Related companies can share one business address in Australia, but only if the mail room can tell the entities apart by name, not just by street number — and each entity still needs its own ABN or ACN lodged separately with the ABR and ASIC in 2026.
- One business address for related companies works when mail is sorted by entity name, not street number alone.
- Each related company still needs its own ABN, and an ACN if it's a company, registered separately in 2026.
- A single Werribee virtual office plan can carry a holding company and several subsidiaries under one roof.
- Franchise groups running multiple sites should register a distinct address per site, not one head-office address for all.
- Moving a group's registered address after each entity has ranked locally risks resetting those Google listings.
Why this matters
A related-company structure — a holding company with subsidiaries, sister companies under common ownership, or a franchise running several trading entities — creates a real address problem. ASIC needs a registered office for every ACN. The ABR needs a principal place of business for every ABN. Banks, insurers, and Google Business Profile all want an address that matches what's on the public record.
Get this wrong and you end up with mail returned to sender, ASIC compliance notices going to the wrong inbox, or two related businesses accidentally sharing a Google listing that confuses customers about which entity they're dealing with. Get it right and one business address for related companies covers the whole group cleanly, with each entity still legally distinct.
How do you set up a business address for a group of related companies?
The process is the same whether you're running two companies or six, provided you work through it in order rather than registering entities one at a time as they're incorporated.
- Map the structure first. List every ACN and ABN in the group and decide which ones genuinely need to look separate to customers versus which are back-office entities nobody outside the group ever sees.
- Pick the address type per register. ASIC's registered office and the ABR's principal place of business can be the same street address for multiple entities — Australian corporate law doesn't require a unique address per ACN.
- Confirm the address accepts multi-entity mail. A home address or a single-tenant office often can't sort deliveries by company name. A staffed reception at a franchise address across multiple locations setup is built for exactly this — mail gets logged against the entity it's addressed to, not just the suite number.
- Lodge the address changes. Update ASIC Form 484 for each company's registered office and the ABR record for each ABN. Do this for every entity in the same week so records don't drift.
- Split the digital footprint. If subsidiaries trade under different names, each one needs its own Google Business Profile pointing at the shared address — one listing per legal entity, not one listing shared across brands.
- Set a mail protocol for the group. Decide who in the parent company receives scanned mail notifications for which subsidiary, so nothing sits unopened because someone assumed a colleague already handled it.
Holding company with subsidiaries: one shared address
This is the simplest case and the one most groups land on. The holding company and its subsidiaries all register the same street address as their principal place of business, with the mail provider tagging deliveries by entity name on arrival.
Best for: groups where the subsidiaries don't need separate walk-in reception or client-facing signage. A private office for franchise owners managing multiple sites style setup works here too, if the group wants a physical desk behind the virtual address rather than a mail-only plan.
Verdict: Buy — cheapest to administer, easiest to keep ASIC and ABR records consistent across every entity.
Franchise network across multiple sites: address per location
Franchises are the exception to the rule that one address covers everything. Each franchised location usually needs its own registered address for local search, local council registration, and sometimes for the franchise agreement itself, which often specifies a genuine trading presence per territory.
Best for: franchise groups where each site competes for local customers and shares one head-office address only for finance and compliance paperwork, not for the trading listing.
Verdict: Buy a per-site address; Skip the single-address shortcut if local search visibility matters to any of the sites.
Multiple ABNs, same trading brand: one address with labeled mail
Some groups run several ABNs under one public-facing brand — common with sole-trader-to-company transitions or when a business splits trading and holding functions across entities. Here, one address is fine because customers only ever see the brand, not the ABN behind it.
Best for: businesses restructuring from sole trader to company, or separating an IP-holding entity from the operating entity, where only the accountant and ASIC ever need to see the second ABN.
Verdict: Buy — set up business mail redirection for your company so scanned mail routes to the right inbox automatically instead of piling up under one name.
Why the setup varies
- Structure type. Holding-and-subsidiary groups tolerate one address far better than franchise networks that need local presence at each site.
- Number of ACNs and ABNs. Beyond four or five entities, manual mail sorting starts breaking down without a reception team logging deliveries.
- Client-facing reception needs. If clients visit one entity's office but not another's, a shared address without separate signage gets confusing fast.
- ASIC and ABR lodgement timing. Entities incorporated months apart often end up with mismatched addresses if nobody audits the group as a whole.
- Franchise agreement terms. Some franchise contracts require a genuine local trading address per site, overriding the convenience of one shared address.
- Google Business Profile overlap. Multiple entities at one address without distinct profiles can get flagged or merged by Google, hurting visibility for all of them.
Set up one address for the whole group
See current virtual office plans built for multiple related entities in Werribee.
Can two related companies use the same registered office address?
Yes, two related companies can use the same registered office address — ASIC places no limit on how many ACNs share one street address, provided each company lodges its own Form 484 confirming that address. The only practical limit is whether the mail handling at that address can actually separate deliveries by company name once volume climbs past two or three entities.
Do I need a separate ABN for each company in a group?
Yes, each company in a group needs its own ABN, because the ABN attaches to the legal entity, not the group or the brand. A holding company, each subsidiary, and any joint venture entity formed later all register separately with the ABR, even when they share one address and one set of directors.
Can a franchise use one head-office address for all its locations?
A franchise can use one head-office address for compliance and finance filings, but individual sites usually need their own address for local search and local council registration. Using the head-office address across every site's Google Business Profile is the fastest way to have listings suppressed or merged, since Google treats identical addresses under different names as a red flag rather than a legitimate group structure.
FAQ
Can two related companies share one virtual office address?
Yes, two related companies can share one virtual office address as long as the provider sorts and labels mail by company name. ASIC and the ABR both allow multiple ACNs and ABNs at a single registered address in 2026.
Do subsidiaries need their own ABN if the parent already has one?
Yes, every subsidiary needs its own ABN regardless of the parent company's ABN. The ABN attaches to the specific legal entity, not the group structure it sits inside.
Is it legal to register multiple ACNs at one street address in Australia?
It is legal to register multiple ACNs at one street address in Australia. ASIC's registered office rules require a genuine, accessible address per company but do not require that address to be unique to that company.
How do you separate mail for several related companies at one address?
Mail for several related companies at one address gets separated by tagging each delivery with the specific entity name on arrival, then routing scanned copies or physical mail to the right internal contact for each company.
Can a holding company and its subsidiaries share a virtual office plan?
A holding company and its subsidiaries can share a virtual office plan, and it is the most common setup for groups that do not need separate walk-in reception for each entity. Each entity still lodges its own ASIC and ABR paperwork against the shared address.
Does ASIC accept a virtual office as a registered office address?
ASIC accepts a virtual office as a registered office address as long as it is a physical location where documents can genuinely be served and someone is available to receive them during business hours.
What happens if a group moves its address after each entity has ranked locally?
Moving a group's address after each entity has ranked locally risks temporarily resetting local search visibility for every subsidiary's Google Business Profile, since each listing needs to be updated and re-verified separately.
Should a franchise use the same address for every location's Google listing?
A franchise should not use the same address for every location's Google listing. Each site needs a distinct address on its profile, even if the head office handles compliance and mail for the whole network from one location.
One last thing
The part most groups miss isn't the address — it's the sequencing. Registering five related entities at one address in the same week keeps ASIC and ABR records consistent; spreading the registrations out over months, as companies get incorporated one at a time, is how groups end up with mismatched addresses that take a compliance review to untangle. If you're setting up a new subsidiary in 2026, register its address the same day you lodge the ACN, not after.
