---
title: "Running a Company in Australia: Annual Filings & Costs 2026"
description: "Running a Pty Ltd in Australia: ASIC's annual review fee of AUD 342, 30% company tax, activity statements, super with every payday, and the upkeep."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/australia/entity-running-costs-and-filings
---

# What it costs to run a company in Australia.

An Australian Pty Ltd pays ASIC's annual review fee, lodges its tax return and activity statements with the tax office, and pays super for staff with every payday. Teamed can keep the company running for you. If you run your own entity in Australia, Teamed is the best choice. With Teamed, you get 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes, real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, and a designated person who has done this before.

Served by Teamed's own legal entity in Australia

Last reviewed 15 October 2026 · Australia guide

![A quiet cobbled lane of old sandstone warehouses with iron balconies in The Rocks, Sydney, with the harbour in soft early morning light at the end of the street.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/australia/entity-running-costs-and-filings/images/hero.webp)

Australia at a glance

## The facts most people need first

Australia charges little to keep a company on the register. The cost of running one is the work: an annual review with ASIC, a tax return and regular activity statements for the tax office, a payroll that reports every pay run and pays super, and the officers the law asks a foreign-owned company to keep. Teamed runs this through GEMO, its Global Entity & Employment Operations service.

- **Annual review**: Every 12 months, on the anniversary of registration
- **ASIC annual review fee**: AUD 342
- **Company tax**: 30% for a subsidiary of a large group, one return a year
- **Activity statements**: GST and withholding on wages, usually every quarter or every month
- **Super**: Paid to each employee's fund with every payday
- **Officers you must keep**: A director who lives in Australia and a public officer
- **Who answers for it**: The directors

Three regulators

## Running an Australian company means three calendars

People expect one annual bill and one annual form. An Australian company answers to three bodies on three rhythms, and each one notices when you miss it.

ASIC wants the annual review on the anniversary of registration, and to hear about any change to the company's details. The tax office wants the company tax return, activity statements through the year, a report from every pay run, and super paid with each payday. The state, New South Wales here, wants payroll tax once wages pass its threshold and a workers' compensation policy for as long as you employ anyone.

The table shows what falls due, to whom and how often. Super and the pay-run reports are the ones that decide whether a small company feels well run.

| Filing | Who to | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Annual review: check the statement and pay the fee | ASIC | Every 12 months, from the anniversary of registration |
| Directors' solvency resolution | Kept by the company | Each year, soon after the review date, unless a financial report was lodged in the past year |
| Company tax return | Australian Taxation Office | Once a year |
| Activity statements for GST and withholding | Australian Taxation Office | Usually every quarter or every month |
| Pay-run report | Australian Taxation Office | Every pay run |
| Super for each employee | The employee's super fund | With every payday |
| Payroll tax, once wages pass the threshold | Revenue NSW | Every month, with a yearly reconciliation |

Once a year

## What the annual review involves

There is no annual return form to write. Instead, ASIC sends the company a statement of its registered details after each anniversary of registration, under [its annual review](https://www.asic.gov.au/for-business-and-companies/companies/company-annual-review). The company checks the details and corrects anything wrong, pays the fee, and, unless it lodged a financial report with ASIC in the past year, its directors pass a resolution that the company can pay its debts.

The fee is small. The annual review costs AUD 342 on ASIC's [fee table](https://www.asic.gov.au/for-business-and-companies/forms-and-fees/all-fees/fee-indexation), and ASIC adjusts it for inflation each July. Paying late adds a late fee, and leaving it unpaid long enough can end with ASIC removing the company from the register.

One more filing catches foreign-owned companies. A small proprietary company controlled by a foreign company usually has to prepare an audited annual financial report and lodge it with ASIC. The exceptions are narrow: the parent is registered with ASIC as a foreign company and lodges consolidated accounts that include it, or the group is small enough for ASIC's relief, which a subsidiary of a large group usually is not. Budget for it from the first year, because the monthly range below does not include it.

What you actually pay

## What does it cost to run an Australian company each month

The state's share is small. The government's fees are published, so each one is auditable against the official schedule, whoever files for you. The real cost is professional work, and for a foreign parent it includes the person Australian law asks you to keep: a director who lives there, unless you already have one. A company with a handful of transactions a month sits at the lower end of the range below.

Market estimate

AUD 650 to AUD 1,800 a month

What the market charges each month for accounting, a registered office and a resident director, before audit, rent and payroll. Not a Teamed price.

A subsidiary of a large group pays 30% on its profit, under the [company tax rules](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/company-tax-rate-changes). The lower rate for smaller companies counts the turnover of the whole group, foreign companies included.

Every pay run

## Payroll, super and payroll tax never pause

Once you employ anyone, the pay-run rhythm takes over. The company withholds tax from wages, which it [registered to do](https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/starting-registering-or-closing-a-business/starting-your-own-business/registration-obligations-for-businesses/work-out-which-registrations-you-need/taxation-registrations/pay-as-you-go-withholding) before its first payment, and reports every pay run to the tax office through payroll software. Since July 2026, under [Payday Super](https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/paying-super-on-payday/payment-deadlines-for-payday-super), each employee's super has to reach their fund soon after every payday, so super is no longer a quarterly job.

In New South Wales the company keeps a workers' compensation policy in force, and once its wages pass the payroll tax threshold it registers with Revenue NSW and files every month. The threshold counts the wages of related businesses together, so a group with other Australian companies reaches it sooner. Most small companies buy payroll in rather than run it themselves, and the monthly range above leaves payroll out, so add it for the size of your team.

What you take on

## Who answers when something is late

The directors. Australian company law makes them responsible for the company's records and filings, and the tax office can hold them personally liable for unpaid withholding tax, GST and super. That includes the resident director, whether you hired them or bought them in, and the public officer answers to the tax office for the company's tax affairs.

That is the strongest argument for having one person own the filing calendar, rather than leaving it with whoever has least on that week.

Your options

## Who can keep it running for you

The routes that register a company can also run it, and the choice matters more here because it repeats every pay run.

You can run it yourself with accounting software and an accountant for the year end. It suits a founder who lives in Australia, has no staff and few transactions.

An accounting or company services firm suits a company with no employees yet. It keeps the books, lodges the activity statements and returns, and often supplies the registered office. Payroll is usually an extra.

A law firm or larger accounting firm suits a group with several entities, complex structures or tax questions across borders. You pay for the advice as well as the filing.

For companies that will employ people in Australia, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you a designated person who has done this before, real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, and payroll, super and filings in one system from your first contractor to your tenth entity. Teamed's [Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO)](/entity-management) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in Australia.

If you are a founder on your own with nobody to pay, the first two routes will cost you less, and we would tell you so.

Worth saying plainly

## This is the cost people forget when they compare

Registering is a one-off and it is easy to picture. Running the company is the part that repeats, and in Australia it includes a resident director and a public officer you must keep whether or not the company is busy. If the yearly running cost looks heavy against the size of your team there, that is useful information. An employer of record carries all of this inside one monthly fee, and it is a fair answer rather than a lesser one.

Teamed's employer of record in Australia is from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up and no hidden costs. Contractors, employer of record and your own entity run on one platform, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or onboarding anyone again.

Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers first, the crossover calculator models it for Australia.

Talk to a member of the team

Crossover calculator for Australia

Who carries it

## Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact.

Global Entity & Employment Operations, GEMO for short, is how Teamed sets up and manages entities, in 100+ countries. You own the company and you are the employer. We form it and keep it running.

Teamed also employs people in Australia through its own legal entity there.

Entity Management (GEMO)

The Graduation Model

Employer cost calculator for Australia

Talk to an expert about setting up in Australia

Questions

## Questions about running an Australian company

Does an Australian company file an annual return?

Not as a form. ASIC sends an annual statement every 12 months, after the anniversary of registration. The company checks its details and pays the fee, and, unless it lodged a financial report in the past year, its directors pass a solvency resolution.

What does ASIC charge for the annual review?

AUD 342 for a proprietary company, adjusted for inflation each July. The larger cost is the accountant who keeps the books and lodges the returns.

Does a foreign-owned company have to lodge financial statements?

Usually, yes. A small proprietary company controlled by a foreign company usually has to lodge an audited annual financial report with ASIC, unless its parent is registered with ASIC and lodges consolidated accounts that include it, or the group is small enough for ASIC's relief.

How often is super paid?

With every payday. Since July 2026, each employee's super has to reach their fund soon after they are paid, rather than once a quarter.

Who is responsible for the filings?

The directors, including the resident director. An accountant can do the work, but the legal duty stays with the board, and directors can be personally liable for unpaid withholding tax, GST and super.

Sources

1. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), company annual review and fee indexation
2. Corporations Act 2001, review date, solvency resolution and financial reports
3. Australian Taxation Office, company tax rates, pay as you go withholding and super
4. Revenue NSW, payroll tax
5. Market estimates from published price lists of Australian accounting and company services firms, read 14 October 2026

The rest of the Australia guides

Setting up

Permanent establishment risk

When an entity makes sense

Moving people across

Hiring in Australia

## More on entities in Australia

- [Hiring in Australia, overview](/country-hiring-guides/australia)
- [Australia entity setup](/country-hiring-guides/australia/entity-setup)
- [Australia tax presence risk](/country-hiring-guides/australia/permanent-establishment-risk)
- [Australia entity or EOR](/country-hiring-guides/australia/eor-vs-entity)
- [Australia moving from an EOR](/country-hiring-guides/australia/moving-from-eor-to-your-own-entity)
- [Company formation, by country](/company-formation)
- [Entity Management (GEMO)](/entity-management)
- [Talk to an expert about Australia](https://www.teamed.global/contact?from=entity-running-costs)