Side hustles often grow faster than people expect, and the address decisions made on day one tend to stick around far longer than anyone planned. Here is how to set one up properly without defaulting to your home address.
When a side hustle actually needs an ABN
The ATO does not use a dollar threshold to decide whether your activity is a business or a hobby. It looks at intent, regularity, and whether you operate in a business-like way: advertising, invoicing, keeping records, aiming to make a profit [Sleek, sleek.com]. Once your side hustle ticks several of these boxes, you generally need an ABN, regardless of how small the income still is.
Why your home address becomes a public detail by default
If you register your ABN with your home address, that address becomes part of your public ABN listing. Most people do this simply because it is the default option, not because they have weighed it against alternatives.
What this actually looks like once your side hustle grows
A side hustle that started as something casual can end up trading under a registered business name, appearing on invoices, and showing up in client searches, all carrying the same home address you used when you first signed up, often without ever deciding deliberately that this was the right call.
Setting it up properly from the start
Register your ABN with a separate, professional address from day one rather than your home address, particularly if you plan to register a business name to trade under [Sprintlaw, sprintlaw.com.au]. This keeps your home address off the public ABN record from the outset, rather than requiring a later cleanup once the side hustle has grown and the address has already spread across invoices, a website, and client records.
What else to check early
Confirm whether your local council has any restrictions on running a business from home, particularly if it involves storage, deliveries, or visitors [Sprintlaw, sprintlaw.com.au], and check your insurance covers business activity, since standard home and contents policies often do not.
Space Penguin offers virtual addresses in Sydney and Melbourne from $20 per month plus GST, with no setup fee and no lock-in, suitable for ABN registration from the very start of a side hustle. Visit spacepenguin.io/virtual-address for current details.