11 August 2026 · 7 min read
How to verify an Australian business (a practical KYB checklist)
A step-by-step KYB checklist for Australian businesses: confirm the ABN is active, match the legal entity, check GST, and enrich with industry and location — at scale.
KYB (Know Your Business)is the process of confirming a business counterparty is real, correctly identified, and currently registered. Whether you're onboarding a customer, approving a supplier, or extending credit, the core checks start with the Australian Business Register. Here's a practical checklist.
1. Confirm the ABN is active
Start with the identifier. A direct ABN lookup returns the current status — active or cancelled — and the date it last changed. A cancelled ABN is an immediate flag: the entity may no longer be entitled to trade under it. Record the status and the date you checked it.
2. Match the legal entity
The name your counterparty gives you is often a trading name, not the registered legal entity. Resolve it to the actual entity with name matching, which handles abbreviations, misspellings and trading-name variation and returns a confidence score. Set a threshold appropriate to your risk appetite and only auto-accept confident matches; route the rest to manual review.
3. Check GST registration
For entities that should be registered for GST — anyone turning over more than the threshold — GST status is a useful consistency check against what a business tells you. It also matters for whether you can claim input tax credits on their invoices.
4. Enrich with industry and location
Beyond identity, context helps you assess and segment. The ABR doesn't publish an industry, so ABR Insights labels each business with an ANZSIC division and class and a confidence score— enough to flag when a stated line of business doesn't match the register, or to segment a book by industry. Registered state and postcode give a rough location (note: registered address, not necessarily trading address).
5. Do it at scale
Verifying one business is a form fill; verifying a portfolio is a pipeline. Two options:
- Bulk CSV — upload names or ABNs, get status, entity, GST and location back for each row.
- API — resolve and enrich rows programmatically, with asynchronous jobs for large lists. See the API docs.
Where the register stops
The ABR verifies existence, identity and registration — the foundation of KYB. It does not cover sanctions screening, adverse media, or beneficial ownership. For higher-risk onboarding, layer those checks on top of a clean register match; a confident ABN match is what makes the rest reliable.
The short version
- ABN active? → lookup
- Legal entity matches? → name match with a confidence threshold
- GST as expected?
- Industry and location for context
- Run the whole list via the API
New to the identifiers? Start with how to look up an ABN and ABN vs ACN.
Frequently asked
- What is KYB?
- KYB (Know Your Business) is verifying that a business customer, supplier or counterparty is real, correctly identified, and currently registered — the business equivalent of KYC for individuals.
- Is an active ABN enough to verify a business?
- It's the foundation, but not the whole picture. Confirm the ABN is active, that the legal entity name matches, and — depending on risk — GST registration and the entity type. Higher-risk onboarding adds sanctions and beneficial-ownership checks beyond the register.
- Can I verify businesses in bulk?
- Yes. Match a list of names or ABNs via CSV upload or the API, which returns status, entity name, GST and location for each row with a confidence score.
Look up or verify a business now
Search by name or ABN, match a whole list, or call the API. Free to start.