Helping users understand business registrations

Project role: UI/UX design

A screenshot from the Work out your business registrations tool.

Improving guidance for business owners through a refreshed digital experience

The challenge

The Work out your business registrations tool was designed to guide business owners through determining which registrations they might need. However, it was outdated – both visually and structurally – having been built before the current business.gov.au brand guidelines.

Key usability issues included:

  • Contextual help was lengthy and disconnected from the content it supported
  • Users didn’t understand how their responses influenced the tool’s recommendations
  • The results page was cluttered and lacked a clear sense of next steps
  • Users struggled to revisit and edit previous answers

The solution

The tool was fully redesigned to align with the business.gov.au brand and improve usability. Key improvements included:

  • An interactive sidebar that provides real-time feedback and registration recommendations as users progress through the tool
  • A restructured results page using accordions to present registration summaries with the option to explore more detail
  • Clear, grouped registration links to guide users to the appropriate provider for each requirement
  • A new navigation component allowing users to return to any previous step and update their answers

These changes made the tool more intuitive, transparent, and actionable – helping users confidently navigate business registration requirements.