreign-owned companies the cause is often mundane: ASIC mail went to an address nobody checks any more, or the only local director left. The fix is usually straightforward if you move within the notice period, and slow and expensive if you don't.
How an ASIC-initiated deregistration unfolds
ASIC's page on deregistrations it initiates says the most common trigger is an annual review fee that has gone unpaid in full for at least 12 months after its due date. Ceasing to carry on business and unpaid industry funding levies are other grounds. The sequence is:
- Letter. ASIC writes to the company, its directors and any liquidator, explaining how to stop the process.
- Status change. The company's register entry changes to "strike off in progress". Banks and counterparties who search the register will see this.
- Public notice. ASIC posts a notice on its Published notices website saying the company will be deregistered in two months.
- Deregistration. After two months ASIC may deregister the company, then tell everyone it wrote to at the start.
The notice stays on the published notices site even if you stop the process, so expect diligence teams to ask about it later.
Stopping it inside the two months
Act in this order:
- Get the company's ASIC record and confirm the ground ASIC relies on and the exact amounts outstanding. Late fees are $102 or $428 per late item in 2026–27, so a company that missed two years can owe far more than two review fees. Our annual review fee guide sets out the amounts.
- Pay everything owed: review fees, late fees and any levies. Depending on the ground, ASIC says payment may stop the process. Then confirm with ASIC that the strike-off has been halted.
- Fix the cause. If mail was going to a registered office you no longer use, update it. Our registered office guide covers how. Update directors' residential addresses too, since ASIC writes to directors at home.
- Check the officeholders. If the company has no director who ordinarily lives in Australia, it is still out of compliance after the fees are paid.
Creditors have a separate route. A third party can ask ASIC to defer deregistration for an initial 30 days, and longer if it has started or plans to start legal proceedings against the company.
What deregistration actually does
ASIC's Regulatory Guide 83 is blunt: a deregistered company ceases to exist. It can't start or continue legal proceedings, and its property vests in ASIC. ASIC's deregistered company property page adds that ASIC is generally the only party that can deal with that property afterwards.
The trap for foreign-owned companies is the time lag. A parent overseas may keep invoicing customers and paying staff through the Australian entity for weeks before anyone notices. RG 83 warns that a director isn't treated as having stayed in office during deregistration, so agreements made in the company's name in that period may not be valid. That issue needs legal advice, and it may need a court order rather than an administrative fix.
Getting the company back: two routes
Reinstatement by ASIC (Form 581)
ASIC's reinstatement overview says former directors, secretaries or members can apply, provided they aren't disqualified and can confirm the company will be solvent once reinstated. ASIC must be satisfied the company should not have been deregistered. RG 83 gives examples, including a company that was in fact still carrying on business when it was struck off.
The practical steps, from ASIC's Form 581 page:
| Step | Timing |
|---|---|
| Use ASIC's reinstatement calculator, then request a detailed fee estimate | Estimate emailed within 28 days |
| Complete Form 581 with supporting evidence and notice to all former directors | Your preparation time |
| Pay the fees: application fee, amounts owed at deregistration, and review fees for the deregistered years | Before lodging |
| ASIC decides | Can take another 28 days |
If the old name has been taken in the meantime, ASIC reinstates the company under its ACN, and you can change the name afterwards. If the name is still free, you can reserve it for two months on Form 410 while the application runs.
Reinstatement by a court
ASIC won't ordinarily reinstate administratively if the company was in liquidation before deregistration, or if it would have no directors once reinstated. In those cases a former liquidator or a person aggrieved by the deregistration applies to a superior court. The court weighs how the company came to be dissolved, whether anyone would be prejudiced, and the public interest. ASIC recommends legal advice before you apply.
After reinstatement
A reinstated company is treated as if it had never been deregistered. Property that ASIC hasn't already dealt with vests back in the company, and the people who were directors at deregistration become directors again, with all their duties. After a court reinstatement, RG 83 says the officeholders must update the registered office and officeholder details and pay outstanding ASIC amounts within 14 days of lodging the order.
That restored board must still meet section 201A: at least one director who ordinarily lives in Australia. If yours left before the strike-off, appointing a replacement is the first job. Our page on replacing a resident director covers the handover.
How we help
We don't lodge court applications or give legal advice. For a contested or court reinstatement, your lawyer leads. What we provide is the part that stops it happening again: an Australia-resident director, a registered office whose mail is actually read, and a managed calendar of review dates and lodgements. Once identity checks are complete, we aim to appoint within 5 business days, or within 2 business days on our A$350 express option. Before appointment we review the company's ASIC and tax position, because a new director takes on real duties. To talk through your situation, start here.
General information only, as at 27 October 2026. Not legal, tax or financial advice. Speak with your lawyer about your company's facts.
Frequently asked questions
Our company shows 'strike off in progress'. Is it too late?
No. That status means ASIC has started the process but not finished it. If the ground is unpaid review fees, paying everything owed within the two-month notice period may stop it. Confirm with ASIC once paid.
How much does reinstatement cost?
It depends on the company type and how long it has been deregistered. ASIC charges an application fee plus whatever the company owed at deregistration and the annual review fees for the deregistered years. Request ASIC's detailed estimate before applying.
Can we keep trading while ASIC processes reinstatement?
No. A deregistered company does not exist and cannot conduct business. Contracts signed in its name during that period may not be valid, which is why speed matters.
Our resident director resigned before the strike-off. Does that block reinstatement?
It can. ASIC won't ordinarily reinstate a company that would have no director, and that case goes to court. Where overseas directors remain, ASIC can reinstate, but the company must then appoint an Australia-resident director to be compliant.
Official sources
- ASIC: When ASIC initiates a company's deregistration asic.gov.au
- ASIC: Reinstate a company after deregistration asic.gov.au
- ASIC: Apply to ASIC to reinstate a company (Form 581) asic.gov.au
- ASIC Regulatory Guide 83: Reinstatement of companies download.asic.gov.au
- ASIC: Deregistered company property asic.gov.au
General information about Australian law and practice, not legal or tax advice for your circumstances. Check the official sources, or ask your adviser, before you act.