AG Resident Directorship for advisers
A resident director you can recommend without worrying about it later.
A short, printable guide for accountants, lawyers and advisers whose overseas clients need an Australian-resident director. Your client always makes the first move: you share a link, they apply. Print it, keep it with your engagement notes, or hand it to a colleague.
The model in one sentence
You share a link. Your client applies. We reply to them, and only them.
We do not take referrals by phone, email or partner form, and we never contact a client because an adviser told us about them. Under our communication rule, every message we send must be triggered by the customer. Your co-branded link is how your client triggers it, in their own time, with your name attached.
Why it works this way. Your client is about to trust an Australian director with their company's compliance, and our director is about to take on personal legal duties for that company. That relationship has to start with the client's own decision, not a cold call. It also keeps you clear of passing on personal information without consent.
Step by step
How a referral works
Four steps. You do the first one; your client does the rest.
Get your co-branded link
When you register as a partner and accept the partner terms, you receive a personal link to our onboarding form. It looks like this: /start?partner=harbour-accounting. The last part identifies your firm. Partner registration opens at launch.
Give the link to your client
Put it in your advice letter, your engagement email or a message to your client. Suggest that they read our pricing and compliance pages first. Do not send us their details; there is nothing for you to fill in.
Your client applies themselves
Your client completes the onboarding form. Your firm appears on their application as "Referred by". They can also tick an optional box to share their application status with you. If they leave it unticked, we do not tell you anything about their application.
We reply to your client
Your client receives a fixed quote, engagement letter and identity checklist, in reply to their own application. If they opted to share status, you can see where their application is (from launch). You never have to chase us, and we never chase them.
Who it is for
Advisers to foreign-owned Australian companies
- Accountants and tax agents
- Commercial and corporate lawyers
- FIRB and foreign-investment advisers
- Migration agents and incorporation agents
What you get
A safe recommendation, with no admin
- We never touch your scope: no accounting, tax or legal advice
- Client-triggered handover with a shared status view
- 20% first-year referral fee or a client discount, at the partner's choice, disclosed to the client and subject to the partner's professional obligations
- Co-branded onboarding link
Any referral fee or client discount is disclosed to the client before they sign. Fees are paid only once the client has paid us.
The rules
What we will and will not do with a referral
These rules protect your client relationship and your reputation.
We will
- Reply to your client after they apply through your link
- Show your firm on their application as "Referred by"
- Share status with you only if your client ticked the box
- Stay inside our scope: the resident director, governance and compliance
We will not
- Will not: Contact anyone you name to us who has not applied themselves
- Will not: Accept client details from you by form, email or phone
- Will not: Give accounting, tax or legal advice to your client
- Will not: Add your client, or you, to a marketing list
Ready when you are
See what your client will see.
Open the onboarding form with an example partner link to see the client's experience from start to finish. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.