GST registration for foreign-owned Australian companies: threshold, timing and the two routes

A foreign-owned Australian company must register for GST within 21 days of its GST turnover reaching $75,000 (current or projected over 12 months). It can also register earlier by choice. Because a Pty Ltd is an Australian company, it uses the ordinary registration that comes with its ABN, not the simplified scheme designed for offshore sellers. The overseas parent is a separate question: it may need its own registration if it sells into Australia directly.

Two different taxpayers, two different routes

Most confusion about GST in foreign-owned groups comes from mixing up two entities.

If your plan is for the subsidiary to contract with Australian customers, the left column is your world. If the parent keeps invoicing Australian consumers from offshore, the right column applies to the parent, and your ABN and TFN setup for the subsidiary doesn't change that.

When the subsidiary must register

The ATO's registration rules require registration when any of these apply:

• GST turnover is $75,000 or more
• you start a new business and expect turnover to reach $75,000 in the first year
• a non-profit's GST turnover is $150,000 or more
• you provide taxi, limousine or ride-sourcing travel, whatever your turnover
• you want to claim fuel tax credits.

Outside those cases registration is optional. If you choose to register, the ATO generally expects you to stay registered for at least 12 months.

Measuring GST turnover properly

GST turnover is total business income, not profit. It excludes GST you charged, input-taxed sales, sales not connected with an enterprise you run, sales not connected with Australia, and certain non-taxable sales to associates.

There are two tests, and either one triggers registration:

• Current GST turnover: this month plus the previous 11 months reaches $75,000.
• Projected GST turnover: this month plus the next 11 months is likely to reach $75,000.

The projected test is the one new subsidiaries trip over. If you've signed a $120,000 annual contract with an Australian customer in month one, you are over the threshold from that month, even though you've only invoiced a fraction of it. The clock is 21 days. Proceeds from selling a capital asset are left out of the projection, and so are sales made because you are closing down or substantially shrinking the business.

Groups

Related entities can form a GST group, and a group member's turnover includes the turnover of the other members, ignoring dealings inside the group. Whether grouping suits a multi-entity Australian structure is a question for your tax adviser.

How the subsidiary registers

The subsidiary needs its ABN first. In practice the GST question is ticked on the same ABN application, straight after ASIC issues the ACN. If the ABN already exists, the ATO lets you add GST through Online services for business, by phone or through a registered tax or BAS agent. The ATO writes to confirm the date your registration takes effect.

From then on the company lodges BAS. The ATO's BAS due dates work like this:

Lodging online or through an agent can add extra time for quarterly BAS, except the October to December quarter, whose 28 February date already includes an extension.

Gotcha: who actually logs in

Online services for business is accessed with a Digital ID linked to the company through the Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). Someone has to hold that access. If no one in the group can set it up, a registered tax or BAS agent can lodge for the company through their own systems. Decide who that is before the first quarter ends, not after.

If the overseas parent sells into Australia

A non-resident business that sells imported services, digital products or low value goods (A$1,000 or less) to Australian consumers must register once its GST turnover from sales connected with Australia reaches A$75,000. Sales made entirely through an electronic distribution platform, such as an app store or marketplace, may not count, because the platform can be responsible for the GST.

The ATO offers three options:

• Simplified GST registration: no ABN, an ATO reference number instead, quarterly returns, no proof of identity, no tax invoices and no GST credits.
• Standard GST registration: an ABN, proof of identity, BAS monthly or quarterly, tax invoices and GST credits. A non-resident can't lodge electronically from outside Australia, so the ATO points to an Australian registered agent.
• Standard GST-only registration: for a non-resident that isn't entitled to an ABN but needs to claim GST credits.

An entity can't hold both an ABN and an ATO reference number, so it can't be registered under simplified and standard at the same time.

One rule catches retailers. If the parent imports stock and warehouses it in Australia before selling, simplified registration is not available. The goods are already in Australia when sold, so standard registration is needed. Our e-commerce page covers how that plays out for online sellers, and the SaaS page covers digital services.

Business-to-business sales across the border

Sales of services and digital products from an offshore supplier to an Australian GST-registered business are generally not subject to GST in the supplier's hands. If the customer isn't buying wholly for a creditable purpose, it may owe the GST itself under the reverse charge. The ATO warns that charging GST incorrectly can mean the customer pays twice. That matters for intercompany charges. When the parent bills the subsidiary for management services or software, your adviser should confirm whether GST belongs on the invoice at all.

Getting registration wrong

If you should have registered and didn't, the ATO can collect GST on sales from the date you were required to register, even if your prices never included it, plus penalties and interest. Registration can be backdated, but by no more than 4 years unless there is fraud or evasion.

There is also a director angle. Unpaid GST is one of the amounts the director penalty regime can make directors personally liable for, and late reporting can lock that liability down. Our director penalty notice guide explains the mechanics. For that reason we ask about GST status before our director is appointed, and the compliance calendar tool can map your BAS dates alongside ASIC deadlines.

What to do this month

1. Ask whether the subsidiary's projected turnover for the next 12 months reaches $75,000. If yes, register now.
2. Confirm whether the parent also sells directly to Australian consumers, and if so which registration it holds.
3. Appoint a registered tax or BAS agent, and record who lodges and pays BAS.
4. Check intercompany invoices for GST treatment with your adviser.

We don't give tax advice, and your accountant should make these calls. If you also need the Australian-resident director to be in place before the company trades, you can start here.

General information current at 27 October 2026. Not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm your position with a registered tax agent.

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.