Exact deadlines depend on your company's incorporation date, financial year end, and company type. This page explains how the deadlines are calculated, not what your specific date is. Confirm your company's actual due dates with your company secretary or SSM directly.
Two different clocks, not one
A common assumption is that a company has one MBRS deadline a year. In practice there are (at least) two separate obligations, running on two separate clocks — and they are two entirely different documents too; see our Annual Return vs Financial Statement guide if that distinction itself is unclear.
| Filing | What it's measured from | General timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Return (AR) | The company's incorporation anniversary date | Generally due within 30 days of that anniversary — regardless of when your financial year ends. |
| Financial Statements (FS) | The date financial statements are circulated to shareholders | Generally due for lodgement within 30 days after circulation, with circulation itself tied to your financial year end under the Companies Act 2016. |
This is the single most important thing to understand about MBRS deadlines: the Annual Return deadline is not tied to your financial year end. It is tied to your company's incorporation date. A company incorporated in March has an Annual Return obligation built around March every year, even if its financial year runs January to December.
Why this trips people up
Many businesses run their internal compliance calendar around their financial year end — which makes sense for tax and audit purposes — and then apply that same mental deadline to their Annual Return without checking the actual incorporation-anniversary rule. Because Annual Returns and Financial Statements are separate documents with separate statutory deadlines, it is entirely possible to be on time with one and late with the other without realising it.
Keep your incorporation anniversary date and your financial year end as two separate entries in whatever calendar or reminder system your company uses — not one combined "SSM deadline" note. That single habit prevents most accidental late Annual Return filings.
Free Download
Not sure which deadline applies to you?
Grab the free MBRS 2.0 Filing Readiness Checklist — 20+ checks across deadlines, exemptions, and setup, in one printable page.
Exemption applications run on their own timing too
Exemption Applications (EA1, EA2, EA3) generally need to be submitted and approved by SSM before the related filing they affect — for example, an application to file only Key Financial Indicators instead of a full XBRL statement needs approval before that simplified filing can actually be lodged. Treat an exemption application as something to submit early, not as a last-minute alternative when a deadline is already close. See our exemption applications guide for the specifics of EA1, EA2, and EA3.
What happens if a deadline is missed
Missing either deadline carries consequences — separately from any temporary fee waiver SSM may have in effect at a given time. Our late lodgement and penalties guide covers what actually happens after a missed deadline, including the important distinction between a waived fee and an extended statutory deadline, which are not the same thing.