How to Get an ABN on a Working Holiday Visa in Australia

If you want to work as an Uber Eats delivery rider in Australia on a working holiday visa, you need an ABN, and the application asks seven questions that decide whether you get one. Answer one of them wrong and you get refused on the spot. This is exactly how to answer each question, and why, based on the application that actually got mine approved.

If you just want the answers, here they are:

What is an ABN and do you need one as an Uber Eats rider?

An ABN is an Australian Business Number. It is what lets a business or a sole trader get paid without the person paying them withholding tax at source.

Without one, the no-ABN withholding rule applies: whoever pays you has to withhold 47 percent of every payment. That is not a fee, it is tax withheld upfront because you have not given them a number to report against. If you are planning to work as a sole trader on a working holiday visa, food delivery or rideshare included, this ABN is what stops that 47 percent from being taken off every payment.

How to answer each ABN entitlement question

Here is each question in order, with the answer that gets it right and why.

For taxation purposes which type of entity is the applicant? Individual (Sole trader). This is the correct entity type for someone working alone as a delivery rider, not a company or a partnership.

Will your activities be carried out in Australia? Yes. This question has a reading trap. It sounds like it is asking whether your business is registered in Australia, or which country your delivery platform is based in. It is neither. The answer is Yes as soon as you are physically doing the work on Australian soil. This screen will not let you go back and change an answer once you have moved past it. The only way to fix an earlier answer is the Restart button.

Have you started or are you taking steps to start your activity? Yes, and this is the one that actually causes refusals. The ABR's reasoning is that you need to already be running a business, or have taken enough steps toward starting one. Intending to start is not enough on its own. The application itself lists what counts as a commencement activity: consulting a business advisor, preparing a business plan, seeking finance, conducting a feasibility study, leasing or buying equipment, obtaining the necessary licenses, applying for a patent, and advertising.

Personal experience My first attempt at this question was refused because I answered No, thinking that since I had not delivered anything yet, I had not started anything. I resubmitted and changed that one answer to Yes. I had not gone and done anything new in between.

Here is the honest reading of that, and it matters: it was the first answer that was wrong, not the second one. By the time I sat down to fill in the form, I had already chosen the activity, compared my options, and looked into what the steps involved would be. The ABR's own list of commencement activities explicitly includes a feasibility study. I had done that. I had just undercounted it, telling myself that until I had actually delivered something, I had not started anything.

What I will not write, in any form, is "answer Yes and it goes through." That would be advice to make a false declaration, and the ABR is explicit that it can review an entitlement after the ABN has been issued. The question is not asking whether you have already earned money. It is asking whether you have started organising yourself to. Answer the question that is actually being asked, not the one you assume you are being asked.

What is the nature of your activity? In the form of a business. Are you doing things consistent with running a business? Yes. Both follow directly from the previous answer: if you have taken steps to start, you are describing that activity as a business.

Is the applicant an Australian resident for tax purposes? For most people on a working holiday visa, the honest answer is No. There is more detail on this below, because it triggers a warning screen that looks more alarming than it is.

Why is the Individual/Sole Trader applying for an ABN? New Business in Australia. This matches the fact that you are starting a new activity as a sole trader, in Australia, on your working holiday visa.

If you do get refused, the refusal screen itself says explicitly that you can submit a new application. There is no waiting period, no penalty, and no blocking mark left on your record.

Are you an Australian resident for tax purposes on a WHV?

Answering No here triggers an orange warning that looks alarming. It is not a blocker, it is a confirmation screen.

Two things are worth knowing. Tax residency status is decided by the ATO's own residency tests, not by your visa type. And answering No here does not change the tax schedule applied to you, because working holiday makers already have their own dedicated schedule.

For the 2026 to 2027 year, the ATO's working holiday maker schedule is:

There is no tax-free threshold on this schedule. Working holiday makers are taxed from the first dollar.

Do you need to register for GST?

The threshold depends on what you are actually doing.

Rideshare has no threshold because the ATO classifies it as taxi travel, and taxi travel requires GST registration regardless of turnover. If you mix rideshare with delivery, that requirement carries over to the whole lot, not just the rideshare side.

What happens after your ABN is approved?

The confirmation screen said the ABN would be visible on ABN Lookup within an hour. I did not time that myself, so I am reporting what the screen says, not what I personally verified.

Two obligations came with it: update your details within 28 days if anything changes, and know that the ABR can review your entitlement later, even after the ABN has been granted. The confirmation screen also suggested next steps: registering for GST, PAYG, and a business name. I did not tick anything on that screen, I just noted what was offered.

This article covers the paperwork side of getting an ABN. What actually happens once you start delivering, including the earnings, the tax, and the insurance gap almost nobody mentions, is covered in my Uber Eats guide.

Printable checklist

• Choose Individual (Sole trader) as the entity type.
• Answer Yes to activities being carried out in Australia if you are physically working here, regardless of where the platform is based.
• Answer Yes to having taken steps to start your activity if you have chosen your activity, compared your options, or looked into a feasibility study, even without a delivery made yet.
• Choose "In the form of a business" for the nature of your activity.
• Answer Yes to doing things consistent with running a business.
• Answer honestly on Australian tax residency. No is normal for most WHV holders and does not block the application.
• Choose "New Business in Australia" as the reason for applying.
• Remember that answers cannot be edited once you move past a screen. Restart if you need to change one.
• If refused, you can reapply immediately. No waiting period, no penalty.
• Without an ABN, 47 percent of each payment gets withheld.
• Register for GST from the first dollar if you do rideshare. Delivery alone only needs it past $75,000 turnover in 12 months.

Thresholds, rates and ABR wording checked against ato.gov.au and abr.gov.au in August 2026. Rules change, check the current version before you apply.