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Lilly(I'm new)I'm new
23 Mar 2026

Hi everyone,


I am currently in the last year or two of my university degree depending on subject availability and I recently started doing some work experience with a friend of my dad who has multiple degrees in my field of interest. It started out where he taught me how to do more complex coding and such but has lead to him offering me some contract work. After speaking to an accountant/tax person he told me I needed to apply for an ABN as a sole trader in order to be paid properly for this work. I did an application that was immediately rejected because I put in all of the wrong stuff because I got confused I initially put apprentice because it started out as work experience but I realise that was incorrect. So I did a second application that I thought was correct. The kind of work I will be doing is general admin stuff: cleaning, handling ebay sales, making and managing website stuff and just general calls and emails. I also put the start date as the 1st of February this year because that's when I started the work experience was that wrong? will that make the application take longer? I applied on abr.gov.au because I didn't realise I could apply anywhere else. Once I submitted the application instead of getting my ABN it says it needs to be manually reviewed. How long will this take as I need this ABN very soon? and how can I know if I did it correctly? I haven't ever done this before and I am very anxious as I don't want to do anything wrong or get into trouble.


Thank you in advance.

119 views
2 replies
119 views
2 replies

All replies

RachelATO(Community Moderator)Community Moderator
23 Mar 2026

Hi @Lilly,


If your ABN application needs manual review, this typically takes up to 20 business days to process.


In most cases, ABN applications are instant and your ABN is displayed on the screen straight after submission. However, when you receive a reference number instead, it means we need to check some details first.


You've applied through the correct website at abr.gov.au. Regarding your start date, it's fine to backdate your ABN to when your business actually started operating. The date on your application should reflect when your business began, so putting 1 February when you started the work experience is appropriate if that's when the business activities commenced.


You shouldn't lodge any more applications, even if you're concerned about the first one. Multiple applications can cause delays. Since your application is under manual review, the best way to check if you did it correctly and follow up on the progress is to contact the Australian Business Register directly.


You can also check ABN Lookup at any time to see when your ABN has been successfully processed.

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How can I check my ABN application is correct? | ATO Community