ABN Entity Lookup Skill

Queries the Australian Business Register (ABR) to validate ABNs, retrieve entity names, determine entity types, check GST registration status, and verify active/cancelled status. Essential for contractor deeming analysis, payroll tax compliance, and entity type determination.

When to Use

• Validating a contractor's ABN before classifying payments

• Determining entity type (company, trust, sole trader, partnership) for tax rate selection

• Checking GST registration status for input tax credit eligibility

• Verifying ABN is active (not cancelled) before processing payments

• Populating entity details for new Xero organisation connections

• Cross-referencing Xero contact ABNs for data quality checks

ABR API Configuration

Endpoint

https://abr.business.gov.au/abrxmlsearch/AbrXmlSearch.asmx/ABRSearchByABN

Parameters

Parameter Required Description

searchString

Yes 11-digit ABN

includeHistoricalDetails

No Y or N (default N )

authenticationGuid

Yes ABR API GUID from env ABR_GUID

Alternative Endpoints

Endpoint Use Case

ABRSearchByABN

Lookup by ABN (primary)

ABRSearchByASIC

Lookup by ACN (9-digit)

ABRSearchByName

Search by entity name (fuzzy)

ABRSearchByNameAdvanced

Search with state/postcode filters

ABN Validation Rules

Format Validation (Client-Side)

• Must be exactly 11 digits

• Apply ABN weighting algorithm:

• Subtract 1 from the first digit

• Multiply each digit by its weighting factor: [10, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19]

• Sum the products

• Result must be divisible by 89

Example Validation

ABN: 51 824 753 556 Step 1: Subtract 1 from first digit → [4, 1, 8, 2, 4, 7, 5, 3, 5, 5, 6] Step 2: Multiply by weights → [40, 1, 24, 10, 28, 63, 55, 39, 75, 85, 114] Step 3: Sum = 534 Step 4: 534 / 89 = 6.0 (exactly divisible) → VALID

Entity Type Mapping

ABR returns entity type codes that map to tax treatment:

ABR Entity Type Code Tax Rate Amendment Period Payroll Tax Grouping

Australian Private Company PRV 25%/30% 4 years Related body corporate

Australian Public Company PUB 30% 4 years Related body corporate

Individual/Sole Trader IND Marginal rates 2 years N/A

Family Trust TRT Trustee rates 4 years Tracing provisions

Unit Trust TRT Trustee rates 4 years Tracing provisions

Partnership PTR Partner rates 4 years Common employees

SMSF SMF 15%/0% 4 years N/A

Government Entity GOV Exempt N/A Exempt

Non-Profit NPF Varies 4 years Charitable exemption

Response Data Extraction

Key Fields

Field Path Use

Entity Name businessEntity/mainName/organisationName

Display name

Entity Type businessEntity/entityType/entityTypeCode

Tax rate selection

ABN Status businessEntity/ABN/isCurrentIndicator

Active check

GST Registered businessEntity/goodsAndServicesTax/effectiveFrom

Input tax credit

GST Status businessEntity/goodsAndServicesTax/isCurrentIndicator

Current registration

State businessEntity/mainBusinessPhysicalAddress/stateCode

Payroll tax jurisdiction

Postcode businessEntity/mainBusinessPhysicalAddress/postcode

Location verification

ACN businessEntity/ASICNumber

Company cross-reference

Output Format

<abn_lookup_result> <abn>51824753556</abn> <abn_valid>true</abn_valid> <abn_active>true</abn_active> <entity_name>Example Pty Ltd</entity_name> <entity_type>Australian Private Company</entity_type> <entity_type_code>PRV</entity_type_code> <gst_registered>true</gst_registered> <gst_effective_from>2015-07-01</gst_effective_from> <state>NSW</state> <postcode>2000</postcode> <acn>824753556</acn>

<tax_implications> <corporate_tax_rate>0.25</corporate_tax_rate> <!-- Base rate entity test required (passive income <80%) --> <amendment_period_years>4</amendment_period_years> <payroll_tax_grouping_risk>related_body_corporate</payroll_tax_grouping_risk> </tax_implications>

<lookup_metadata> <source>ABR API</source> <queried_at>2026-02-13T10:00:00+11:00</queried_at> <cache_ttl_hours>24</cache_ttl_hours> </lookup_metadata> </abn_lookup_result>

Privacy Considerations

• ABR data is public information — no consent required for lookup

• However, caching ABR responses containing sole trader names has privacy implications under APP 11

• Sole trader lookups return individual names — handle with same care as personal information

• Cache ABR responses for 24 hours maximum, then re-query

• RLS policies on abn_lookup_cache table must restrict access to authenticated users only

Best Practices

• Always validate ABN format client-side before making API call

• Cache responses for 24 hours to reduce ABR API load

• Handle ABN not found gracefully — entity may have recently registered or cancelled

• Check GST status separately from ABN status — ABN can be active with cancelled GST

• Entity type determines tax rate, amendment period, and payroll tax grouping — always extract

• Rate limit ABR API calls — no published limit but be respectful (max 1 req/second)