A guide published by Dotto
Virtual offices, and the addresses a business gives
Virtual Office Space is a guide to business addresses in Australia, written and published by Dotto. It reads the official rules on which address goes where: the registered office and principal place of business ASIC asks a company for, the addresses on an ABN and a business name, Australia Post’s mail redirection and hold, and the ATO’s rules on working from home.
General information, read from ASIC, the Australian Business Register, Australia Post, the ATO and business.gov.au on 8 October 2026. Every page links the official pages behind it.
A company’s addresses, as ASIC lists them
- Registered office
- A physical street address in Australia, never a PO Box. ASIC sends official notices and letters here.
- Principal place of business
- The main address where the company conducts business. Physical, and not a PO Box.
- Contact address
- A choice, not a requirement, and this one can be a PO Box.
The wall
Six boxes, one question in each
Each box holds one page: the idea of a virtual office, a company’s addresses, the ABN, the business name, the mail itself, then the tax side of working from home.
- Box 01
What a virtual office is
The phrase as business.gov.au uses it, and which addresses another place can stand in for.
- Box 02
Registered office and principal place of business
The two addresses every company gives ASIC, and using premises it doesn’t occupy.
- Box 03
Addresses for an ABN
The business address, the postal address, and what ABN Lookup shows.
- Box 04
Business names and their addresses
The three addresses ASIC keeps for a business name, and which ones are public.
- Box 05
Redirecting and holding business mail
Australia Post’s redirection and hold, with prices as at October 2026.
- Box 06
Working from home and tax
The ATO’s fixed rate and actual cost methods, with a worked example.
The sorting table
Which address can be a PO Box, and which is public
Three registers ask for addresses, and each has its own rule about a PO Box. Read across a row to see what a form is really asking for. What another address can stand in for.
| Address | Asked for by | A PO Box? | On the public record? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered office | ASIC, for a company | No: a physical street address in Australia | Yes, online on the companies register; ASIC’s company addresses page describes it as available to people who purchase information from the register |
| Principal place of business (company) | ASIC, for a company | No: a physical address | Yes, to anyone who searches the companies register |
| Service of documents address | ASIC, for a business name | Yes, or a physical street address in Australia | Yes, online on the business names register |
| Principal place of business (business name) | ASIC, for a business name | No: a physical street address in Australia | Yes; for an individual working from home, only the suburb, state or territory and postcode |
| Main business address (ABN) | The Australian Business Register | Should not be, nor a tax or BAS agent’s address | Only its state and postcode, on ABN Lookup |
| Postal address (ABN) | The Australian Business Register | Yes, or a tax or BAS agent’s address, or the main business address | The ABR lists the mailing address for the service of notices among details that are not public |
From ASIC’s company addresses page, ASIC’s business name address page and the ABR’s pages on updating ABN details and what is public, read 8 October 2026.
Postage
Four Australia Post prices, as at October 2026
When a business moves, or closes for a while, Australia Post can forward its mail or hold it. A PO Box is the other half of the picture: an address that stays put when the business moves. How redirection and hold work, and what to bring.
- Redirection, 1 month$162Business mail redirected within Australia, for up to 1 month.
- Redirection, 12 months$1,620Business mail redirected within Australia, for up to 12 months.
- Mail hold$158A flat monthly fee for business mail hold; a home office may be eligible for $79.
- Small PO Box$192A year’s standard business price, 1 April to 31 March ($302 at specified CBD and high-demand locations). A new lease adds a $27 establishment fee, and its first charge depends on the month it starts.
Prices as at October 2026, from Australia Post’s pages on business mail redirection, business mail hold and PO Boxes and Locked Bags.
Where the rules live
The official pages behind this guide
- ASIC keeps the companies register and the business names register, and says a company must tell it about a change of address within 28 days or pay a late fee.
- The Australian Business Register holds ABN details, which must be updated within 28 days of becoming aware of a change.
- business.gov.au explains the principal place of business, registered office and postal address on one page.
- Australia Post publishes its business mail redirection, mail hold and PO Box prices and forms.
- The ATO sets out working from home expenses for employees and home-based business expenses for business owners.