How to register a company in Australia as a foreigner living overseas

A foreigner living overseas can register an Australian proprietary company (Pty Ltd) online and own all of its shares. Two things must be in place first. The company needs at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia, as well as you if you want to be a director. And every director needs a Director ID before appointment. Add a physical registered office address in Australia, the officeholders' signed consents and the A$636 ASIC fee, and you can lodge through the Business Registration Service.

This guide is for an individual founder abroad. If the shareholder will be your overseas company rather than you personally, see Australian subsidiary setup, which covers parent board approvals and holding company details.

What a foreign founder can and can't do

The residency test, and who passes it, is explained in who can be a resident director.

Step by step

1. Pick the name, or accept a number

Check availability on ASIC's name search. If you don't choose a name, the company is named by its ACN, for example "ACN 123 456 789 Pty Ltd". You can reserve a name for 2 months on Form 410, at a fee of A$65 (ASIC fees). Reserving is optional. It's worth doing only if a long Director ID wait might let someone else take the name.

If the company will trade under a name other than its exact registered name, it also needs a business name: A$47 for 1 year or A$108 for 3 years.

2. Get your own Director ID, and start now

If you will be a director, apply for your Director ID before anything else. Without Australian identity documents you apply on paper, using the Application for a director identification number – for people living outside Australia (NAT 75433). You certify your identity documents at an Australian embassy, high commission or consulate, or through a notary with an apostille, and documents not in English need a certified translation (ABRS). You can apply up to 12 months before appointment. The paper process is slow, so this step usually sets your timeline. Full detail: Director ID for foreign directors.

3. Secure the Australian-resident director

This is the step most founders underestimate. Options are a person you know who genuinely lives in Australia, a co-founder or early employee based here, or a professional resident-director service. Whoever it is becomes a full director, with legal duties and personal exposure, so expect them to ask about your business, funding and tax position before agreeing. Our resident director guide explains the obligation and the options.

That director also needs a Director ID and must sign a consent to act before appointment (s201D of the Corporations Act).

4. Fix the registered office address

The registered office must be a physical street address in Australia, not a PO box. It can be an accountant's or a service provider's office, but if the company doesn't occupy it you need the occupier's written consent, and you state on the application that it was given (ASIC: company addresses). You also give a principal place of business address. Both addresses appear on the public register.

Gotcha: after registration ASIC mails the company's corporate key to the registered office. You need it to access the company officeholder portal. If your registered office is a provider's address, agree in writing how and when they will pass it on.

5. Decide shares and governance

For a one-founder company, a common structure is a small number of ordinary shares issued to you, fully paid. You give written consent as a member to the number and class of shares and the amount payable. The application also asks whether you will own the shares beneficially, so if anyone else has an economic interest, say so and take advice. For governance you can rely on the Act's replaceable rules or adopt a constitution. Founders planning to bring in investors usually adopt one. See company constitutions.

6. Collect officeholder details exactly as your passport shows them

For each director and any secretary, ASIC needs the full name including former names, residential address, and date and place of birth (ASIC). ASIC lists officeholder place-of-birth errors among the cases its online service can't process, so copy the format from the passport. If you need to suppress a residential address from the public register, you can't use the online Business Registration Service and must ask ASIC for the paper process.

7. Lodge and pay

Lodge through the Business Registration Service and pay A$636. ASIC emails the ACN and a certificate of registration, and the company exists from the beginning of the day it is registered (s119). The certificate names the state or territory of registration you chose. That choice doesn't limit where the company can trade.

8. Register for tax, then open a bank account

A company registered with ASIC is entitled to an ABN (Australian Business Register). Apply for the ABN, a TFN and, where your turnover or business model requires it, GST registration. See ABN and TFN. Expect the bank to run identity checks on directors and owners, which is often the slowest part for founders abroad: business banking.

Mistakes that cost founders weeks

1. Naming a friend as the resident director without a real arrangement. They take on directors' duties and potential liability for unpaid tax, and many resign within a year. When the only resident director leaves, the company is immediately non-compliant.
2. Signing contracts before the company exists. Under s131, a pre-registration contract binds the company only if it ratifies it, and the person who signed can be liable in damages if it doesn't.
3. Leaving your Director ID until the end. Registration can't proceed without every director having one.
4. Forgetting the board needs two signatures. With two directors and no secretary, documents executed under s127 need both directors. Set up electronic signing on day one.
5. Ignoring the first annual review. ASIC issues an annual statement on each anniversary of registration. The 2026–27 review fee is A$342, and paying late adds A$102, or A$428 after a month. See the ASIC annual review fee guide.

What it costs in year one

ASIC fees alone are A$636 to register, plus A$342 at the first anniversary. On top of that sit your professional costs: accountant, any lawyer, and the resident director and registered office. Our cost calculator gives a first-year estimate, and /pricing shows our fixed annual packages, which start at A$3,400 ex GST. We can also lodge the registration for A$490 plus the ASIC fee, with our director's Director ID and consent ready before lodgement.

We don't advise on tax, visas or legal structure. Talk to your accountant or lawyer about those before you incorporate.

General information as at 27 October 2026, not legal, tax or financial advice for your situation.

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.