Parliament has given a third reading to the New Zealand Business Number Bill, which allows New Zealand Business Numbers (NZBNs) to be allocated to all businesses operating in New Zealand.

All companies registered in New Zealand have had NZBNs allocated since 2013. The legislation means that by the end of 2016, NZBNs will be allocated to other kinds of businesses such as sole traders, partnerships and incorporated societies.

The legislation requires the establishment and maintenance of a New Zealand Business Number Register.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says the NZBNs are unique identifiers that reduce the time and energy businesses spend providing government the same information in different ways.

"A change to NZBN information will, over time, change the same information on other databases held by government. Ultimately businesses will only need to tell government their information once," he says.