The DPN 21-day deadline: what to do, day by day

Days 1–2: confirm the date and secure the facts

1. Find the date on the notice. Count 21 calendar days — weekends and public holidays included — from the date of the notice. Write the expiry date somewhere you'll see it daily. Everything else is planned backwards from that date.
2. Keep the envelope and the notice. If there's ever a dispute about service, the postmark matters.
3. Check whether other directors got one too. The ATO usually issues to all current (and some former) directors in parallel. Each of you is liable for the full amount, and any remission action by the company protects everyone — so co-directors need to be in the same conversation from today, not day 18.
4. Pull the company's lodgment history. Due date vs actual lodgment date for every BAS and SGC statement on the notice. You need this for step two.

Days 2–3: classify every amount on the notice

Each amount is either non-lockdown (BAS lodged within 3 months of its due date; SGC statement lodged by its due date) or lockdown (lodged later, or never — including ATO estimates). Non-lockdown amounts can be remitted by the four actions below; lockdown amounts can only be cleared by payment, and the 21 days merely delay enforcement. Most notices are a mix. Full test and worked examples: lockdown vs non-lockdown.

This classification decides how much of the debt you're fighting for. Skipping it is how directors end up liquidating a company to remit a penalty that was mostly lockdown anyway — all cost, little protection.

Days 3–7: answer the viability question honestly

One question drives the whole decision: if the tax debt were dealt with, is this business worth saving? Not "do I love it" — would it trade profitably with the debt restructured or gone?

• Viable, and the money can be raised — pay in full. Remission is immediate and the company keeps trading. Consider whether finance, asset sales or shareholder funds can realistically land inside the window.
• Viable, but can't pay in full — small business restructuring is usually the option to examine first: the company keeps trading under the directors, creditors vote on a part-payment plan, and the SBR appointment itself remits non-lockdown penalties if made within the 21 days. Eligibility: under $1m in liabilities, lodgments up to date, employee super paid. Voluntary administration covers larger or more complicated companies.
• Not viable — liquidation inside the window at least stops the non-lockdown penalty crystallising against you personally. A hard decision taken at day 10 routinely beats the same decision forced at day 40.

The four remission actions

For non-lockdown amounts, personal liability is remitted if one of these happens within the 21 days (or before the notice):

1. The company pays the debt in full. Payment plans don't count — see the payment plan trap.
2. A voluntary administrator is appointed.
3. A small business restructuring practitioner is appointed.
4. The company goes into liquidation.

Who to call, in what order

1. Your accountant or tax agent — today. They hold the lodgment history you need for classification and can confirm what's actually owed versus ATO estimates.
2. A restructuring/insolvency specialist — this week. Most give a free initial consultation. You are not committing to insolvency by talking to one; you're pricing your options while they still exist. Ask directly: "Which amounts are lockdown? Am I SBR-eligible? What would each path cost me personally?"
3. A lawyer — if there are personal guarantees, family assets, disputes between directors, or you think a defence (illness, non-participation, all-reasonable-steps) might genuinely apply. Defences are narrow and the burden is on you.
4. The ATO — after you know your position. Engagement helps, but agreeing to an unaffordable payment plan on day 3 in place of a remission action is the classic mistake. Know what you're asking for before you call.

What happens after day 21

The penalty becomes recoverable from you personally. In practice the ATO can then: offset your personal tax refunds, issue garnishee notices against your personal bank accounts or income, and commence court proceedings that can end in judgment against your personal assets — see am I personally liable?. Enforcement isn't always instant, but the legal position has changed permanently: for non-lockdown amounts the four actions no longer remit anything.

Expiry isn't the end of all options — SBR or liquidation may still make commercial sense for the company, payment terms and interest remission can still be negotiated, and defences can still be raised in recovery proceedings. But the free exit has closed. If you're reading this inside your 21 days: the single most valuable thing you own right now is the calendar.