The Senate Economics Committee Report on the Exposure draft of the Business Names Registration Bill 2011 has recommended that the Bill be passed in time for a May 2012 commencement notwithstanding its concerns in the following areas:
- restrictions on the ability to verify the identity of credit applicants through the national business names register
- jurisdictional conflicts between the Bill and state and territory probate laws. There are no procedures in the bills as to how ASIC will determine who is a rightful heir to a deceased business name owner and the measures they will take should a new and different heir—as appointed by the state Supreme Courts—make claim to a business registration.
- individuals should be able when applying to register a business name to concurrently search the database for similar or identical domain names and trademarks.
UPDATE 17 August: The Business Names Registration Bill 2011 has been introduced into the House of Representatives together with Business Names Registration (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Bill 2011 and Business Names Registration (Fees) Bill 2011.
