Setting up a subsidiary in Australia is often portrayed as a simple process of registering a company.
In reality, the legal incorporation of the company is only the beginning.
For a French company seeking to sustainably expand its operations in Australia, the real challenge lies in making this new entity fully operational: properly registering the company, opening a bank account, setting up accounting and tax compliance systems, hiring the right employees, organizing payroll, complying with Australian labor laws, and managing the subsidiary’s day-to-day administrative operations.
That’s why choosing the right partner to support your expansion into Australia can make a real difference.
Rather than coordinating multiple independent service providers from France, a company can rely on a local operational partner who understands both the specificities of the Australian market and the expectations of a European parent company.
For French companies looking to expand into Australia, Expandys offers this support from Sydney, combining subsidiary formation, local recruitment, HR and payroll management, accounting, tax compliance, and the entity’s administrative management into a coordinated approach.
The legal formation of an Australian company is relatively straightforward when the project has been properly prepared.
The complexity arises mainly after registration.
To operate effectively, an Australian subsidiary must have several key elements in place:
For management based in France, each of these issues may seem relatively simple when considered in isolation.
The challenge lies in coordinating them from more than 17,000 kilometers away, with a significant time difference and a regulatory environment that is very different from the French system.
The goal, therefore, should not simply be to establish a company in Australia.
It should be to establish an Australian company capable of operating effectively from the outset.
Not every expansion strategy in Australia necessarily requires the immediate establishment of a subsidiary.
A company wishing to test the market can start by working with a distributor, a business partner, or an Employer of Record.
An “Employer of Record” solution, or international payroll service, can, for example, allow a company to hire its first Australian employee before establishing its own local entity.
A subsidiary becomes particularly relevant when the company wishes to:
For many French SMEs and mid-sized companies, establishing a subsidiary thus marks the transition from testing the Australian market to building a genuine local business.
For most foreign companies establishing an independent entity in Australia, the most common legal form is the Proprietary Limited Company, generally referred to as a Pty Ltd.
An Australian Pty Ltd must, in particular, have at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Australia.
This is an important distinction for French companies whose entire management team is based in Europe.
The incorporation process generally includes:
The Australian subsidiary must also have a governance structure that meets the expectations of the French parent company.
For international groups, the establishment of the company must therefore be carefully considered within the context of the company’s overall structure and not treated as a mere administrative formality.
Once the company has been legally established, it must be equipped to operate.
This involves, in particular, obtaining the necessary tax registrations, setting up accounting systems, and opening a local bank account.
Depending on the business’s activities, several steps may be required:
GST registration generally becomes mandatory when taxable revenue reaches or is expected to reach 75,000 AUD.
However, registration is only part of the process.
The subsidiary must also establish financial procedures covering, in particular:
For a CFO based in France, visibility into Australian operations is essential.
The subsidiary must not become an isolated entity whose financial information is reported only once a year.
Effective local management should ensure that the parent company has regular access to reliable information on revenue, expenses, salaries, cash flow, and the performance of the Australian business.
The first hires in Australia can have a significant impact on the subsidiary’s success.
A Country Manager, Sales Director, Business Developer, or Operations Manager may, initially, be the sole representative of the company in the Australian market.
Recruitment, therefore, cannot simply involve taking a French job description and converting the salary into Australian dollars.
It is essential to take the local market into account.
Salary levels, employee benefits, candidate availability, management styles, employee expectations, and hiring practices can differ significantly from those in France.
This is why local recruitment in Australia is a strategic component of the project.
Before launching a search, the company must, in particular, define:
For certain executive positions or strategic sales roles, an executive search approach in Australia can also help identify candidates who may not necessarily respond to traditional job postings.
Expandys supports international companies throughout this entire process, from defining the position and compensation package to identifying candidates, conducting interviews, selecting the right candidate, and onboarding the new employee.
The goal is not simply to fill a position.
It is about finding the right people to drive the long-term growth of the Australian business.
Hiring an employee entails new obligations for the employer.
Employment conditions are governed by the Australian industrial relations system, specifically by the National Employment Standards and, where applicable, by the Modern Awards.
Modern Awards may set minimum requirements regarding, among other things:
The employer must therefore determine whether an employee is covered by an Award and, if so, identify the correct Award and the corresponding classification level.
Employee and payroll management may include:
The mandatory minimum Superannuation Guarantee rate is currently 12%.
Payroll information must also be submitted to the Australian Taxation Office via the Single Touch Payroll system, generally no later than the day the employee is paid.
For a French company employing only one, two, or three people in Australia, setting up an in-house team specializing in payroll and HR compliance is rarely economically feasible.
Outsourcing payroll and compliance in Australia allows the parent company to retain control while relying on local experts for technical management.
A common mistake in international expansion projects is to focus too much effort on setting up the structure and to underestimate the ongoing management required.
An Australian subsidiary continues to generate obligations throughout its existence.
These may include, among other things:
Operating an Australian company therefore involves ongoing legal and administrative responsibilities.
For a French management team, the question should not simply be:
“Who will set up our Australian company?”
It should also be:
“Who will manage it once it’s established?”
In practice, this second question is often more important than the first.
It’s entirely possible to assign each task to a different service provider.
But this model requires someone at the French parent company to coordinate all of these service providers.
For a subsidiary with only a few employees, this setup can quickly become complex and time-consuming.
An integrated approach to international consulting and operational support offers a different solution.
The local partner serves as the point of coordination between the French parent company and the Australian subsidiary.
Instead of having to contact five different service providers to understand the Australian entity’s situation, management has a team that understands the entire project.
This approach is particularly relevant during the early years of development, when the subsidiary is not yet large enough to have its own CFO, HR manager, payroll manager, and administrative team.
Expandys combines three areas of expertise that are typically offered separately: establishing and managing subsidiaries, recruitment and human resources, and international business development.
This approach allows us to support a company from its initial decision to establish a presence in Australia through to the day-to-day management of its local operations.
Expandys coordinates the operational setup of your Australian entity.
Depending on the project’s needs, our support may include:
Once the company is ready to hire, our Sydney-based team can handle the recruitment process.
We’ll help you:
For executive positions or strategic sales roles, we can also conduct targeted searches using a direct approach.
After recruitment, Expandys can continue to support your subsidiary in managing its employees:
Our support therefore does not end with the candidate’s contract signing.
Expandys can also handle the administrative and financial management of your Australian company:
This continuity allows the same teams to understand the history of your operations and to support the subsidiary throughout its development.
The most effective expansion projects treat company formation, recruitment, and operational management as distinct stages of a single project.
For example, a roadmap can be structured around five phases.
Phase 1: Prepare —Define the Australian business model, legal structure, initial budget, recruitment needs, and implementation timeline.
Phase 2: Establish Incorporate the Australian company, appoint the necessary corporate officers, complete registrations, and set up banking and accounting infrastructure.
Phase 3: Recruit —Define the initial positions, analyze Australian market salaries, and build the local team.
Phase 4: Operate: Set up employment contracts, payroll, accounting, reporting, and compliance procedures.
Phase 5: Grow —Enable executives in France and Australia to focus on customers, employees, and business development, while the administrative infrastructure operates in the background.
This approach transforms the simple act of establishing a company in Australia into a true international growth strategy.
French companies expanding into Australia must strike the right balance.
The Australian team must have sufficient autonomy to respond quickly to the needs of its market.
At the same time, the French parent company must maintain visibility and control over finances, human resources, compliance, and strategic decisions.
A properly structured subsidiary makes it possible to reconcile these two imperatives.
The local team can focus on its customers and business development, while the parent company receives reliable financial and operational information.
This is precisely what good establishment services in Australia should provide: not simply setting up a company, but establishing an effective local structure and giving the parent company the peace of mind needed to grow its business.
Can a French company set up a subsidiary in Australia? Yes. A French company can establish an Australian company provided it complies with applicable corporate, tax, and—depending on the business activity—sector-specific regulations.
For a Pty Ltd company, at least one director must be ordinarily resident in Australia.
Is it mandatory for an Australian subsidiary to have a local director? An Australian Pty Ltd must have at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Australia.
This requirement must therefore be taken into account from the very beginning of the project to establish a subsidiary. Expandys offers a Local Director or Resident Director service.
Is it necessary to establish a subsidiary before hiring in Australia? Not necessarily.
A company wishing to hire its first Australian employee before establishing its own entity can use an “Employer of Record” or international payroll outsourcing solution.
As the business grows and the presence becomes more permanent, the employee can then be transferred to the Australian subsidiary.
Expandys supports companies in both the use of an umbrella company and the establishment of their own subsidiary in Australia.
Can Expandys recruit employees for our Australian subsidiary? Yes.
Expandys offers recruitment services in Australia for international companies, particularly for sales, operational, and management roles.
This support can be integrated into a comprehensive plan for establishing a presence in Australia.
Can we outsource Australian payroll once the subsidiary is established? Yes.
Once the Australian company becomes the legal employer, payroll processing and HR administration can be outsourced to a local service provider.
Expandys can incorporate payroll and human resources into its support services for subsidiary establishment, accounting, and compliance.
What do Australian business setup services include? Australian business setup services encompass the various areas of expertise an international company needs to establish and grow its operations locally.
They may include, in particular:
For a French company, the benefit of an integrated approach is the ability to coordinate these various functions locally rather than managing multiple independent service providers from Europe.
Your expansion into Australia should allow your teams to focus on customers, employees, and business growth—not on coordinating between accountants, payroll managers, recruiters, and administrative service providers from France.
Expandys acts as your operational partner in Australia.
From Sydney, our team can assist you with setting up your Australian subsidiary, local recruitment, executive search, payroll and HR compliance, accounting, tax, and the administrative management of your entity.
This gives you a single point of contact to support the development of your Australian business, from its inception through to day-to-day management.
Are you planning to establish a presence in Australia? Contact Expandys to discuss your project and identify the structure best suited to your growth.