Enjoying more than two decades of economic expansion, Australia is a vibrant free market and is one of the wealthiest Asia-Pacific nations. Governed by an effective system, Australia’s economy has been strong, unmarred by recession for more than 25 years. Ensuring your business information in Australia is accurate and up to standards is essential to keeping your business successful. To help companies prepare themselves for business, Links has created a company registration guide, including information such as the main employment laws, public holidays in Australia and best practices in Australia. Please note that all the information listed below are to be used as a general guideline, for more detailed accounts of laws and regulations, please visit the official governmental websites.
Companies looking to set up in Australia are required to fill out a form which is to be submitted to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Once the company is registered, they will be provided with a company number. For more details on this, you may visit the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) site.
In Australia you need to have a tax file number (TFN) to make tax payments. You are also encouraged to get an Australian Business Number (ABN), although this isn’t compulsory.
To open a company bank account in Australia, you’ll need the following:
Australia is home to people from many different cultures. This diversity of cultures brings innovation and new perspectives that can be quite valuable for doing business. If you are opening a company and looking to expand globally, the multinational, multicultural workforce in Australia is a good stepping stone.
Ranked in the global top five on the Index of Economic Freedom, Australia’s effective governance provides multinationals with a safe, secure business environment. Australia’s economy is ranked 15th out of 190 economies for ease of doing business.
When opening a company in Australia, there is less of a need to be worried about not being able to compete in a market with large corporations. The majority (over nine in ten) of Australian businesses are small businesses. They account for 33 per cent of Australia’s GDP, they employ over 40 per cent of Australia’s workforce, and pay around 12 per cent of total company tax revenue.
All companies that have employees need to have a default super fund in the event that an employee does not have a super fund or has not supplied the information for their fund by the time payment is made. The default super fund that you choose must have a “My Super” option, which is a low cost fund.
To learn more about superannuation in Australia, please visit the following link: https://www.apra.gov.au/industries/superannuation
All companies must have workplace health and safety insurance to operate in Australia.
Some forms of insurance are compulsory for Australian businesses, such as:
For more info on the type of insurance your business needs, please visit: https://business.gov.au/risk-management/insurance/business-insurance
It is the responsibility of all Australian businesses to employ legal workers.
A person is a legal worker if they are:
From 1 July 2022, the national minimum wage is $21.38 per hour or $812.60 per 38 hour week (before tax). Casual employees covered by the national minimum wage also get at least a 25% casual loading.
An employer must not request an employee to work more than the following hours of work in a work week, unless the additional hours are reasonable
The hours an employee works in a week must be taken to include any hours of leave or absence (paid or unpaid) that is authorised:
An employee may refuse to work additional hours if they are unreasonable. Here is more information on maximum working hours in Australia.
The Fair Work Act 2009 in Australia states that all permanent employees are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks annual leave per year, based on their hours of work. This accrues from the start date of the employee. Annual leave is paid out in full on termination of employment. See here for more information on paid annual leave.
The Fair Work Act 2009 in Australia states that all permanent employees are entitled to a minimum of 10 days personal leave per year, based on their hours of work. This accrues from the start date of the employee.
Part-time employees have pro-rata days of personal leave. See here for more information on paid sick leave.
An employer must provide an employee with written notice of the day of termination when ending their employment. Some exceptions apply (see below).
An employer may give notice to the employee by either:
An employee may also need to give their employer notice of termination if their award or agreement specifies it. Here is a guide.
Each state has different legislation on Long Service Leave. Most employees’ entitlement to long service leave comes from long service leave laws in each state or territory. These laws set out:
Benefits In Kind
Health insurance is not common practice in Australia and is not an obligation that employers need to cover.
Share Options
Share options are not commonly used as a benefit in Australia, but for more information please visit:
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/investing/shares/employee-share-schemes
When hiring new employees, they must be supplied with the Fair Work Information Statement. They also need to complete the tax file number declaration and superannuation standard choice form. Check this link for more information:
https://www.ato.gov.au/uploadedFiles/Content/IND/Downloads/TFN_declaration_form_N3092.pdf
In Australia, it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of a number of protected attributes, including age, disability, race, sex, intersex status, gender identity and sexual orientation in certain areas of public life, including education and employment. Australia’s federal anti-discrimination laws are contained in the following legislation:
Employees can get parental leave when a child is born or adopted. Parental leave entitlements include:
Employers must supply employees with payment summaries at the end of the financial year. These must be supplied by the 14th of July each year.
The payment summary should show each payee how much is paid to them in the financial year and how much is withheld from the payments.
Each pay period, tax will be taken from the employees pay and paid to the government on behalf of the employee. It is called PAYG Withholding. These payments include:
At the end of the financial year, employers are required to submit tax information on their employees to the government. This is currently done using a PSAR file and used to be called the EMPDUPE
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Salaries can be made via direct credit to employee’s bank accounts, and payslips must be supplied within 1 working day of pay day, even if an employee is on leave.
If the commission, bonus or similar payment relates to work an employee performed in a single pay period (for example, a week, a fortnight or a month) the amount is added to all their other earnings for the current period. Withholding is then calculated using the standard PAYG withholding tax tables.
Read More: Is your company ready for Australia’s Single Touch Payroll?
Public holidays can be different depending on the state or territory you’re in. Below are the national Public Holidays:
Holiday | Date |
---|---|
New Year’s Day | 1 January |
Additional Holiday for New Year’s Day | 3 January |
Australia Day Holiday | 26 January |
Canberra Day | 14 March |
Good Friday | 15 April |
Easter Saturday | 16 April |
Day following Good Friday | 17 April |
Easter Monday | 18 April |
Anzac Day | 25 April |
Reconciliation Day | 30 May |
Queen’s Birthday | 13 June |
Labour Day | 3 October |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Boxing Day | 26 December |
Additional public holiday for Christmas Day | 27 December |
Holiday | Date |
---|---|
New Year’s Day | 1 January |
Additional Holiday for New Year’s Day | 3 January |
Australia Day Holiday | 26 January |
Good Friday | 15 April |
Easter Saturday | 16 April |
Easter Sunday | 17 April |
Easter Monday | 18 April |
Anzac Day | 25 April |
Queen’s Birthday | 13 June |
Labour Day | 3 October |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Boxing Day | 26 December |
Additional public holiday for Christmas Day | 27 December |
Holiday | Date |
---|---|
New Year’s Day | 1 January |
Additional Holiday for New Year’s Day | 3 January |
Australia Day Holiday | 26 January |
Good Friday | 15 April |
Easter Saturday | 16 April |
Easter Monday | 18 April |
Anzac Day | 25 April |
May Day | 2 May |
Queen’s Birthday | 13 June |
Picnic Day | 1 August |
Christmas Eve (from 7pm to midnight) | 24 December |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Additional Public Holiday for Christmas Day | 26 December |
Substitute Day for Boxing Day | 27 December |
New Year’s Eve (from 7pm to midnight) | 31 December |
Holiday | Date |
---|---|
New Year’s Day | 1 January |
Additional Holiday for New Year’s Day | 3 January |
Australia Day Holiday | 26 January |
Good Friday | 15 April |
The day after Good Friday | 16 April |
Easter Sunday | 17 April |
Easter Monday | 18 April |
Anzac Day | 25 April |
Labour Day | 2 May |
Royal Queensland Show also known as Ekka Wednesday (Brisbane area only) | 10 August |
Queen’s Birthday | 3 October |
Christmas Eve (from 6pm to midnight) | 24 December |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Boxing Day | 26 December |
Additional public holiday for Christmas Day | 27 December |
Holiday | Date |
---|---|
Substitute for New Year’s Day | 3 January |
Australia Day Holiday | 26 January |
Adelaide Cup Day (subject to proclamation) | 14 March |
Good Friday | 15 April |
Easter Saturday | 16 April |
Easter Monday | 18 April |
Anzac Day | 25 April |
Queen’s Birthday | 13 June |
Labour Day | 3 October |
Christmas Eve (from 7pm to midnight) | 24 December |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Additional public holiday for Christmas Day | 26 December |
Boxing Day | 27 December |
New Year’s Eve (from 7pm to midnight) | 31 December |
Holiday | Date |
---|---|
New Year’s Day | 3 January |
Australia Day Holiday | 26 January |
Royal Hobart Regatta (only observed in certain areas of the state) | 14 February |
Eight Hours Day | 14 March |
Good Friday | 15 April |
Easter Monday | 18 April |
Easter Tuesday – generally Public Service only | 19 April |
Anzac Day | 25 April |
Queen’s Birthday | 13 June |
Recreation Day (all parts of the state which do not observe Royal Hobart Regatta) | 7 November |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Boxing Day | 26 December |
Additional public holiday for Christmas Day | 27 December |
Holiday | Date |
---|---|
New Year’s Day | 1 January |
Additional Holiday for New Year’s Day | 3 January |
Australia Day Holiday | 26 January |
Labour Day | 14 March |
Good Friday | 15 April |
Saturday before Easter Sunday | 16 April |
Easter Sunday | 17 April |
Easter Monday | 18 April |
Anzac Day | 25 April |
Queen’s Birthday | 13 June |
Friday before AFL Grand Final (subject to AFL schedule) | TBC |
Melbourne Cup | 1 November |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Boxing Day | 26 December |
Additional public holiday for Christmas Day | 27 December |
Holiday | Date |
---|---|
New Year’s Day | 1 January |
Additional Holiday for New Year’s Day | 3 January |
Australia Day Holiday | 26 January |
Labour Day | 7 March |
Good Friday | 15 April |
Easter Monday | 18 April |
Anzac Day | 25 April |
Western Australia Day | 6 June |
Queen’s Birthday (Some regional areas hold on a different date) | 26 September |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Boxing Day | 26 December |
Additional public holiday for Christmas Day | 27 December |
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