ASIC does not allow all words and phrases to be used in company names. As a result, when registering a company and choosing its name, you need to be mindful that the name is not prohibited or already in use.
You do not need to choose a name for a company. If you don’t specify a name when applying to ASIC to register a company, the Australian Company Number (ACN), which is assigned to a new company by ASIC, will be recorded as its name. For example, if the ACN your company is given is 987 654 321 and you don’t specify that you want to use another name when applying to register the company, ASIC will register it as ‘987 654 321 Pty Ltd’.
Before attempting to register a company name, check that it is not already in use. ASIC will not allow a company name to be registered if it is identical to the name of an existing registered company, a registered foreign body, a registered business name, or a reserved company name.
Schedule 6 of the Corporations Regulations also sets out certain names, words or phrases, such as “bank” and “Olympics” in company names, which are prohibited from use in company names.
Also make sure the name you wish to you would not potentially mislead or deceive members of the public by, for instance, being too close to the name of an existing competitor.
Certain ‘identifiers’ must also be included in the company name to explain what type of company is being registered. A proprietary company, for example, will need to have the identifier Pty Ltd included in its name.
The search tool on https://www.formacompany.com.au/ can be used to check the availability of the company name you wish to use.
Online Company Registration in Australia 