Without an active ABN, businesses you work with are required by law to withhold 47% of your payment and send it to the ATO. You also can't invoice legally, register for GST, or work on platforms like Uber, Airtasker, or DiDi. Reactivate your ABN today — it takes minutes and we handle everything.
ABNs don't expire — but they can be cancelled. Here's what you need to know.
📋 Why was my ABN cancelled?
✅ What happens when you reactivate?
The process is identical to a new ABN application. We handle everything.
Enter your personal details — takes about 2 minutes. Make sure your name and date of birth match exactly what the ATO has on file for your TFN.
Our registered Tax Agent checks your application and lodges the reactivation request with the ATO directly. If anything's missing, we contact you before submitting.
Most ABNs are reactivated within 5 minutes of payment. You'll receive your ABN by email and SMS — ready to invoice and trade immediately.
🔒 Secure payment · Free resubmission if rejected · Same price as new ABN
A cancelled ABN blocks you from operating legally in Australia.
Without an active ABN, your clients must withhold 47% of your payment by law and send it to the ATO. You lose nearly half your income until you reactivate.
Uber, DiDi, Airtasker, and all gig platforms require an active ABN to onboard you. A cancelled ABN means you can't sign up or continue working.
Without an active ABN you can't register for GST, claim back the 10% GST on your expenses, or deduct legitimate business costs at tax time.
Most Australian businesses and government agencies won't engage contractors without a valid, active ABN. You're invisible to potential clients.
Banks require an active ABN to open a business bank account. Without one, you're mixing personal and business finances — a serious problem at tax time.
Trading or invoicing with a cancelled ABN may result in ATO penalties. Reactivating immediately protects you from potential fines and compliance issues.
If your reactivation application is rejected by the ATO for any reason, we fix it and resubmit for free. No extra charge, no questions asked. You pay once and we see it through until your ABN is active again. That's our promise.
Real reviews from real customers
No. As a sole trader, you can only ever have one ABN. If your ABN was cancelled, the ATO will reactivate your original number — you cannot be issued a new one. The reactivation process is identical to applying for a new ABN; we lodge the request and the ATO reinstates your existing number automatically.
Most ABNs are reactivated within 5 minutes of us lodging your application with the ATO. In some cases, particularly where the ATO requires manual identity verification, it can take up to 24 hours. Very rarely the ATO may require up to 28 days for a manual review — but this is uncommon and we keep you informed by email and SMS at every stage.
The cost is $89.00 — the same as registering a new ABN. This covers our compliance review, lodgement with the ATO, and free resubmission if anything goes wrong. There are no hidden fees and no ongoing charges.
There are several common reasons the ATO cancels an ABN:
You'll need the same details as a new ABN application:
No. Using a cancelled ABN is a breach of Australian tax law. Clients who pay you without a valid, active ABN are required by law to withhold 47% of your payment and send it to the ATO. You should reactivate immediately before invoicing or accepting any payments for your business activities.
Yes. You can register for GST and/or a Business Name at the same time as reactivating your ABN — all on the same form with one payment. We process the ABN reactivation first, then lodge the additional registrations automatically. Start your combined application here.
We fix it and resubmit for free — no extra charge, no questions asked. The most common reason for rejection is a name or date of birth mismatch with ATO records. Our team will contact you, explain exactly what needs correcting, and relodge your application as soon as it's resolved. Your original payment covers all corrections and resubmissions.
You can check your ABN status instantly using our free ABN Finder or ABN Lookup. If it shows as "Cancelled", you need to reactivate it. If it shows as "Active" but you're not sure whether your details are up to date, you can use our lookup service to verify the information on the ABR.
Yes. Since the ATO reinstates your original ABN number, your registration history remains linked to that number. Any prior GST registrations, Business Names, or lodgement history associated with your ABN will still be on record with the ATO.
Your reactivated ABN will remain active indefinitely as long as you continue to use it for legitimate business activities and keep your details up to date with the ATO. The ATO may cancel an ABN again if it detects prolonged inactivity or if your details become outdated.
Once your ABN is active, you may want to:
2 minutes to fill the form. 5 minutes to reactivation. Stop losing income to the 47% withholding today.
🔄 Reactivate My ABN — $89🔒 SSL Secure · Registered Tax Agent · Free Resubmission · No Hidden Fees
ABNora.com.au is a private registered tax agent service (TPB Registration No. 26179243). We are not affiliated with the Australian Government or the ATO. You can also reactivate your ABN yourself at no cost via abr.gov.au.