[EXTERNAL ID] Australian Business Number

[mpfl]

1. Name of External ID system:
   ABN - Australian Business Number

2. Organization maintaining the ID system:
   The Australian Business Register is operated by the Registrar of the Australian Business Register, a position established in Australian Commonwealth legislation and is the Australian Commissioner of Taxation.

Reference: A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999

3. Brief description:
   The ABN's primary purpose is for Australian businesses to identify themselves reliably in all their dealings with the Australian Government and for all other Commonwealth purposes.

4. Is the data associated with the external ID openly accessible via a web interface, API or data file that is not behind a paywall?

   • Yes
   • No

Registration and issue of a GUID (API key) is required.

5. Provide the URL where the data can be accessed. Include examples of individual record access, if available:
   ABN lookup web services: https://abr.business.gov.au/Tools/WebServices
   Documentation for web services: https://abr.business.gov.au/Documentation/Default

6. Describe the available data formats (e.g., JSON, CSV, XML):
   I have not actually used the ABR web services as I am not a registered user. The web service user guide has a downloadable schema as a collection of XSD files so I'm assuming XML at the very least.

Reference: [https://abr.business.gov.au/Documentation/WebServiceResponse]

7. What is the license for the data associated with the external ID? Provide a link to the license, where available.
   https://abr.business.gov.au/Tools/WebServicesAgreement

8. Is the license compatible with open use and redistribution?

   • Yes
   • No
   • Uncertain (please explain)

"You may, at your own risk, provide relevant extracts of the ABN Lookup Web Services to third parties."

9. How frequently is the data updated?
   "ABN Lookup receives updates from the Australian Business Register (ABR) External site every hour. However, the information provided from the ABR is dependent on the business entities updating their details when they change. Therefore we are unable to guarantee the information that is provided on the ABN Lookup website is accurate, up to date or complete."

10. Is versioning information available for the data?

    • Yes
    • No

11. Is there an existing mapping between this ID system and ROR?

    • Yes
    • No
    • Partial

12. If yes or partial, provide details or link to the mapping:
    n/a

13. Describe the adoption of this ID system in its relevant community or domain, including any major research infrastructure systems that integrate these identifiers:
    The ABN is the cornerstone of doing business in Australia. It must be included on "tax invoices", which are the official legal record of a transaction, including transfer of monies in research grants.

14. Who would benefit from including this external identifier?
    Any research organisation conducting an enterprise in Australia.

15. Provide any additional information or context that supports this request:
    Some organisations that operate in Australia are not eligible for an ABN. The criteria for eligibility are laid out in Part 2, Division 4 of A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999

[adambuttrick]

Updated bulk data files, documentation, and license information are available on the ABN Bulk Extract - data.gov.au page. License is Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia.

[adambuttrick]

Small number of Wikidata entries with both ROR IDs and ABNs (n=104), so we would most likely need to be process using matching.

20241019_ROR_ABN_Wikidata_overlap.csv