How much does it cost to set up a Pty Ltd company through an accountant?

Budget $1,500–$3,000 all-in. That covers the $636 ASIC registration fee plus the accountant's or lawyer's fee for structuring advice, a tailored constitution and the company's ABN, TFN and GST registrations.

What are the ongoing costs of a company in Australia?

The ASIC annual review fee is $342 a year (as at September 2026), and accounting plus the company tax return typically runs $1,500–$4,000 a year. Missing ASIC's deadlines adds automatic late fees of $102 or $428.

How much does an LLC cost in Australia?

Australia doesn't have LLCs — the equivalent is a proprietary limited (Pty Ltd) company, which costs $636 in ASIC fees to register. Unlike a US LLC, a Pty Ltd pays company tax at 25% or 30% rather than passing profits through to its owners.

Do I have to pay for a business name if I set up a company?

Not if you trade under the exact company name. If you trade under anything different, you must register it as a business name with ASIC for $47 a year or $108 for three years.

How Much Does It Cost to Set Up a Company in Australia? (2026)

Q: How much does it cost to set up a company in Australia?

The ASIC fee to register a Pty Ltd company is $636 (as at September 2026), and that's the whole cost if you register it yourself. Online formation services charge roughly $700–$1,000 including the ASIC fee and a constitution; an accountant or lawyer typically costs $1,500–$3,000 all-in.

Setting up a Pty Ltd company in Australia costs $636 in ASIC registration fees (as at September 2026) if you do it yourself, roughly $700–$1,000 through an online formation service, or $1,500–$3,000 if an accountant or lawyer handles it for you. Everything else the law requires — a director ID, ABN, TFN and GST registration — is free. The number that actually matters comes after that: keeping even a simple company compliant runs about $2,000–$4,000 a year once you add ASIC's annual review fee and an accountant's bill.

The short answer: three ways to set up a company

Route	What you pay (as at September 2026)	What you get	Best for
DIY via the Business Registration Service or ASIC Connect	$636 (ASIC fee only)	ACN and certificate of registration; you rely on the Corporations Act's replaceable rules instead of a constitution	Sole director/shareholder companies with nothing unusual going on
Online formation service (Lawpath, Sprintlaw, Cleardocs and similar)	About $700–$1,000 all-in	ASIC lodgement plus a standard constitution, share certificates, registers, consents and first minutes	Most small businesses that want the paperwork done properly without a lawyer
Accountant or lawyer	About $1,500–$3,000 all-in	Everything above, plus structuring advice, a tailored constitution and usually the ABN, TFN and GST registrations	Multiple shareholders, a trust owning the shares, or anything you'd regret getting wrong

Nobody gets a discount on the $636. ASIC charges the same fee no matter who lodges, so every dollar above that is the provider's own fee for documents, time and advice.

Setup costs line by line

ASIC registration fee: $636

The fee to register a new proprietary company is $636 from 1 July 2026, up from $611. It's GST-free, indexed to CPI every 1 July, and payable when you lodge — whether through the government's Business Registration Service, ASIC Connect, a registered agent or an online service.

For that you get an Australian Company Number (ACN), a certificate of registration and a company that legally exists. You don't get an ABN, a business name, a constitution, share certificates or the statutory registers you're required to keep. Those are either free elsewhere or what you pay a service for.

Registration itself is quick. A straightforward online application with no name conflicts is usually approved the same day.

Director ID: free

Every director needs a director identification number before they're appointed, and you must apply for it yourself — your accountant can't do it on your behalf. Apply online through Australian Business Registry Services using myID, with your TFN and two identity documents handy. It costs nothing, takes about 15 minutes if your ID verifies cleanly, and you keep the same number for life. Do this first: you can't complete the company registration without it.

Company constitution: $0 to a few hundred dollars

A company doesn't legally need a constitution. If you don't adopt one, the "replaceable rules" in the Corporations Act govern how it's run, and for a one-person company they're perfectly workable. That's the DIY route's real saving.

Most online packages bundle a standard constitution, and that's the main thing you're buying over $636. A constitution earns its keep when there's more than one shareholder, when a trust will hold the shares, or when the company will act as an SMSF trustee (a special purpose company needs one). A lawyer-tailored constitution is where the accountant/lawyer price band comes from.

Business name: free if you trade under the company name

If you trade as exactly "Harbour Plumbing Pty Ltd", you don't need a business name — the company name covers you. Trade as "Harbour Plumbing" or anything else and you must register that as a business name with ASIC: $47 for one year or $108 for three (as at September 2026). You can add it to the same Business Registration Service application.

ABN, TFN, GST and PAYG withholding: free

Your company needs its own ABN and TFN, and you can apply for both in the same Business Registration Service application as the company itself. Both are free — as is registering for GST (compulsory once turnover reaches $75,000) and PAYG withholding (needed as soon as the company pays wages, including to you). If a website wants to charge you for an ABN, read how much an ABN really costs before paying a cent.

Registered office: free if you use your own address

Every company needs a registered office in Australia. For a proprietary company that can be your home or your accountant's office, and it doesn't have to be open to the public. The catch is that the address appears on the public ASIC register. If you'd rather it didn't, registered office services start around $500 a year.

Optional extras

Company name reservation — $65. Only worth it if you need to lock in a name before you're ready to register. Normally you just register with the name you want.
Shareholders agreement — typically $1,200–$3,000 lawyer-drafted; templates for a few hundred. Irrelevant for a sole shareholder. Close to essential once there are two or more of you, because it decides what happens when someone wants out, falls ill or stops pulling their weight.
Trade mark — from $250 per class. Registering a company or business name gives you no ownership of the name. IP Australia charges $250 per class for a standard online application using its pick-list of goods and services, $400 per class with custom wording, and $330 per class through its TM Headstart pre-assessment service (as at September 2026). Most small businesses need one or two classes.
Accounting software. Not a legal requirement, but a company's books need to be good enough to produce financial statements, so budget for a subscription from day one. See best accounting software in Australia.

Setup cost table: what you'll actually pay upfront

Item	DIY	Online service	Accountant or lawyer
ASIC registration fee	$636	Included	Included
Provider's fee	$0	~$100–$400	~$900–$2,400
Constitution	$0 (replaceable rules)	Standard, included	Tailored, included
Director ID	Free	Free	Free
ABN, TFN, GST, PAYG withholding	Free	Free (often bundled)	Usually included
Business name (only if trading under a different name)	$47 / $108	$47 / $108	$47 / $108
Typical total	$636–$744	~$700–$1,100	~$1,500–$3,000

Add a shareholders agreement or a trade mark and the top end rises by a couple of thousand dollars, but those are choices, not requirements.

What a company costs to run each year

This is where the real money goes. The setup fee is a one-off; these repeat for as long as the company exists.

ASIC annual review fee: $342

Each year, on the anniversary of registration, ASIC issues an annual statement and an invoice for $342 (as at September 2026, up from $329). You have two months to pay it, confirm the company's details are correct and, as directors, pass a solvency resolution. The first one arrives about twelve months after you register, so it's technically a year-two cost — but budget for it from the start.

Special purpose companies — for example one that exists only to be the trustee of your SMSF — pay a much lower annual review fee of $70.

Accounting and the company tax return: typically $1,500–$4,000

A company lodges its own tax return, separate from yours, and needs proper financial statements behind it. Accountants commonly quote $1,350–$2,200 for a simple company return and statements, and $1,500–$4,000 a year once you add tax planning, dividend paperwork and a bit of advice. Paying yourself wages adds payroll and Single Touch Payroll reporting; outsourcing your quarterly BAS adds roughly $75–$450 a quarter. Doing your own bookkeeping in decent software keeps you at the lower end.

Optional: ASIC registered agent — around $180–$350 a year

A registered agent receives your ASIC correspondence, lodges changes to company details and chases you before deadlines. Many accountants bundle it into their annual fee; standalone services start around $180 a year. Not compulsory, but cheaper than a single missed deadline.

The late fees: $102 and $428

Pay the annual review fee late, or lodge a change of company details more than 28 days after it happens, and ASIC adds a late fee automatically: $102 if you're up to a month late, $428 if you're more than a month late (as at September 2026). There's no grace period and no "I didn't see the email". Set a calendar reminder for your review date and keep your registered office address current so the statement actually reaches you.

Annual running cost table

Cost	Lean (DIY bookkeeping, sole director)	Typical (accountant does most of it)
ASIC annual review fee	$342	$342
Company tax return and financial statements	~$1,350–$2,200	~$2,000–$4,000
BAS lodgement	Do it yourself	~$300–$1,800
ASIC registered agent	—	~$180–$350
Registered office service	—	~$500+ if you want your home address off the register
Total per year	~$1,700–$2,550	~$2,800–$7,000

Put the two tables together and a lean DIY company costs about $2,000–$3,000 in its first year, while a fully serviced one lands somewhere between $6,000 and $9,000. The accountant's bill, not the government fee, is what decides where you sit.

Costs that catch people out

Paying yourself. The company's money isn't yours. Wages mean PAYG withholding, super and Single Touch Payroll; dividends mean franking paperwork. Every route out of the company has an accounting cost attached.
Two tax returns, not one. The company's return is extra. Your personal return doesn't go away.
A dormant company isn't a free company. The $342 annual review fee keeps arriving until the company is deregistered. Voluntary deregistration costs $52 in ASIC fees (as at September 2026), and only if the company has no debts, assets under $1,000 and every member agrees.
Changing your mind about the name. Changing a company name later costs several hundred dollars in ASIC fees, plus new stationery, signage and a fresh round of bank paperwork. Check the name — and the trade mark register — before you register.

Searching for "LLC cost in Australia"? Read this

Australia doesn't have LLCs. The closest equivalent to a US LLC (or a UK private limited company) is the proprietary limited company — Pty Ltd — and everything above is what it costs. Three differences matter:

No pass-through election. A Pty Ltd pays company tax on its profits: 25% if it's a base rate entity (aggregated turnover under $50 million and no more than 80% passive income), otherwise 30%. Profits reach shareholders as dividends carrying franking credits for the tax the company has already paid.
A resident director. At least one director must ordinarily reside in Australia, and a proprietary company can have no more than 50 non-employee shareholders.
"Ltd" on its own means public company. If you're used to UK "limited company" language, don't register a plain Ltd by mistake: public companies face far heavier reporting and audit obligations and an annual review fee north of $1,500. A small business wants Pty Ltd.

Is a company worth the cost?

Only if the benefits clear the hurdle. Roughly $2,000–$4,000 a year in fixed costs buys you limited liability, a 25% tax rate on profits left in the business, and a structure that lenders, larger customers and future investors take seriously. Whether that's a good trade depends on your profit, your risk and your plans. Our company structure guide works through the break-even in detail, the structure comparison covers the sole trader, partnership and trust alternatives, and if you're weighing a trust against a company, start with trust vs company.

Key takeaways

The government fee to register a Pty Ltd is $636 (as at September 2026) and everyone pays the same; the ABN, TFN, GST registration and director ID are free.
Expect about $700–$1,000 through an online formation service and $1,500–$3,000 through an accountant or lawyer — you're paying for documents and advice, not a cheaper ASIC fee.
A business name only costs money ($47 a year or $108 for three) if you trade under something other than the exact company name.
Running costs dwarf setup costs: $342 a year to ASIC plus typically $1,500–$4,000 for accounting and the company tax return.
ASIC late fees are $102 and $428 with no grace period — a registered agent or a calendar reminder is far cheaper.
There's no LLC in Australia. A Pty Ltd is the equivalent, and it pays company tax rather than passing profits through to you.

Where to get help

ASIC — current fee schedules, how to register and what happens after: asic.gov.au
Business Registration Service — register the company, ABN, TFN, GST and business name in one application: register.business.gov.au
Australian Business Registry Services — apply for your director ID before you do anything else: abrs.gov.au
Australian Taxation Office — company tax, PAYG withholding and paying yourself: ato.gov.au
IP Australia — trade mark search and fees: ipaustralia.gov.au
Your accountant — for whether a company is the right structure at all, and who should hold the shares. Getting that wrong costs far more to unwind than any setup fee.