21-day deadline
Director penalty notice help
A director penalty notice makes company tax debt your personal debt. You have 21 days from the date on the notice - not the date you opened it - and the right move depends entirely on whether it is a lockdown or non-lockdown notice. Send it to us today and we will tell you which one you are holding and what your real options are.
Same-day response. If the notice is already dated, every day spent deciding is a day off the clock.
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Which notice are you holding?
The type is decided by one thing: whether the company lodged on time. Everything about your options flows from that.
Non-lockdown DPN
Issued when the BAS or SGC statements were lodged on time (generally within three months of the due date) but the debt was not paid.
Your options within 21 days
- Pay the debt in full
- Appoint a voluntary administrator
- Appoint a small business restructuring practitioner
- Begin winding up the company
Lockdown DPN
Issued when those lodgements were never made on time. The penalty is locked to you personally, and administration or liquidation will not remove it.
Your only real option
- Pay the penalty, or negotiate an arrangement to pay it
- Lodge everything outstanding to stop further periods locking down
- Challenge the amount if the underlying figures are wrong
Who this is for
- Directors holding a DPN that arrived in the last few days
- Directors of companies behind on BAS, PAYG withholding or super
- Newly appointed directors of a company with a lodgement backlog
- Directors who have moved and suspect a notice went to an old ASIC address
- Companies wanting to lodge before a notice locks down
The lodge-first strategy
Lockdown status is set by lodgement, not by payment. A company that lodges on time and cannot pay keeps its options. A company that does not lodge loses them permanently, one period at a time. That is why the first thing we do on every DPN matter is get the outstanding lodgements in - it protects every period that has not locked down yet, and it replaces ATO estimates with the real numbers before anyone negotiates.
Catch up overdue BAS and GSTHow we respond
Same-day triage
Send us the notice. We confirm the issue date, the exact deadline, the amounts claimed and - critically - whether it is a lockdown or non-lockdown notice.
Full ATO position
We pull the company's lodgement and account history so we can see every unlodged BAS, IAS and SGC statement, and which periods are at risk of locking down next.
Lodge first
Outstanding lodgements go in immediately. This establishes real figures instead of estimates, stops further periods locking down, and demonstrates good faith before any negotiation.
Respond and negotiate
We respond within the 21 days with the appropriate option for your notice type, then negotiate a payment arrangement on the company debt and apply for remission of penalties and interest where grounds exist.
Debt negotiation and payment plan work is from $599 +GST, quoted before we start. Catch-up lodgement is quoted separately as a fixed fee per document.
Director penalty notice FAQs
How long do I have to respond to a director penalty notice?
21 days from the date on the notice, not the date you received it. The clock runs from issue, and the ATO posts DPNs to the director address held by ASIC - so a notice sitting at an old address is still running. Once the 21 days expire the director penalty becomes a personal debt the ATO can recover from you directly.
What is the difference between a lockdown and non-lockdown DPN?
A non-lockdown DPN is issued where the company lodged its BAS or SGC statements on time (generally within three months of the due date) but did not pay. You have options: pay the debt, appoint an administrator, appoint a small business restructuring practitioner, or begin winding up. A lockdown DPN is issued where those lodgements were never made on time - the penalty is locked to you personally and the only way out is payment. Lodgement history is what decides which one you get.
Does lodging now stop a lockdown DPN?
It can prevent future lockdown notices on periods that are not yet locked, which is why lodging first is the single most important step. For periods where the lodgement deadline has already passed unlodged, lodging now does not unlock the notice, but it does establish the correct figures, stops further liabilities locking down, and puts you in a far stronger position to negotiate a payment arrangement.
What debts can a DPN cover?
PAYG withholding, GST (and related indirect taxes) and superannuation guarantee charge. Company income tax is not covered by the director penalty regime.
I only recently became a director - am I still liable?
New directors are liable for existing unpaid PAYG withholding, GST and SGC obligations that remain unpaid 30 days after appointment. Resigning does not remove liability for amounts that arose while you were a director. Get advice quickly if you have recently been appointed to a company with a lodgement backlog.
How fast can you act?
Same day. If you have a notice in your hand, send it through and we will get your ATO position, confirm the notice type and the deadline, and set out your realistic options before the 21 days run down.
Holding a DPN? The clock is already running.
Send us the notice today for a same-day review of your options.
⚡ Complete the short confidential form. A registered tax professional will respond within one business day.