Company Formation in Australia

Roadmap

How long does it take to register a Company in Australia?

• 5-10 working days
• Can be done remotely in two weeks

What are the steps to register a company in Australia?

The registration process of a company in Company Formation in Australia is very simple. The experts of LegalBison will assist you throughout every step of it:

1. Initial consultation and agreement
2. Payment of the full invoice
3. [IF REMOTELY]: Notarization of POA by client
4. Preparation of registration documents
5. Document signed at the notary
6. Official register validity: immediately

Taxes

How high are the corporate income tax in Australia?

• The standard corporate income tax is 30%.

A reduced 26% rate applies for «base rate entities», companies that answer these two criteria:

• a turnover under 50M AUD
• no more than 80% of the taxable income is passive (investments, etc)

Note: this reduced rate is supposed to change to 25% within a year. Get in touch with our expert for more information.

What Double-tax treaties has Australia?

Many countries have bilateral conventions to avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal evasion Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Korea (Republic of), Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vietnam Status: Q1 2021

VAT in Australia

In Australia, VAT is named GST.

Without VAT number

• Company will not be eligible to receive VAT refunds, which means everything bought is 10% more expensive.
• Company will have no need to file monthly tax returns (prerequisite: no one receives a salary), which means low costs.

With VAT number

• A company registered in Australia generating 75,000 AUD or more in turnover must register for GST (VAT equivalent in Australia).
• Registration on a voluntary basis is possible and is done online.

Decide first

1. Do you want to buy a ready-made company or start a new one?
2. Can you travel or do you want to do everything remotely?
3. How is your planned business activity regulated in Australia?

Documents to provide for company registration in Australia

• Passport copies (a scan) of all individuals above, also beneficiary owner if applicable
• A Power of Attorney (POA) from (all) partners/shareholders is needed (in case of a remote company registration)
• Certified company documents (in case at least one of the shareholders is going to be a foreign company)

Information needed to get company registration in Australia

• 3 options of your desired name for the company and a company contact email address
• Names, addresses and emails of all shareholders and board members
• Short description of your companies’ activity

Remote incorporation

• The whole incorporation process can be conducted remotely. No travel necessary. Notarization of documents is necessary.
• A Power of Attorney (POA) from (all) partners/shareholders is needed
• The POA is sent to you by us based on the services you want
• You have to certify the POA by a notary and in some cases legalize it by apostille (some countries need full legalization)
• Once you have the POA on your hands, we double-check, and you send us the original form (physical document!) via courier to our address.
• Australia is part of the Hague Convention of the Apostille.

Accounting and auditing

• Every private limited company in Australia must file a yearly tax return, including financial statements
• The tax return has to be filed before the 28th of February of the following year

Residential requirements

What are the residential requirements in Australia?

• There are no residential requirements for a private limited company
• 100% foreign ownership as well as directorships are allowed