DOING BUSINESS IN AUSTRALIA IN 2025
Since 2003, Healy Consultants Group has assisted our Clients to register a company in Australia. Our services include i) registration of company in Australia; ii) government license registration; iii) corporate bank account opening services in Australia and abroad; iv) employee recruitment services; v) visa strategies; and vi) office rental solutions in Sydney and other Australian cities.
| Compare different Australian entities | Tax resident LLC | Trading trust | Branch office | Representative office | LLP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entity locally known as | Pty. Ltd. | Trading trust | Branch | RO | LLP |
| Best use of company? | All products and services | Only pay tax on distributions | Completing projects without an office | Marketing and research | Professional services |
| Legally tax exempt if properly structured? | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate bank account location? | Westpac | ANZ New Zealand | Standard Chartered | HSBC | Commonwealth |
| Client must travel to Australia? | No | No | No | No | No |
| Australia Resident director/partner/manager required? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can secure trade finance? | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Limited liability entity? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| GST payable on sales to local customers? | 10% | 10% | 10% | No | 10% |
| Withholding tax on dividends to foreign shareholders? | 30% | 30% | 30% | No | 30% |
| Australia tax payable on worldwide income? | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Average total engagement costs? | US$16,292 | AU$21,076 | US$16,292 | AU$9,660 | AU$9,637 |
| Average total engagement period? | 2 months | 3 months | 2 months | 2 months | 2 months |
| Accounting and tax considerations | Tax resident LLC | Trading trust | Branch office | Representative office | LLP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory corporation tax payable? | 25% for SMEs, 30% otherwise | 0% | 25% for SMEs, 30% otherwise | 0% | 0% |
| Must file an annual Australia tax return? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Must file annual financial statements? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Investment income is legally tax exempt in Australia? | No | No | No | No | No |
| Access to double taxation treaties? | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Monthly GST reporting to the Government? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Legally tax exempt entity? | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Must appoint a public officer? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Dividends received are legally tax exempt? | No | No | No | No | No |
| Company registration | Tax resident LLC | Trading trust | Branch office | Representative office | LLP |
| Minimum number of shareholders/partners/beneficiaries? | 1 | 1 | Parent company | Parent company | 2 |
| Minimum number of directors/managers/trustees? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Director ID required for directors in all entities | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum paid up share capital? | None | None | None | None | None |
| Shelf companies available? | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Time to incorporate a new entity? | 1 week | 3 weeks | 2 weeks | 2 weeks | 1 week |
| Can easily convert to a local PLC company? | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Can have preference shareholders/partners/beneficiaries? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Business considerations | Tax resident LLC | Trading trust | Branch office | Representative office | LLP |
| Can invoice local customers? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Can hire local staff? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can rent local office space? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Secures a residence visa for business owner? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Good entity for trademark registration? | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Australia has signed free trade agreements (click link)? | Yes, see AU FTAs page |
| This country is a member of WIPO and TRIPS? | Yes |
| This country is a member of the ICSID? | Yes |
| Average custom duties suffered? | 1.9% |
| Government foreign investment approval required? | No |
| Average monthly office rental? (US$ per sq m) | A$54 |
| Minimum statutory monthly salary? | AU$2,600 |
| Average monthly US$ salary for local employees? | AU$6,500 |
| Australia $ deposit interest rate? (1 year average) | 2.5% |
| US$ deposit interest rate? (1 year average) | 0.75% |
| Overseas remittance currency controls? | No |
| Public registrar of shareholders and directors? | Yes |
| Banking considerations | |
| Multi-currency bank accounts available? | Yes |
| Corporate visa debit cards available? | Yes |
| Quality of e-banking platform? | Excellent |
| Crowd funding available in this country? | Yes |
Australia business setup summary
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How to set up a business in Australia? What are the important steps involved?
- Starting a business in Australia is straightforward, with incorporation typically taking one week. Besides an LLC, some of our Clients set up either branch or representative offices. Some of our Clients opt for our Australian turnkey solution if they need to urgently close business deals in Australia. See this page for information on average Australia engagement timelines;
- A key challenge for a foreigner looking to start a business in Australia is to fulfil the statutory requirement for an Australia-resident director. Healy Consultants Group offers professional Australia resident director services if required;
- An Australian company is subject to a standard federal corporate income tax of 30%. See this page for a comparison of Australian States;
- Company registration in Australia can be completed with a capital of A$1. There is no need to open a corporate bank account in Australia and the company can have an overseas account;
- Australian immigration rules are tight. See this page for further information on how to relocate to Australia.
Press the link headings below to read detailed, relevant, up to date information.
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Benefits and problems
Benefits of doing business in Australia
- Private company registration in Australia is straightforward because:
- An Australian company can be registered with a capital of A$1 by one director and one shareholder of any nationality. Healy Consultants Group will provide our Client with their Australian Company Number (CAN) and Tax File Number (TFN) within one week. Australian Business Number (ABN) registration can, however, take up to six weeks;
- Australia is home to a large number of reputable local and international banks. Healy Consultants Group has excellent relationships with these banks, and our Clients can open bank accounts without travelling to Australia;
- Australia is considered one of the world’s best locations for starting a business.
- An Australian company can access a range of incentives and agreements:
- Australia has a wide network of Free Trade Agreements with countries and economic blocs around the world;
- The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) helps Australian companies find overseas markets for their products and services. Austrade also identifies potential investment projects and strategic alliance partners for those intending to pursue Australia business registration;
- Our Clients registering an Australian company enjoy a reduced tax rate of 26% (compared to the previous corporate tax rate of 27.5%) if aggregated annual turnover is less than A$2 million;
- Australia is ranked in the top 10 of OECD member states for its total expenditure on research and development (R&D);
- Dividends and capital gains received from Australian and global subsidiaries are subject to a reduced corporate tax rate of 15% if i) the shares have been held for one year and ii) they represent over 10% of the subsidiary’s share capital.
- Australia has an ideal ecosystem to set up and grow businesses because:
- It is economically and politically stable, with an efficient regulatory system;
- Inflation is low, with a strong focus on economic growth;
- Australia is technologically-advanced with an innovative work force;
- The country is seen as an Asia Pacific business hub by other major regional economies.
- An Australian company is the perfect corporate vehicle for starting a new business since it enjoys an excellent reputation amongst Clients, suppliers, investors, and venture capitalists;
- Australia is an easy country in which to operate a business, since i) the language of business is English ii) Australia has a well-educated labour force and iii) the country has a well-developed financial sector.
- All documents required for Australia company formation need only be notarised. There is usually no need to legalise them at the Australian embassy in the country where our Client lives;
- As Australia’s economy grows and its middle class expands (around Asia Pacific), more services will be demanded, and these services will open up new market opportunities;
- The Australian economy is thriving, and several key export markets provide attractive international business prospects.
Problems with doing business in Australia
VideoHow to de-register a company in Australia?- Australian regulations require all directors of an Australian business to secure a DIN number with the Australian ABRS, before being appointed as director. Currently, it takes up to 3 months for such number to be issued. Fortunately, Healy Consultants Group has a legal workaround solution to ensure that this step does not generate delays for incorporation of our Clients’ Australian companies.
- In accordance with Section 201A of the Australia Corporations Act 2001, every Australian Company must have at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Australia. Most of our Clients request Healy Consultants Group to provide the Australia resident director. If required, Healy Consultants Group’s resident director service fee amounts to A$5,910 per year;
- Domestic and international income is subject to a standard corporation tax rate of 27.5%. Furthermore, every company is required to submit annual audited financial statements and a corporate tax return to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). An audit exemption is granted if company sales revenues are less than A$100,000;
- There is a public register of shareholders and directors. Although this limits privacy, it enhances commercial transparency in Australia;
- Australia restricts foreign investment in the following sectors:
- Residential real estate;
- Media;
- Telecommunications;
- Transport;
- Defence-related industries;
- Encryption and security technologies;
- Communications systems;
- Uranium or plutonium extraction;
- Nuclear facility operations.
- The requirements around business regulatory licensing varies according to State. It is important our Client carefully checks licensing requirements in each State in which our Client plans to do business.
- There is a 75% probability Australian banks will require to meet a director or bank signatory at their branch, before agreeing to onboard a new customer. Healy Consultants Group will aggressively negotiate for a waiver for this inconvenient requirement
- Australian banks often require bank signatories to ring them for banking matters, but most of them only pick up calls during Australian business hours, which can be cumbersome for European and USA businessmen due to the difference in time zone.
- Many Australian banks are reluctant to onboard small businesses. For example, one bank in Australia requests businesses to have a minimum annual turnover of A$50 million to be onboarded.
- Other reasons Australian banks give for rejecting new accounts include i) due to security and compliance reasons they are unable to verify new Clients based overseas ii) all new Clients must have an Australian ABN and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) listing and must attend the Australia bank branch for verification iii) only opening accounts for wholly-owned by Australian companies (i e they will not onboard a company which is beneficially owned by companies not registered in Australia).
- The federal Goods and Services Tax (often known as VAT) in Australia is 10% of the total. Medical items, food, and financial supplies are examples of things that can be GST-free (zero rated) or input charged. Exceptions are not always as straightforward as they seem, so clarify how GST applies to the goods or services you offer, as well as the GST implications.
- All incoming directors, along with existing directors, of an Australian company must register with ASIC for a director ID. For a newly-formed company, this step must be undertaken before the company is incorporated. This step adds cost to an engagement.
- Top-tier Australian banks now require Clients to travel to meet a bank officer. As always, Healy Consultants Group will aggressively negotiate for a travel exemption.
- After April 2022, registration of Australian entities may be delayed by up to two weeks as all directors have to obtain a Director Identification Number before a company registration application can be submitted to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
- Private company registration in Australia is straightforward because:
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Best uses for an Australian company
- Healy Consultants Group recommends an Australian company as the ideal regional Asia Pacific base because:
- There are a number of new growth industries emerging including i) cryptocurrency exchanges ii) online food and grocery delivery platforms iii) ride share and car share services iv) organic crop farming v) solar power and vi) IT consulting;
- Australia is an excellent base from which to market products and services to stakeholders in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
- Healy Consultants Group recommends an Australian company as the ideal regional Asia Pacific base because:
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Useful links for Australia
Social Media content writer questionnaire
To help increase our brand awareness and credibility, Healy Consultants Group publishes quality content on our own Blog, Social Media channels and also on Quora.
We are looking for quality professional content writers for the above channels. If you are interested in working with Healy Consultants Group, please complete the 5-minute questionnaire below. Within a week, our Marketing Department will email revert to you with follow up questions and finally with a draft partnership agreement.
