Expanding from New Zealand to Australia: what trans-Tasman founders get wrong

A New Zealand business expanding to Australia gets no trans-Tasman shortcut on directors. An Australian Pty Ltd must have at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia under s201A of the Corporations Act, and a director living in New Zealand doesn't count. The reverse isn't true: New Zealand accepts an Australia-resident director who sits on an Australian company's board. Many Kiwi founders assume the arrangement runs both ways, and only find out it doesn't when they register.

The one-way street on directors

New Zealand's Companies Office says every New Zealand company needs at least one director who lives in New Zealand, or lives in Australia and is a current director of an Australian-incorporated company. You give that company's ACN when you register (NZ Companies Office).

Australia has no equivalent concession. Section 201A(1) of the Corporations Act says a proprietary company's director "must ordinarily reside in Australia". There is no reference to New Zealand and no exception for New Zealand residents, and the same wording ("ordinarily reside in Australia") applies to the two resident directors of an Australian public company in s201A(2). We checked the current Act text for this page: a director whose home is in Wellington doesn't satisfy s201A, however often they cross the Tasman.

What does count is residence, not citizenship. A New Zealand citizen who has moved to Australia and ordinarily lives here can be the resident director. Many NZ-owned Australian companies use exactly that person: a Kiwi manager based in Sydney or Melbourne. The risk is the day they move home. From then on the company is non-compliant until another Australia-resident director is appointed. See who can be a resident director for the residency test.

Choosing a vehicle: Pty Ltd or registered NZ company

Most NZ groups set up an Australian Pty Ltd. Some register the New Zealand company itself in Australia as a foreign company (ARBN), which needs a resident local agent rather than a resident director.

The branch route has one trans-Tasman advantage. Under s601CK a registered foreign company must lodge its financial statements in Australia every calendar year. For NZ companies, s601CDA removes the duty to lodge information with ASIC when the company has given it to the equivalent authority in a prescribed country. In practice, the NZ Companies Office lets NZ companies registered in Australia file their statements online or by email with Form AU4 and forwards them to ASIC, with no filing fee. Filing directly with ASIC does attract fees (NZ Companies Office). Any other reporting to ASIC still goes to ASIC directly.

That saves money but doesn't remove the local agent, the 7-day registered office notice or the public disclosure of the NZ company's accounts. Compare both routes in subsidiary vs branch, and see the local agent guide for branch duties.

FIRB: where New Zealand gets better treatment, and where it doesn't

New Zealand is one of Australia's "certain FTA partners". The official table for 2026, which took effect on 1 January 2026 (foreigninvestment.gov.au), gives private New Zealand investors:

• More than A$1,498 million for a substantial interest in an entity that isn't carrying on a sensitive business, and more than A$347 million for one that is;
• More than A$1,498 million for agricultural land. Only Chile, New Zealand and the United States get this. Other FTA partners are on A$15 million cumulative;
• More than A$1,498 million for mining or production tenements, shared with Chile, Peru and the United States. Most other investors are at A$0;
• an exemption for certain agribusiness interests acquired by private investors from the United States, New Zealand or Chile, under s40(1) of the Regulation.

Where NZ gets no special treatment:

• Individuals. New Zealand citizens not ordinarily resident in Australia are generally foreign persons, just like other nationals. Citizens who hold, or are eligible for, a special category visa are exempt from approval for residential land only (FIRB Guidance Note 2).
• Companies. A NZ-incorporated parent is a foreign corporation, and an Australian company in which it holds a substantial interest (20% or more) is itself a foreign person under s4 of the Act.
• Immediate acquirer. The FTA threshold applies only if the immediate acquirer is formed in New Zealand. Buying through an Australian or third-country vehicle changes the analysis.
• Government owners. NZ entities in which a government holds a substantial interest can be foreign government investors, with A$0 thresholds.

We don't give FIRB advice. Our FIRB basics guide gives the general position, and your adviser applies it.

Tax treaty

Treasury's income tax treaties table lists Australia–New Zealand as a comprehensive tax treaty in force. The current agreement was signed on 26 June 2009 and entered into force on 19 March 2010, replacing the 1995 treaty, and it is modified by the multilateral instrument. Dividends between the two countries also raise imputation and franking questions. That is specialist tax ground, and outside our scope, so take advice.

Documents and Director IDs

New Zealand has been party to the Apostille Convention since 22 November 2001, and Australia since 1995 (HCCH), so NZ public documents can be apostilled rather than legalised. Every director of the Australian company, including NZ-based directors, needs a Director ID before appointment. Directors without Australian identity documents apply on paper, with certified copies. See Director ID for foreign directors.

Time zones: close, but daylight saving moves twice

New Zealand's daylight saving runs from the last Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April (govt.nz). New South Wales and Victoria start a week or so later, on the first Sunday in October. Perth has no daylight saving. A 9 am Auckland board call is 7 am in Sydney for most of the year and 4 or 5 am in Perth, so a Perth-based director usually signs in the afternoon round.

Pitfalls specific to trans-Tasman groups

• Relying on an NZ director who "spends half the year in Sydney". Ordinary residence depends on where they actually live, not how many days they spend here.
• Assuming NZ lodgements cover Australia. The financial statements pass-through applies to the branch route only. A Pty Ltd has its own ASIC annual review (A$342 in 2026–27) and solvency resolution every year.
• Losing the Kiwi resident director to a move home with no replacement lined up. A replacement can take days to appoint, so plan the handover before they move.

Working with us

AG Resident Directorship provides the Australia-resident director for NZ-owned Pty Ltd companies. Your NZ directors stay on the board and keep control of the business. Appointment is lodged within 5 business days of completed identity checks, or 2 business days on our express option for A$350. Tell us about your group at /start. Tax, FIRB and legal structuring stay with your advisers on both sides of the Tasman.

This is general information current at 27 October 2026. It is not legal, tax or financial advice.

General information about Australian law and practice, not legal or tax advice for your circumstances. Check the official sources, or ask your adviser, before you act.