How to Set Up a Company in Australia in 2026: Requirements, Costs & Steps

Setting up a company in Australia is relatively straightforward, but there are several requirements that overseas businesses need to understand before they begin.

From choosing the right company structure and registering with ASIC to obtaining an ABN, meeting director requirements, opening a bank account and establishing a local presence, each step affects how quickly you can start operating.

The process itself can be completed in days. The more important decisions come afterwards: where to base your business, what type of presence you need and whether a traditional office is the right starting point.

This guide covers everything you need to know about setting up a company in Australia, including registration steps, costs, tax considerations, location choices and flexible office options.

Why Australia

The commercial case for an Australian presence is specific rather than generic, and worth being clear-eyed about.

Australia is the twelfth-largest economy in the world, stable, English-speaking, and built on a common law system that is immediately legible to British, Singaporean, Hong Kong and Indian businesses. Its geographic position makes it a natural western anchor for an Asia Pacific operation. Sydney and Melbourne sit roughly four to five hours behind Singapore, two to three hours behind Tokyo, and around ten to eleven hours ahead of London, creating a time zone advantage for companies operating across the region.

Trade agreements with China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom and ASEAN give Australian-registered entities preferential access across the majority of global trade relationships. Foreign investment is actively welcomed. There is no requirement for Australian equity participation in most sectors, and the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) process applies only above specific thresholds or in sensitive industries.

For financial services, professional services, technology, resources and the businesses that orbit them, an Australian presence carries a quality of credibility with regional counterparties that operating from offshore simply does not provide.

Company Structures: What to Choose and Why

Four structures are worth understanding. One is almost certainly the right answer before you finish reading this section.

Proprietary Limited Company (Pty Ltd) is the standard structure for anyone entering Australia commercially. It provides limited liability, a separate legal identity, full flexibility on foreign ownership, and a structure that Australian banks, counterparties and regulators immediately understand. Shares can be held entirely by entities outside Australia. Minimum requirements: one shareholder, one director ordinarily resident in Australia, and a registered office address in the country.

Branch of a Foreign Company (ARBN) registers the foreign parent itself as operating in Australia rather than creating a new local entity. It avoids establishing a separate Australian company but requires filing the parent company's constitutional documents, financial statements and an appointed local agent. Australian-sourced income is taxed here. For businesses that want to maintain a single global corporate entity, it can make sense, but it imports the parent company's structure and complexity into the Australian regulatory framework, which is rarely as clean as it sounds.

Representative Office is not a formal legal structure in Australia. It functions as a liaison or promotional presence, cannot generate Australian revenue and carries no liability protection. Useful for preliminary market research. Not useful for anything commercial.

Trust Structures appear in specific contexts: asset holding, family businesses, certain investment vehicles. For most business entrants, they are not the relevant conversation.

The Pty Ltd is the right answer for the overwhelming majority of commercial entrants. It is what Australian counterparties, banks and regulators expect, and it is what every subsequent step in this guide assumes.

Registration: The Actual Steps

Australian company registration is administered by ASIC and can be completed entirely online. It is, genuinely, not complicated.

Step 1 — Name. The company name must comply with ASIC rules and cannot be identical or unavailable due to an existing registration. Check name availability through ASIC’s online services before registering. A proprietary company will typically use the suffix “Pty Ltd”.

Step 2 — Director. At least one director of a proprietary company must ordinarily reside in Australia. This is a legal requirement under the Corporations Act 2001, not a formality. The director must provide ASIC with their details, including a residential address. If no suitable resident director is available, professional director services may be available through corporate service providers, subject to commercial arrangements.

Step 3 — Registered office. A company must have an Australian registered office where official communications and legal documents can be sent. A PO Box cannot be used as the registered office. A serviced office address may qualify if it meets ASIC requirements and the occupier consents to its use as the registered office.

Step 4 — Register. The registration application is submitted through ASIC’s online registration process. Once approved, the company receives an Australian Company Number (ACN), which must appear on relevant company documents. The ASIC registration fee is generally in the AUD $500–$600 range, depending on the company type and current fee schedule.

Step 5 — ABN. The Australian Business Number (ABN) is separate from the ACN and is issued through the Australian Business Register, which is managed by the Australian Taxation Office. ABN registration is free and can usually be completed online.

Step 6 — GST. Businesses generally must register for Goods and Services Tax (GST) when their GST turnover reaches AUD 75,000. Non-resident businesses supplying digital products or services to Australian consumers may also have GST obligations depending on their circumstances.

Step 7 — Bank account. Opening an Australian business bank account usually requires identity verification for directors and signatories. International founders should allow additional time for compliance checks.

Timeline: ASIC registration is often completed within a few business days if the application is straightforward. ABN registration can often be immediate once eligibility requirements are met. A fully operational entity, including banking setup and appointments, commonly takes longer depending on the company structure and verification requirements.

The City Question: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth

Australia's commercial capitals are not interchangeable. They serve different sectors, carry different professional cultures and communicate different things to the counterparties who matter. Picking the wrong one is not a disaster, but it is a friction that compounds.

Sydney is Australia's financial capital. The banks, the asset managers, the investment firms and the legal practices that serve them are disproportionately concentrated here. The CBD — Barangaroo and the traditional core — is where Australia's major institutional decisions get made. If your primary Australian relationships are in financial services, advisory work or anything that orbits capital markets, Sydney is where you need to be.

Melbourne is the country's most commercially diverse city and, for many entrants, the more practical first base. Technology, professional services, consulting, education, manufacturing and media all have strong Melbourne concentrations. Collins Street in particular carries Australia's highest density of law firms and accounting practices outside Sydney. The culture is slightly more considered, the rents are lower, and the talent pool for non-financial businesses is at least as deep.

Brisbane is growing faster than either. The 2032 Olympic Games has concentrated infrastructure investment and corporate attention on Queensland in a way that is already reshaping the market. For businesses in energy, resources, infrastructure, agriculture and technology, Brisbane offers a combination of lower costs, strong government relationships and an economy that is genuinely on the move.

Perth is the gateway to Western Australia, a resource-rich, trade-oriented market that often operates on its own timetable relative to the eastern seaboard. For businesses in mining, energy, agriculture and the professional services that support them, Perth is not an afterthought. It is the only relevant base. The city maintains strong commercial ties with Asia, particularly with Japan, South Korea and China through resource and energy trade.

What a Real Australian Presence Costs

Registering a company is usually the easy part. Establishing a credible commercial presence is where the real investment begins.

The conventional office route follows a familiar pattern: negotiate a lease (often involving a multi-year commitment), commission a fit-out, deploy IT infrastructure, furnish the space, and begin operating. Office fit-out costs vary significantly depending on location, building requirements and specification. In Australia, recent industry benchmarks place average office fit-out costs at around AUD 3,011 per square metre, according to JLL’s workplace fit-out data, with premium specifications and complex projects costing more.

On a modest 200 square metre tenancy, that represents approximately AUD 600,000 in upfront fit-out costs before a single employee starts. Add legal fees, IT infrastructure, furniture, potential reinstatement obligations at lease end, and the ongoing overhead of managing a standalone tenancy, and the true establishment cost can be significantly higher than headline rent suggests.

For businesses establishing their first Australian footprint, or those not yet ready to commit to a multi-year tenancy, there are practical alternatives worth considering.

A virtual office is typically suited to businesses that need a professional Australian presence without taking on dedicated premises. Depending on the provider, this may include a business address, mail handling, call services and access to meeting facilities or workspace when required.

A serviced office is suited to businesses that need a physical workplace but want to avoid the complexity of a traditional lease. Instead of managing a separate fit-out, furniture, technology setup and facilities operations, companies can move into a ready-to-use office environment with flexible terms.

The economics depend on the provider, location and configuration, but both models remove the upfront capital commitment of a conventional office lease, allowing businesses to match their workspace investment to their actual stage of growth.

The Executive Centre in Australia: Virtual Office and Beyond

A successful Australian entry is not only about having a presence. It is about having the right one.

The Executive Centre’s Virtual Office gives businesses a professional foundation in Australia without the commitment of a dedicated lease. With a prime CBD business address, mail management, call handling and access to Meeting Rooms and coworking facilities when required, it provides the flexibility to operate locally while staying focused on growth.

For companies that require a physical workplace, TEC offers workspace solutions designed around the realities of modern business. Private Offices, Coworking Spaces and other flexible options across Australia’s key commercial hubs, including Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, provide a fully supported environment without the cost and complexity of building a traditional office from scratch.

From establishing a market presence to supporting an expanding team, businesses can access the workplace infrastructure they need while keeping their Australian strategy flexible.

Establish your Australian presence immediately. Explore TEC’s Virtual Office solutions.

Discover TEC locations across Australia.