Setting up an Australian company from Taiwan

Taiwanese manufacturers, technology companies and trading houses entering Australia usually set up a wholly owned Australian proprietary company. That company must have at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia, under s201A of the Corporations Act. The resident director guide covers who qualifies.

Taiwan is a special case on almost every cross-border point. The tax agreement is between two offices rather than two governments, there is no free trade agreement, Taiwan isn't listed in the Apostille Convention table, and Chinese names can be romanised more than one way. Each of these is manageable once you know it is coming.

The parent: a company limited by shares

Most Taiwanese investors are companies limited by shares under Taiwan's Company Act. Article 2 describes that form as a company organised by two or more shareholders, or by one government or corporate shareholder, with capital divided into shares. A Taiwanese group can therefore have its Taiwan subsidiary, or the listed parent itself, take the Australian shares.

Groups with a long offshore history often hold foreign subsidiaries through an intermediate company in another jurisdiction. If yours does, decide early which entity will be the Australian shareholder. That choice determines which tax agreement applies to dividends and which FIRB thresholds apply, as covered below.

Taiwan also has its own rules on outward investment by Taiwanese companies, which may require an approval or a report on the Taiwan side before capital is remitted. We don't advise on Taiwanese law. Confirm the position and the timing with Taiwanese counsel, then build the Australian timetable around it.

The 1996 ACIO–TECO tax agreement

Treasury's income tax treaties table lists Taiwan with an agreement signed on 29 May 1996 and in force since 21 October 1996. Its full title is the Agreement between the Australian Commerce and Industry Office and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office concerning the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income.

Treasury's note 1 explains its legal status. It is a document of less than treaty status, given the force of law in Australia by being enacted as Schedule 1 to the International Tax Agreements Act 1953. For a Taiwanese parent, the practical effect is that it works like Australia's other tax agreements for withholding on dividends, interest and royalties and for business profits, even though it isn't a treaty between states.

Two further points from the Treasury table:

• No MLI modification. The table does not show the Taiwan agreement as modified by the OECD Multilateral Instrument, so the 1996 text is read on its own.
• Listed for MIT withholding. Taiwan is shown as a listed jurisdiction for withholding on managed investment trust distributions, which matters only if the group invests through Australian property or investment trusts.

Rates and eligibility depend on the facts. Ask your tax adviser to apply the agreement before the first dividend, royalty or service fee leaves Australia, and to check the arm's-length pricing of any intra-group charges. Our guides on transfer pricing and company tax for foreign-owned companies cover the Australian obligations. We don't give tax advice.

No FTA: the standard FIRB band

The 2026 FIRB monetary thresholds table lists the "certain FTA partners" that get higher thresholds. Taiwan is not on that list. A private acquirer formed in Taiwan uses the standard band:

The table's footnote cuts both ways. An acquirer formed in an FTA partner country, such as a Singapore or Japanese subsidiary of a Taiwanese group, gets that country's thresholds. Moving an acquisition into a different entity has tax, control and disclosure consequences, so don't do it for the threshold alone. The FIRB process is explained in our FIRB basics guide. Businesses in sensitive sectors such as telecommunications, defence-related activities or encryption and security technologies should get FIRB advice early, because the sensitive-business definitions in the table catch them.

Documents without an apostille

Taiwan does not appear in the HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention. Don't plan around an apostille for Taiwanese documents.

What that means at each step:

• Director ID. For a paper application, ABRS lists the people who can certify identity documents outside Australia: a notary public, or staff at an Australian embassy, high commission or consulate. Using a notary public in Taiwan is the most direct route. Chinese-language documents need an English translation by an appropriate embassy or a NAATI-accredited translator, certified by that service.
• The Australian Office in Taipei. Its consular page lists a limited range of notarial services, such as certifying copies, witnessing signatures and administering affidavits, by appointment and for a fee. Its FAQ sends people who need a single-status certificate to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia, so don't assume the Office can authenticate every kind of document. If you want to use the Office for a Director ID certification, check first with ABRS that it will be accepted.
• Everything else. Where an Australian bank, court or registry wants a Taiwanese company document authenticated, ask that body exactly what it will accept before you start. Requirements differ from one receiving body to the next.

Name romanisation

A Taiwanese passport shows a romanised form of the holder's Chinese name, and that spelling may not match how the director writes it elsewhere, for example on business cards or a foreign visa. Many directors also use an English given name at work. Australian records have to match the passport, so:

1. Take the spelling, hyphenation and order from the passport's data page.
2. Use that exact form on the Director ID application, the consent to act, the ASIC company register and the share register.
3. If the director wants their English name visible, add it in correspondence, not in place of the passport name.
4. Check the bank's KYC form against the same spelling. A missing hyphen in a given name is enough to cause a mismatch.

Taipei time and Australian time

Taiwan is on UTC+8 with no daylight saving, the same as Perth. Sydney and Melbourne are 2 hours ahead from April to early October and 3 hours ahead during Australian daylight saving, which runs from 4 October 2026 to 4 April 2027 according to the NSW Government. Brisbane is 2 hours ahead all year.

That leaves most of the working day in common. A circulating resolution sent from Sydney at 10am reaches Taipei at 7am or 8am. Our guide to signing documents from overseas covers electronic signing and wet-ink options.

Common problems

• A Taipei-based executive named as the only Australian director, who isn't ordinarily resident here.
• Remitting capital before the Taiwan-side approval or report is complete.
• Different romanisations of one director's name across records.
• Ordering an apostille that can't be issued.
• Assuming the higher FIRB band applies without an FTA.

For capital versus intra-group loans, see funding an Australian subsidiary.

Where a resident director fits

Until a Taiwanese manager relocates to Australia, an independent resident director meets s201A and stays in place through later staff changes. Our packages are on the pricing page. The full setup sequence is in the subsidiary setup guide, and Director ID steps for directors in Taiwan are in the Director ID guide.

General information only, current at 28 October 2026. Not legal, tax or financial advice in Australia or Taiwan.

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.