Many workers are told by their employer to get an Australian Business Number (ABN). Such workers are said to be 鈥渋ndependent contractors鈥 rather than employees. This allows the employer to avoid various obligations, such as minimum wage rates, paid sick leave and annual leave.
ABNs are issued by the Australian government through the website (abr.gov.au). No payment is required to obtain an ABN from this site.
Yet many people pay private companies to get them an ABN. Googling the term 鈥淎BN鈥 recently, I found advertisements saying things like: 鈥淎BN registration for only $95.鈥
Tony Maitland
Last month the Remuneration Tribunal awarded to the heads of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).