Buying a business in Australia: check the website, domain and customer data before you sign

Updated October 22, 2026 · 6 min read

When you buy a small business, its website, domain, Google listing, social pages, customer list and software accounts don’t move to you with the keys. Each has its own transfer process, several have to be started by the seller, and a few can’t be transferred at all. Name every one in the sale contract, say who does what and by when, and check that each has actually moved before you pay the balance.

More businesses are on the market. In February 2026, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman reported that enquiries about pausing, closing and selling businesses were elevated, particularly from experienced operators in hospitality, retail and the arts.

What transfers, and how

Before you sign: what to ask for

Government checklists for buyers ask what assets and intellectual property the business has. Business Queensland’s due diligence list names the website, signage, social media, software licences and contracts, and databases, and notes that a due diligence period written into the contract is generally limited to 5–10 business days after signing. Use that time to get, in writing:

• every domain name the business uses, and the registrar it is held with;
• the hosting provider and whose name the account is in;
• who built the website, and whether the design, words and photos were assigned to the business;
• the owners and managers of the Google Business Profile and the admins of each social page;
• every software subscription, what it costs and whether it can be transferred;
• the business email accounts and where they are hosted.

The website may not be the seller’s to sell. Intellectual property created by a contractor belongs to the contractor unless the contract says otherwise, according to IP Australia. If an agency or freelancer built the site, ask to see the agreement that assigned it to the business.

The business name and the domain

You can’t take over the seller’s ABN; you need your own, says business.gov.au. The business name moves through ASIC: the seller starts a transfer and receives a transfer number, and you register the name with it, according to ASIC. The number is valid for four months and 28 days. You pay a normal registration fee, A$47 for one year or A$108 for three from 1 July 2026, and any time left on the seller’s registration doesn’t carry over.

A domain doesn’t transfer just because you bought the business, warns auDA. The seller asks the registrar for a change of registrant, and under auDA’s licensing rules the request must be made within 28 days of the sale contract unless the contract sets another date. You must qualify yourself, for example with an ABN and a business name that matches the domain, and the registrar has two days to process it. Full years left on the licence carry over, up to five, though some providers charge for the change.

Google, Facebook and Instagram

Only the primary owner can hand over a Google Business Profile. The seller adds you as an owner or manager, and after a seven-day wait transfers primary ownership to you. The listing keeps its reviews. If the seller stops cooperating, you can request ownership, but claiming the profile isn’t always available.

A Facebook Page has no single “transfer” button. The seller gives you full control, which lets you remove everyone else, including them, according to Facebook’s help. Do that on handover day.

Instagram is different. Its terms of use ban buying, selling or transferring any part of an account, including the username. Don’t pay for an Instagram following as if it were an asset.

Software accounts

Each provider has its own rule, so check every subscription on the list:

• Xero: only the current subscriber can transfer the subscription, and any overdue bill must be paid first. The seller’s access stays until the new subscriber removes it, according to Xero.
• Square: transferring an account isn’t supported when a business is sold or the ABN changes. You open a new account, and the seller downloads the sales history and closes theirs, according to Square.
• Shopify: the store owner can transfer the store, but not while Shopify Capital or Shopify Credit is in use, and you must update the payout and bank details, according to Shopify.

The customer list: privacy and spam

Customer details are worth money, and they come with rules. During due diligence, the seller should avoid handing over customers’ names and other identifiers; summary figures are safer, and anything you copy should be returned or destroyed afterwards, according to the OAIC.

Most businesses with turnover of A$3 million or less aren’t covered by the Privacy Act, but health service providers are, whatever their size. The OAIC treats the sale of a whole business, where the information stays with the business, differently from selling assets that include a customer database, which can count as trading in personal information. Ask your lawyer which applies to your deal. If you are buying a real estate agency, an accounting practice or a law firm, note that from 1 July 2026 these businesses must also follow the Privacy Act for anti-money-laundering records, whatever their turnover, according to the OAIC.

A mailing list is only useful if its consent holds. Under the Spam Act, you have to be able to prove each person agreed to hear from you, and you can’t send a message asking for consent, according to ACMA. Ask the seller how and when consent was collected, and keep those records.

Put it in the contract

• Name every digital asset. The standard NSW business sale contract has a place for the domain name, web pages and social media, according to the Law Society of NSW.
• Set dates. Say when the business name transfer number, the domain change and each login will be handed over.
• Make the seller transfer the important contracts, and consider staged payment with part of the price held in trust, as Business Victoria suggests. Tying the final payment to a working handover of logins gives the seller a reason to finish it.
• Transfer the intellectual property, including the website design, logo and photos. A registered trade mark moves by a signed assignment that you then record with IP Australia.

Handover day, in order

1. Get the business name transfer number and register the name.
2. Have the seller request the domain change with the registrar, then set up your own login and authorisation code.
3. Get added to the Google Business Profile and diary the date seven days later for primary ownership.
4. Take full control of the Facebook Page and remove the seller.
5. Transfer the software subscriptions that allow it, and open new accounts where they don’t; download the history first.
6. Move the hosting account into your name, change every password and remove the seller’s logins.
7. Tell customers about the change on the website and social pages.

Sources

• ASBFEO: Small Business Pulse, February 2026
• business.gov.au: Change business ownership
• Business Queensland: Due diligence when buying a business
• Business Victoria: Buy an existing business
• ASIC: Transfer a business name and business name fees (from 1 July 2026)
• auDA: .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing (in effect from 28 July 2026)
• auDA: How to transfer your .au domain name
• Google: Transfer primary ownership of a Business Profile and Request ownership
• Facebook: About Facebook Page access
• Instagram: Terms of Use
• Xero: Change an organisation’s subscriber
• Square: Transfer ownership of your Square account (April 2026)
• Shopify: Change or transfer ownership
• OAIC: Selling a business and Trading in personal information
• OAIC: Privacy guidance for AML/CTF reporting entities (August 2026)
• ACMA: Avoid sending spam
• IP Australia: Who owns intellectual property? and How to assign ownership of a trade mark
• Law Society of NSW: Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Business, 2021 edition changes

Procedures and fees were checked in October 2026 and can change. General information, not legal advice; have a lawyer review the sale contract.