Buy a Ready-Made Australian Company, Complete with a Resident Director

Australian Shelf Companies with a Nominee Director

A shelf company is an Australian proprietary company that has already been registered with ASIC but has never traded. We transfer it into your name, appoint our nominee director as your Australian resident director, and handle the ASIC, ATO and banking paperwork, so you can set up operations in Australia without waiting for a new registration.

It is a practical option for overseas founders and foreign companies that need an Australian entity quickly but do not yet have anyone ordinarily residing in Australia to sit on the board.

What is a Shelf Company in Australia?

A shelf company is incorporated in advance and kept dormant, “on the shelf”, with no assets, liabilities, employees or trading history. It already has an Australian Company Number (ACN), a constitution and a share register. When you buy it, ownership passes to you through a share transfer, the original officeholders resign and your directors are appointed.

Every Australian proprietary company must have at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia (section 201A of the Corporations Act 2001). That is where our nominee director comes in: one of our experienced company secretaries is appointed as your resident director, so the company meets this requirement from the day of transfer.

Every director must also hold a director ID before being appointed. Our nominee directors already have one, so the company can be handed over while your overseas directors are still applying for theirs.

What’s Included in Our Shelf Company Package

A dormant Australian proprietary company with its own ACN, constitution and company registers
Transfer of the shares to you or your parent company, and resignation of the shelf officeholders
An Australian resident nominee director appointed for Corporations Act compliance
Notification of all changes to ASIC, including a new company name if you want one
Help setting up your registered office and principal place of business
ABN, TFN and GST registration with the ATO
Assistance with opening an Australian business bank account
Ongoing annual ASIC compliance

How Buying a Shelf Company Works

Taking over a shelf company is usually quicker than registering a new one, because the company already exists. The process looks like this:

we confirm the identity of your shareholders and directors
the shares are transferred to your nominated shareholders, and the shelf directors and secretary resign
our nominee director is appointed as your Australian resident director, alongside any of your directors who already hold a director ID
we notify ASIC of the changes within the required 28 days, and apply for a new company name if you choose one
we register the company for an ABN, TFN and GST and help you open a bank account
your overseas directors are added later, as soon as their director IDs are issued

Why Buy a Shelf Company with a Nominee Director?

Start operating sooner

The company is already registered, so you skip the incorporation step and can start signing contracts, invoicing and registering for tax as soon as the transfer is complete.

Meet the resident director requirement from day one

You don’t need to find and vet a local director before you can start. Our nominee director fills the role immediately, and you can appoint your own Australian resident director later if you prefer.

No waiting on director IDs

Director ID applications from overseas can take time. Because our nominee director already holds a director ID, your company is properly constituted while your own directors’ applications are processed.

A clean company with no history

Our shelf companies have never traded, so there are no hidden debts, contracts or tax obligations. You receive the constitution, company registers and ASIC records at handover.

Good to know

An earlier registration date does not give a company a trading or credit history, and banks will still carry out their own identity checks when opening an account. A nominee director is also a real director with legal duties under the Corporations Act, so we agree a nominee director service agreement and compliance processes with you before the appointment.