company decision for a foreign-owned business operating from Perth. Corporate and GST tax law in Australia is federal, so figures apply uniformly regardless of which Australian city the business is based in.
Good to know
Good to Know
- The resident director rule is the single biggest practical hurdle for a solo foreign founder — you cannot complete ASIC registration at all without one, so plan this before anything else, not as an afterthought.
- Ownership and directorship are legally separate in Australia: a non-resident can own 100% of the shares in a Pty Ltd while a resident director (even a paid nominee) handles the local compliance role.
- This process is identical whether you're incorporating in Perth, Sydney, or Melbourne — ASIC is a single national regulator, so there's no Perth- or WA-specific company registry or discount.
- Budget for the ASIC annual review fee as a genuine recurring cost, not just the one-off registration fee — it's easy for new founders to forget and get hit with a surprise invoice a year in.
- If your business is in real estate, agriculture, or critical infrastructure, check FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) approval requirements separately — this is on top of, not instead of, ASIC registration.
- The company tax rate (25% or 30%) is identical whether the shareholders are Australian or fully foreign — there's no punitive 'foreign owner' surcharge on the corporate rate itself, though foreign shareholders can face dividend withholding tax when profits are distributed out of Australia.
- A common trap for foreigners: setting up a Pty Ltd requires at least one Australian-resident director. If you're not living in Australia yet, budget for a professional resident-director service until you qualify to hold that role yourself.
- If you're only invoicing overseas clients as a solo freelancer and staying under the AUD 75,000 GST threshold, a sole-trader ABN is usually far simpler and cheaper than incorporating — many nomads only move to a Pty Ltd once turnover, liability exposure, or client expectations justify it.
- GST/company tax rules are federal and identical whether your business is based in Perth, Sydney, or elsewhere in Australia — Perth itself doesn't have city-specific business tax rates, though Western Australia does levy its own state payroll tax on larger payrolls, which wasn't verified at the time of research.
Business Tax And Structure Options
- No Visa Required To Register
- You do not need an Australian visa simply to register an ABN, an ACN, or a Pty Ltd company — this can be done remotely without a visa or physical presence in Australia. A visa is only required if you personally intend to work/manage operations on the ground in Australia.
GST
- Standard Rate Pct
- 10
- Registration Threshold
- A$75,000
- Note
- GST registration (and quoting an ABN) becomes compulsory once an entity's turnover reaches this threshold; below it, registration is optional. Whether sole trader or company, the ABN is the identifier used for GST/BAS.
Corporate Tax
- Reduced Rate Pct
- 25
- Standard Rate Pct
- 30
- Reduced Rate Eligibility
- The 25% rate applies to companies with aggregated turnover under AUD 50 million and no more than 80% of assessable income made up of defined passive income (interest, rents, net capital gains, etc.).
- Foreign Ownership Treatment
- The Australian corporate tax rate applies identically to foreign-owned and domestically-owned companies — there is no separate, higher rate for a foreign-owned Pty Ltd.
- Aggregated Turnover Threshold
- A$50,000,000
- Dividend Withholding To Foreign Shareholders
- Unfranked dividends paid to non-resident shareholders are generally subject to 30% withholding tax, reduced to typically 5–15% under Australia's tax treaties with the shareholder's home country.
- Global Minimum Tax Note
- A 15% global minimum tax / domestic minimum top-up tax regime applies to large multinational groups with annual global revenue of EUR 750 million or more — this is not relevant to a typical small or solo nomad-run business.
- Permanent Establishment Note
- A foreign company (rather than an Australian-incorporated subsidiary) is generally taxed by the ATO only on income connected to a permanent establishment it has in Australia, not on its worldwide income.
Filing Obligations Company
- Register with ASIC to obtain an Australian Company Number (ACN), then apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN) via the Australian Business Register — the ABN is derived from the ACN with a two-digit prefix.
- Lodge an annual company income tax return with the ATO; self-lodged returns are generally due 28 February, with an extension to 15 May if lodged through a registered tax agent.
- Pay tax via the ATO's Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalment system throughout the year, with the balance settled after the annual return is filed.
- Keep supporting business records (invoices, receipts, nature of expense) — the ATO recommends a minimum 5-year retention period.
- A Pty Ltd company must maintain at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia, per ASIC's resident director requirement under the Corporations Act.
Filing Obligations Sole Trader
- Register for an ABN through the Australian Business Register (free, done online).
- No ACN or separate company tax return is required — business income/expenses are reported on the individual's personal Australian tax return.
- Must register for GST once turnover reaches the AUD 75,000 threshold, and lodge Business Activity Statements (BAS) accordingly.
- If the sole trader does not quote a valid ABN on invoices over AUD 75 (excl. GST), the payer must generally withhold tax at 47% and remit it to the ATO.
Structure Comparison For Foreigners
Company Pty Ltd
- Cons
- Requires at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia — a genuine hurdle for a foreigner without a local presence, typically solved by hiring a professional resident-director/nominee service; higher setup and ongoing compliance costs (ASIC company registration fee, annual review fee, potential need for a registered tax agent).
- Pros
- Limited liability for shareholders; profit taxed at the flat 25% or 30% corporate rate regardless of the owner's personal residency status; often preferred by clients, banks, and investors as a more credible structure.
- What It Is
- A separate legal entity registered with ASIC, receiving an ACN, and then an ABN.
- Registration Fee
- A$611
- Registration Fee Note
- Sources show the ASIC company registration fee at AUD 611 for 2025–26, with one source citing an increase to AUD 636 from 1 July 2026 — confirm the current fee on ASIC's own site before registering.
Foreign Company Branch
- What It Is
- Registering your existing overseas company as a foreign branch in Australia rather than incorporating a new local entity.
- Requirement
- A foreign company branch must appoint an Australian-resident local agent, and the branch is taxed on Australian-sourced/permanent-establishment income only.
Sole Trader Freelancer
- Cons
- No limited liability — you are personally liable for business debts; business profit is taxed as personal income at individual (resident or non-resident) rates rather than the flat company rate.
- Pros
- Cheapest and fastest to set up (free ABN registration, no ASIC company fee); minimal ongoing compliance; no requirement for an Australian-resident director.
- What It Is
- Operating as an individual under your own ABN — no separate legal entity, no ACN.
- Personal Tax Note
- Profit flows to the individual's personal tax return, so the applicable rate depends on the person's personal tax residency status — that determination is covered separately in this city's Visa & Legal category, not repeated here.
Incorporation Process And Requirements
- Regulatory Body
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) — this is a national/federal process; Perth and Western Australia have no separate local company registry. State-level involvement is limited to things like WA business licensing/permits for specific trades, not company formation itself.
- Common Structure For Foreigners
- Proprietary limited company (Pty Ltd) is the standard vehicle foreign founders use to set up in Perth/WA, as it offers limited liability and is widely accepted by Australian banks and counterparties.
Costs AUD
- ABN Registration
- A$0.00
Applying for an Australian Business Number via the Australian Business Register is free for eligible entities.
- ASIC Annual Review Fee
- A$342
Recurring yearly ASIC fee to keep the company registered, payable from the first anniversary of registration; not a one-off setup cost.
- ASIC Pty Ltd Registration Fee
- A$636
Standard ASIC government fee to register a proprietary company (Pty Ltd), effective from 1 July 2026.
- Typical All In Cost Using A Formation Agent
- A$1,536
Indicative combined cost (ASIC government fee plus a typical registered agent's professional fee for handling the lodgement) cited by one Australian company-formation service; DIY self-lodging with ASIC directly costs only the government fee, but carries more risk of structural mistakes.
Resident Director Service Fee
- Note
- Nominee/professional resident director services charge an ongoing fee (commonly billed annually) if a founder has no personal contact who can act as resident director; exact pricing varies significantly by provider and was not verified against an authoritative source, so no figure is given here.
Official Links
- Australian Business Register ABN
- https://www.abr.gov.au/
- ASIC Foreign Company Registration
- https://www.asic.gov.au/for-business-and-companies/foreign-companies/register-a-foreign-company-in-australia/
Realistic Timeline
- ABN And GST
- ABN issuance via the Australian Business Register is generally quick (often near-instant to a few days) once the company is registered.
- Main Bottleneck
- The realistic bottleneck for foreign founders is not ASIC's processing speed but sourcing and onboarding a qualifying resident director before lodgement — ASIC will not register the company at all without one already confirmed.
- Director ID Issuance
- Typically issued within a few days once the prospective director's identity is verified via myGovID/ABRS.
- ASIC Company Registration
- Once a resident director is confirmed and consented, and the Form 201 is correctly lodged, ASIC registration itself is normally fast — often same-day to a few business days for a straightforward Pty Ltd application.
Incorporation Steps
- Choose a business structure (Pty Ltd subsidiary is most common for founders planning ongoing local operations; foreign company/branch registration for those trading under an existing overseas entity).
- Secure and check availability of a company name with ASIC.
- Identify and appoint a resident director (or engage a nominee/professional resident director service) and obtain their written consent to act.
- Obtain a Director Identification Number (DIN/Director ID) for every proposed director via the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) — foreign nationals apply using certified identity documents, and the ID is generally issued within days.
- Confirm a registered office address and principal place of business in Australia.
- Lodge the incorporation application (Form 201 – Application for Registration as an Australian Company) with ASIC, including director details, consents, and share structure.
- Once registered, apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN) via the Australian Business Register (free) and, if relevant, register for GST.
- Optionally register a separate trading/business name with ASIC if trading under a name other than the company's legal name.
- Check whether Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval is needed — this applies only to certain sectors such as real estate, agriculture, and critical infrastructure, not to company registration generally.
Foreign Ownership Rules
- Can Foreigners Own 100 Percent
- Yes
- Detail
- Foreign shareholders are permitted, and in most industries 100% foreign ownership is allowed.
Local Partner Or Sponsor Mandate
- Type
- Resident director
- Detail
- Under the Corporations Act 2001, a proprietary limited company must have at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia, and this rule applies regardless of the nationality of the company's ultimate owners or shareholders. This is not a 'local partner' in the ownership sense (a foreigner can still own 100% of shares) — it's a director residency requirement.
- Exists
- Yes
- Citizenship Required
- No
- Workaround For Founders Without A Local Contact
- Founders without a trusted Australia-based person commonly engage a professional nominee/resident director service to satisfy this requirement while retaining full ownership and operational control.
- Risk Note
- A resident director carries real personal legal duties (e.g. around insolvent trading, ASIC/ATO compliance) and can be held personally liable for breaches — this is a genuine legal role, not just a formality, whether filled by an acquaintance or a paid nominee service.
- Visa Note
- The key legal requirement is residency, not citizenship — a person on a temporary visa can satisfy the requirement if they genuinely ordinarily reside in Australia, and their visa type does not matter, only actual residence.
Alternative Structure Foreign Branch
- Form
- Form 402 – Application for registration as a foreign company
- Detail
- This route lets an overseas entity trade in Australia under its existing legal personality; it avoids the resident director requirement but instead requires appointing an ASIC local agent, and the foreign parent retains full liability for the Australian operations.
- Option
- Register as a foreign company (branch) via ASIC Form 402 instead of incorporating a new Australian entity
- Registration Fee Note
- Foreign company registration via Form 402 carries the same headline ASIC fee as standard Pty Ltd registration.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this business permits & incorporation for foreigners research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Perth
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.