---
title: "Director penalty notice: 21-day remission checklist"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/taxation/director-penalty-notice-21-days"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a26-director-penalty-notice-21-days"
area_id: "A26"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A26-X20261018-1"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Director penalty notice: 21-day remission checklist

> A checklist for the 21 days after a director penalty notice, and for whether the penalty can be remitted only by payment, using the Australian Taxation Office director-penalty page.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/taxation/director-penalty-notice-21-days  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Taxation](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/taxation.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the authority it cites, for Australia.

## When to use it

Use on the day a director penalty notice is received, and when a person is about to be appointed or has just resigned. It does not draft the defence.

## Used for these tasks

- [Assess a director penalty notice and act within the 21 days](https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation/assess-a-director-penalty-notice-and-act-within-the-21-days.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may diary 21 days from the date the notice was posted or left, and sort reported amounts from estimates; the lawyer decides whether remission is still open and whether a defence is arguable.

**AI may:**

- Calculate the 21-day date from the posting or delivery date on the notice
- Separate PAYG withholding and GST reported within three months from amounts reported later or estimated
- List the four company actions the page says can remit a penalty that is still open

**AI must not:**

- Must not write the defence, or any statement of the director's illness or of steps they took
- Must not tell the director the penalty has been remitted
- Must not advise resignation as a way to end the penalty

**The lawyer checks:**

- The 21 days are counted from the day the notice was posted or left at the ASIC address, or from the address the page allows if there is no ASIC address
- Each amount is classed as reported in time, reported late, or estimated, because the remission options differ
- A new director's 30-day window is diarised from the appointment, and resignation inside that window is not treated as an exit from liability
- Any defence covers the whole period the page describes, and is lodged in writing identifying which of the three defences is relied on

## Authorities

- [Australian Taxation Office, Director penalties (last updated 16 April 2026): PAYG withholding, GST and super guarantee charge, the 21-day notice, the 30-day new-director window, and remission](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/paying-the-ato/if-you-don-t-pay/firmer-action-we-may-take/director-penalty-regime)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/taxation/director-penalty-notice-21-days and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*