There is nothing like Australia. It is one of the most business friendly countries in the world and The World Bank has ranked Australia in the 13th place in terms of ease of doing business and 11th in terms of starting a new business. Most of the crème de la crème of entrepreneurs flows into Australia for doing business but there are few things that every entrepreneur who is expanding their operations to Australia should know about. Here we have highlighted some important things that you need to consider before starting a business in Australia.
Decide the Business Structure of Your Company
Before you even think about incorporating your company in the Australian territory, you must be absolutely clear about the business structure of your company. Currently there are four types of business structure that are commonly used in Australia.
• Sole Trader
• Company
• Partnership
• Trust
All these business structure have various pros and cons so it is recommended that you avail advisory services to find the business structure that best suits your needs.
Understand Your Legal Obligations and the Corporate Tax Structure
As a business, you would have certain obligations to fulfill and file the tax return every year. Most entrepreneurs start their business in Australia without factoring in the affect of taxation and legal obligations in their business model. Although new businesses are exempt from taxes in the first few years but over the long term horizon taxes will affect the business, whether big or small.
Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI)
If you are a foreigner and are looking to start and manage a business entity in Australia, then before obtaining a business visa (known as The Business Innovation and Investment Visa in Australia) you have to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI). On the basis of EOI a businessperson will be invited to apply for the Australian Business visa.
Obtain a Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Before you indulge in any business activity of providing a service to individuals or corporations in Australia, you must have a well drafted Service Level Agreement (SLA). This agreement provides a clear understanding of the scope, responsibilities and quality that the service provider will deliver to the service user. All the SLAs have a pre-defined contracted delivery time for the services that they render.
Obtain a Statement of Work (SOW)
If you are not in the business of providing services to your clients then most likely you will be in the business of manufacturing or developing something. So before you undertake a project, as a business you will be required to develop a statement of work. A SOW will address many areas like the purpose of work, period of performance, acceptance criteria etc.
Both these SLAs and SOWs are legal documents that need to be made with special care to avoid discrepancy later, during the project work or the provision of services. It is, therefore, recommended that you hire an expert for drafting these documents.