How Much Should You Charge Clients to Use Your Office for ASIC Correspondence?

It’s a small line item that can cause a surprising amount of confusion — and sometimes, chaos. Every firm owner has been asked this at some point: “Can I use your office as my business address for ASIC?” On the surface, it sounds harmless. A simple favour for a client who doesn’t want their home address made public. You receive the ASIC mail, forward it on, and everyone’s happy. Right? Not quite. As a few practitioners have learned the hard way, there’s a real cost — and real risk — in offering your office as a registered address. Let’s unpack it.

Why Firms Offer It in the First Place

For years, it’s been a standard part of corporate secretarial services. Firms manage hundreds of entities and handle everything from ASIC renewals to director updates — so it makes sense that correspondence goes to one place. There are a few practical reasons to do it:

Privacy for directors. Many small business owners don’t want their home address on a public record.
Control of compliance. ASIC mail comes directly to you, which means fewer missed deadlines and less chasing.
Professional image. Using a firm’s address can make a company appear more established.
Bundled admin. It fits neatly with annual company maintenance, review, and lodgement work.

But the moment your office becomes the registered address, you take on more than just extra mail.

The Compliance Layer: ANL, AML and Accountability

One of the biggest discussion points lately has been around compliance obligations. If you act as a registered office, you’re not simply a mailbox. You’re effectively vouching for that company’s legitimacy — and you may have obligations under Anti-Money Laundering (AML) or emerging Address Notification Law (ANL) requirements, depending on the situation. In short:

You must have the client’s written authority to use your address.
You should verify who’s behind the company.
You should keep a record of every entity using your address and when that authority expires.

As one practitioner put it, “Make sure you build in the cost of compliance now too.” If you’re charging $200 a year for corporate secretarial and doing this for free, you’re effectively underwriting someone else’s risk for nothing.

The Risk No One Likes Talking About

One accountant in the discussion summed it up bluntly: “Not enough is usually the answer.” They went on to explain that they stopped offering the service entirely — after being raided by police and AFP officers who were investigating a client. The accountant wasn’t at fault. But they were the registered address, which meant the authorities came knocking at their office. The entire day was lost. Staff were rattled. The lesson stuck. That’s not to say every firm will face that situation. But it shows the potential exposure. When you agree to be the registered office, you’re not just accepting ASIC letters — you’re accepting responsibility for being the point of contact for everything tied to that entity.

How Firms Are Approaching Fees

Across the profession, there’s no single “right” way to charge for this. But there are some clear patterns emerging.

1. Bundle it into your annual corp-sec fee

Some firms keep it simple: they just bake it into their annual corporate secretarial cost. If your base fee is around $220 per company per year, you might leave it as-is — provided you’ve accounted for your handling, scanning, and admin time. This works best when:

You manage all of the client’s entities.
You have systems in place to track ASIC mail.
You don’t want to nickel-and-dime clients.

It’s clean and consistent.

2. Charge a small annual fee

Others prefer to separate it out. Common pricing ranges from $50 to $100 per year, per entity, purely for the use of your office as the registered address. This can help offset:

Mail handling and forwarding.
Document scanning and storage.
Risk management and insurance exposure.

It’s an easy upsell when explaining, “We receive and process ASIC mail on your behalf — that includes forwarding notices, keeping a record of correspondence, and maintaining compliance with ASIC requirements.”

3. Treat it as a premium, higher-risk service

For firms that manage hundreds of companies — or for clients that aren’t ongoing advisory clients — many now charge $150 to $200 per company per year. That higher fee reflects the risk, not the admin. Because once you factor in staff time, system management, and potential exposure, it’s not really a “favour” anymore. It’s a professional service.

4. Stop offering it altogether

And finally, some firms have pulled out completely. They no longer allow clients to use their office address at all, full stop. Instead, they direct them to a virtual office provider. This makes sense if:

You’ve had compliance or reputational issues before.
You don’t want to manage correspondence for non-clients.
You’d rather eliminate the risk entirely.

Tools and Systems Matter

As one practitioner pointed out, “It depends on what Corporate Secretarial software you have.” Platforms like BGL CAS 360, NowInfinity, and ASIC Agent Portal can make the admin side more efficient — automatic reminders, digital filing, and audit trails. But none of them remove your legal responsibility. If you decide to continue offering the service, make sure you have:

A clear internal policy for approving who can use your address.
Signed authority forms for every company.
Documented process for forwarding mail and removing your address when a client leaves.
Insurance cover that recognises your exposure as a registered office.

And most importantly — a fee structure that reflects the work and the risk.

Pricing Benchmarks to Work With

Here’s a practical pricing framework based on what firms are doing right now:

Service	Typical Annual Fee	Description
Standard corporate secretarial	$200–$250	Annual review, ASIC updates, reminders
Registered office address (add-on)	$50–$100	Mail handling, scanning, record-keeping
Premium or high-risk entities	$150–$200	For inactive clients, complex groups, or overseas directors

You don’t have to overthink it — but you do need to document it. Include it in your engagement letter or renewal email so there’s no confusion when ASIC mail starts showing up.

How to Communicate It to Clients

When you introduce or adjust fees, clarity is key. A short, factual explanation works best. Here’s an example you can adapt: “Your company is currently registered at our office for ASIC correspondence. This includes receiving and managing ASIC mail, forwarding notices, and maintaining compliance records. Due to increased compliance and handling requirements, an annual fee of $XX will now apply. If you’d prefer to use your own business or virtual office address instead, please let us know and we can assist with the update.” Most clients will accept that without issue — especially when it’s framed around risk and compliance, not profit.

When to Say No

There are times when it’s just not worth it. Consider declining the request if:

You don’t act as the client’s accountant or tax agent.
The directors are unresponsive or overseas.
The company has a history of ASIC non-compliance.
You can’t easily verify the entity’s trading activity.
You’ve had any doubt about who’s really behind it.

It’s okay to say no. In fact, it’s smart. You can politely redirect them to a virtual office or mail-handling service and focus on the work that matters.

The Firm’s Take

The profession has evolved. What used to be a helpful extra — a favour for clients — now carries genuine compliance and reputational risk. It’s not about being petty or charging for every piece of paper. It’s about recognising the responsibility that comes with your address being tied to someone else’s company. So if you’re still letting clients use your office for ASIC correspondence:

Review your current list of entities.
Update your engagement letters.
Set clear boundaries and pricing.
And make sure your team knows exactly what the process is when that next ASIC envelope lands on the desk.

Because for most firms, the problem isn’t whether you can offer it — it’s whether you’re charging enough to make it worth doing at all.

In summary:

Yes, you should charge for it.
No, it shouldn’t be free.
And if it ever feels like more risk than reward — you can (and probably should) stop offering it altogether.