Legal & Contracting in Australia

Essentials guide · Source-checked research48% of statements checked against a source30 checked against an official source0 checked against a secondary sourceChecked 2026-10-1913 held back until checked against an official source10 topics include AI-written statements, not source-checkedNot yet professionally reviewed

• A proprietary company limited by shares (Pty Ltd) is the most common type of company for small business in Australia; a proprietary company cannot offer its shares to the public and can have no more than 50 members who are not employees.

  Federal Corporations Act 2001; members are liable only up to the amount unpaid on their shares.Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) · checked 2026-10-19

• A proprietary company must have at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia.

  Federal requirement; public companies need at least three directors, at least two of whom ordinarily reside in Australia. Proprietary companies with crowd-sourced funding shareholders need at least two directors, a majority of whom normally live in Australia.Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) · checked 2026-10-19

• A foreign company that carries on business in Australia must register with ASIC as a registered foreign company, receive an Australian Registered Body Number (ARBN) and appoint a local agent.

  Federal; applies to branch operations of overseas companies. A foreign company that does business in Australia only through an Australian subsidiary does not itself need to register. Ongoing obligations include keeping a registered office, displaying the company name, maintaining a local agent and reporting to ASIC.Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) · checked 2026-10-19

• The National Employment Standards are 12 minimum entitlements for employees: maximum weekly hours, requests for flexible working arrangements, offers and requests to move from casual to permanent work, parental leave, annual leave, personal, carer's, compassionate and family and domestic violence leave, community service leave, long service leave, public holidays, superannuation contributions, notice of termination and redundancy pay, and the Fair Work and Casual Employment Information Statements.

  Federal. Modern awards set minimum standards for an industry or occupation and cannot provide less than the NES; an enterprise agreement applies instead of the relevant award and its pay rates cannot be lower than the award. Casual employees get only some NES entitlements.Australian Government, business.gov.au · checked 2026-10-19

• Foreign persons are banned from buying established dwellings in Australia from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, subject to limited exceptions.

  Federal foreign investment policy. The ban was originally due to end on 31 March 2027. Temporary residents can still apply for approval to buy new dwellings or vacant residential land.Australian Taxation Office · checked 2026-10-19

• Foreign interests in Australian land, water entitlements and certain other assets must be recorded on the federal Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets, kept by the ATO.

  Federal; applies to foreign persons acquiring registrable interests.AI-written, not source-checked

• The federal Privacy Act 1988 and its 13 Australian Privacy Principles regulate how private sector organisations collect, use, disclose and secure personal information, with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as regulator.

  Applies to organisations with annual turnover above AUD 3 million and to some other organisations. The OAIC small business page lists health service providers and businesses that trade in personal information among those covered regardless of turnover.Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) · checked 2026-10-19

• Before disclosing personal information overseas, an organisation must take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient handles it consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles, and generally remains accountable for the recipient's handling.

  Federal; exceptions in APP 8.2 include a recipient subject to a substantially similar law or scheme, informed consent, and disclosures required or authorised by Australian law.Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) · checked 2026-10-19

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