Private companies, also known as proprietary companies, have far less oversight than public companies, and therefore it can be harder to find information about their operations. They cannot raise capital from public investments, however they may have subsidiaries listed under the company's main name.

The resources below will help you find information on private Australian companies.

Access company profile reports from Acquisdata; Canadean; Experian Commercial Risk Database; ICD Research Reports; and World Market Intelligence.

To search for company reports:

• Click on the Advanced Search link. Enter the name of a company into the top search box e.g. "Rio Tinto"
• Use the drop-down menu at the right of the page to limit your search to the Document title - TI of each report.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page. Navigate to the Document type box. Place a tick in the checkbox next to Company Profile.

Because it can be harder to find information on private companies, you may sometimes have to go beyond the library's databases and do some creative searching to find what you're looking for.

ABN Lookup

Access publicly available information supplied by businesses when they register for an ABN (Australian Business Number).

• Access ABN Lookup
• ABN Statistical Query
• ABN Bulk Data Export

Google

You can try searching Google, X (Twitter) or LinkedIn for information on the company and its operations. The company website can be a great source of information - just remember to be aware of potential bias.