Starting a business in Australia

Legal issues that you need to be aware of

the best legal and business structure – see Asset Protection;
company formation or partnership contracts – see Shareholders Agreement;
drafting trading terms and contracts with other businesses – see Contract Law;
negotiating business agreements – see Negotiation;
asset protection and advice on how to prevent problems – see Risk Management;
company and corporate legal issues – see Companies and Corporate Law;
overseas businesses starting in Australia – see Company Registration and Directors;

If you have any questions about other legal issues involved in starting a business (such as employment agreements, buying a business or leases) please Contact Us.

Avoid personal liability when starting a business

One of the main reasons people choose a company when starting a business is to avoid personal liability. But a company is not enough - not without further protection. For example:

If you are a director of a company, you can be held personally liable for things such as:

debts which are incurred by the company if it can't pay its debts when they fall due
withholding tax payable by a company to the ATO.

Whether you are a director or not you can be held personally liable under many laws e.g. the Trade Practices Act.

If you are a shareholder of a private company or a unit holder in a trust you are exposed to potential litigation by other shareholders (which is more common than most people realise) if you don't have a suitable shareholders agreement to protect you.

These are just some of the many business risks you should be aware of when you are starting a business. A lot of these can easily be prevented, or the fall-out minimised, if you know about them in advance and you take some simple steps (see Risk Management).

Australian Company Registration

For information about how to register a company and other business registration requirements see Company Registration and Directors.

We do a lot of work helping foreign or overseas companies who are thinking of starting a business in Australia. We can provide an Australian resident director and an Australian address for your registered office to comply with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001. We also provide other services which new businesses invariably need.

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