Asian Business Services

Foreign persons generally require Foreign Investment Review Board approval before acquiring an interest in Australian land, with different rules for residential, commercial, agricultural and vacant land. Approval is also required for certain business and share acquisitions. Approval takes time and should be built into the contract conditions rather than dealt with after signing.

Yes. Queensland imposes additional foreign acquirer duty on top of transfer duty for certain acquisitions by foreign persons, and land tax surcharges can apply to foreign owners. The rates and thresholds are adjusted periodically, so they should be confirmed against the current Queensland Revenue Office position before you commit.

Yes, subject to foreign investment approval where thresholds are met. The practical questions are usually structural: whether to use an Australian subsidiary or register a foreign company as a branch, who can act as a resident director, and how profits, tax and duty will work across both jurisdictions.

Yes. Alex Lam works in both Mandarin and Cantonese and reads and writes traditional and simplified Chinese; Vicky Geng is a native Mandarin speaker. Documents are prepared in English, as the law requires, with the substance explained in your language.

Routinely. We are a member of the Alliott Global Alliance of independent law and accounting firms, and we also work with advisers our clients already have. Coordinating the Australian and home-jurisdiction advice early usually avoids a structure that works well in one country and badly in the other.

In most cases, yes. Australian law now accommodates electronic execution for many company and commercial documents, though some instruments — particularly land dealings and certain deeds — carry stricter requirements and may need witnessing or verification of identity. We confirm the requirements for your specific documents before settlement rather than at it.

An Australian proprietary company must have at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia, and each director needs a director identification number. Beyond that you will need a registered office, a tax file number and usually an ABN and GST registration. We handle the incorporation and the structuring advice that should precede it.