Ask a librarian

Companies in Australia

Find current and historical information about Victorian and other Australian companies.

Ask yourself...

The questions below are useful to ask in the early stages of investigating a company. The dot points are suggestions as to where the answers might be found. Many of these resources are available freely on the internet but some are databases only available within our Library, or to registered users of the State Library who are Victorian residents.
 

Is it, or was it, a company, a business name or a trade name?

  • check the ASIC Registers   Examine the ASIC website to find out about how to start, operate or close a business; find evolving updates on legal and other information impacting on businesses as well as guidance and advice to business owners, financial  professionals & consumers.
  • search the ABN Lookup database (Please Note: as of 1 November 2023, trading names will cease to be displayed, only registered business names will be displayed).
  • search Business who's who products and tradenames guide (SLV holds 1989-2008 in print at SLV offsite storage. Please Note:  allow 2 business days turnaround for retrieval).
  • if you know the industry, search an industry-specific directory, such as the Australian automotive intelligence yearbook.

 

Is it, or was it, listed on an Australian stock exchange?

 

Who or what owns it?

 

What does it do and how is it doing it?

A note on searching the web

You can also search for company information using your favourite search engine.

Even the smallest businesses usually have websites.

However, it is important to remember, businesses use websites for marketing and promotion, so the information provided will have a positive outlook.