Company Set-Up

Check Company Name(s)

Early in the bid phase you should establish the preferred company name for the CRC should you be successful and check the name availability on the ASIC Organisation and Business Name Portal.

Your target name should include the abbreviated “CRC” and “Limited” for example “Digital Finance CRC Limited” or “SmartCrete CRC Limited”.

Reserve Company Name(s)

It is important to reserve the organisation’s name early to avoid it being taken during the process of startup. Complete the Form 410 found on the ASIC website and pay a small fee.

A name is only reserved for a period of two months from the date of approval. An application for an extension of name reservation for a period of up to two months can be lodged before the reservation expiration date.

Reasons for the extension must be provided in detail on the form or in an annexure. It will only be granted if a valid reason exists. Only exceptional circumstances will allow more than two extensions to be granted.

It is recommended that you reserve the company name during the early stages of your bid development. When applying for an extension with ASIC you should include the CRC Program schedule timeline for the round you are applying to.

Reserve any additional company names that you envisage the CRC may require (such as a commercialisation entity – see below).

Ensure the chosen name reflects the CRC’s focus area and is easily recognisable. Be careful with acronyms to make sure (1) they are not offensive as urban slang or in a foreign language (it happens) or (2) they might distract from the topic of the CRC - what seems like a clever acronym to you might be meaningless or even distracting to others. Consider trademarking the CRC name for additional protection.

Reserve URL and Domain Name

It is important to establish secure URL and Domain Names for the CRC as early as possible. You may have done this during the bid development phase to provide a website to engage with partners as you develop the bid.

A secure URL should begin with “https” rather than “http.” The “s” in “https” stands for secure, which indicates that the site is using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate.

You can order your URL for a small annual fee using hosting sites like GoDaddy, Crazy Domains, Domain.com, BlueHost. This will ensure you have a domain name locked in ready for your website.

You might also consider purchasing a few URLs that are similar to your preferred URL eg your URL is smartcrc.com but you can also purchase smartcrc.com.au, smartcrc.org.au and have these additional domains redirect to your main domain.

Some CRC’s also establish a ‘for profit’ commercialisation entity so consider registering the company name, URL and Domain Name registrations for any anticipated related entities as well in order to reserve these early.

If planning a separate commercialisation entity, consider its structure (e.g., proprietary limited company) and how it will interact with the main CRC entity. Ensure the relationship between the CRC and any commercialisation entity is clearly defined in the company documents. Directors of a proprietary limited company are required to act in the best interests of that company, and they will face potential conflicts as the CRC is likely to be its major funding source, at least initially.