Business Permits & Incorporation for Foreigners in Brisbane

Good to Know

• The resident director rule is the real gatekeeper for foreign founders — you legally cannot complete ASIC registration of a Pty Ltd without at least one director who genuinely, ordinarily lives in Australia. This does not have to be a citizen or permanent resident — a temporary visa holder who truly lives here qualifies — but it does mean budgeting for a nominee director service if you don't have a trusted local person.
• You do not need a local business partner or co-owner to incorporate — 100% foreign share ownership is allowed in most industries, and ownership is legally separate from directorship.
• If avoiding the resident director requirement matters more to you than having a limited-liability Australian entity, registering a foreign company branch (ASIC Form 402) skips that rule but requires a local agent and leaves the overseas parent company fully liable.
• The ASIC company registration fee and annual review fee are indexed to CPI and increase every 1 July — the figures here reflect the rate current as of mid-2026; always check ASIC's own fee page before budgeting precisely.
• Brisbane itself adds no extra company-registration paperwork on top of the national ASIC process — but certain trades (food businesses, footpath trading, etc.) will still need separate Brisbane City Council permits once the company exists.
• The 25%/30% company tax split is based on turnover and passive-income mix, not on whether the company is foreign-owned — a foreign-owned Pty Ltd under the AUD 50 million turnover threshold generally pays the same 25% rate as a comparable local business.
• Owning or registering an Australian company from overseas does not itself give you any right to live or work in Australia — that's a completely separate visa question, and running day-to-day operations on the ground without the right visa is treated as unlawful work.
• If you just want to freelance/invoice clients as an individual, note that non-residents without a visa granting self-employment rights generally can't lawfully operate as a sole trader in Australia — a Pty Ltd company with a nominee resident director is the more realistic route for a foreign founder who isn't relocating.
• GST registration is only mandatory once turnover hits AUD 75,000/year, but many small nomad-run businesses register voluntarily anyway to claim back GST paid on expenses.
• Corporate income tax in Australia is levied federally, so the rate itself doesn't change between Brisbane and any other Australian city — but Queensland does have its own state-level payroll tax regime for larger wage bills, which is worth checking separately with Queensland Revenue Office if you plan to hire staff.