Australian Business Number (ABN) Requirement for Instructors in Australia (effective Nov 1, 2024)

Hey there instructors,

For those of you located in Australia, heads up:

To remain compliant with local regulations, we are introducing a new requirement for all instructors who do business in Australia to provide an Australian Business Number (ABN) in order to receive payout from Udemy.

Starting November 1, if an instructor located in Australia doesn’t have a valid ABN on file with Udemy, future payouts will be paused. Once an ABN number is provided, we’ll trigger payout of all pending earnings within 2 weeks.

If you are located in Australia and are carrying on an enterprise in that nation which includes a business or other income-generating activity, you need an ABN to receive payout.

Here’s what you need to do to ensure your payouts are not disrupted:

Register for an ABN if you don’t already have one.
Update your profile with your ABN details on the Payout & Tax settings page.

More detailed information is available in the Teaching Center and the Help Center.

Feel free to jump in below if you have general questions about the process of receiving your end-of-year tax forms. If you have questions specific to your account, please contact Instructor Support.

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Comments

Aussiearef

I have questions:

1- How will the provided ABN used by Udemy, exactly?

2- Australian ABN owners that earn more than AUD 70k (which I do) must receive GST from their clients and pass it on to the Australian Tax Office. I must collect GST from Udemy (my client) if I work as a business. Will Udemy be paying me 10% extra as GST?

3- Will the instructor's name change to the business name associated with ABN?

4—Will Udemy provide me with a reform can so I can change my Australian Tax File Number (TFN) to an ABN so my business (associated with ABN) can benefit from tax credits?

Thanks,

Aref

cly

An ABN is only required in Australia as a sole trader if you are making $75,000+ annually in self-employed income. If you are making less than $75,000, then an ABN is not required.

What are the options of continuing with Udemy without an ABN when making less than $75,000 annually? Forcing the use of an ABN is not a requirement of the government for under $75,000 per year.

Aussiearef

Your statement is not correct @cly

What you mentioned concerns GST. If you make $75k p.a. or more, you must register for GST and collect it from clients.

If you engage in any business activity, you must have an ABN, even if you make no money or accrue a loss.

cly

@Aussiearef

Perhaps I should have supplied some references to back up my comments.

Please read the following links, you will see that it is OPTIONAL when making less than $75,000/year (even though recommended):

https://business.gov.au/registrations/register-for-an-australian-business-number-abn (note the sentence "Not everyone needs an ABN")

https://www.ldb.com.au/business-advisory/abn-what-is-an-australian-business-number-and-when-do-i-need-one/ (Note the sentence "Businesses with an annual income of less than $75,000 are not required to have an ABN")

https://lawpath.com.au/blog/do-i-need-an-abn-as-a-sole-trader (Note the sentence "According to the Australian Government’s Australian Business Register(ABR), you don’t need an ABN as a sole trader.")

If you google it you can find many more examples.