What It Really Costs to Start a Business in Australia
Ask ten people what it costs to start a business in Australia and you'll hear everything from "a couple of hundred bucks" to "six figures" — and they're all right, depending on the business. The trap isn't the costs you can Google. It's the ones nobody mentions until the invoice lands. Here's the honest list, with real numbers.
Registrations: the cheap bit
Good news first — the government paperwork is the smallest line on your budget.
- ABN: free. Apply directly through the Australian Business Register and pay nothing. Plenty of lookalike websites charge $50–100 for the same five-minute form, so don't fall for it. Our ABN registration guide walks through it.
- Business name: $47 for one year or $108 for three (as at August 2026), registered with ASIC. You can skip this entirely if you trade under your own name — "Jane Nguyen" needs no registration, "Jane Nguyen Consulting" does.
- Company registration: $636 (as at August 2026) if you're going the Pty Ltd route, plus a $342 annual review fee every year after. That's before accountant fees for setting it up properly. Not sure you need a company? Read our business structures comparison before spending the money.
- Licences and permits: varies wildly. A freelance designer needs none. A cafe needs food business registration, possibly a liquor licence, council permits and more. Search ABLIS (the Australian Business Licence and Information Service on business.gov.au) with your industry and location — it lists every licence you need in about two minutes.
GST registration itself is free, and it's only compulsory once your turnover hits $75,000.
Insurance: don't open the doors without it
This is the category new owners most often "get around to later". Later is when the claim happens.
- Public liability covers you if your work injures someone or damages their property. For most sole-trader tradies it runs roughly $500–$1,200 a year for $5–10 million of cover, with low-risk trades like gardening at the bottom of that range and electricians, plumbers and carpenters more like $800–$1,500 (as at August 2026). High-risk work — roofing, demolition, scaffolding — can top $2,000. Many commercial clients and builders won't let you on site without a certificate of currency.
- Professional indemnity covers you if your advice or professional service costs a client money. Consultants, designers, bookkeepers and anyone else selling expertise should budget roughly $700–$3,000 a year for $1 million of cover (as at August 2026). Some professions can't legally practise without it.
- Workers compensation is compulsory the moment you hire an employee, in every state and territory. It's charged as a percentage of wages — the average sits around 1.3–1.9% depending on your state and industry, with higher-risk industries paying more.
Get three quotes. Premiums for identical cover vary more than you'd expect.
Tools, equipment and the vehicle
The biggest variable of the lot. A copywriter needs a laptop they probably already own. A mobile tradie needs $3,000–$6,000 of tools plus a ute or van — and the vehicle usually dominates the whole startup budget. A decent used van might be $8,000–$15,000; something newer, $25,000-plus, before racking and fit-out.
Two rules: buy used where quality doesn't suffer, and talk to your accountant before big purchases — how you buy (outright, financed, leased) changes both your cash position and your tax deductions.
Premises: bond, fit-out and the clause nobody reads
If you can start from home, do. A commercial lease brings three costs people underestimate:
- Bond or bank guarantee — commonly three months' rent, locked away before you've earned a dollar.
- Fit-out — for hospitality this is the monster. A basic cafe fit-out starts around $80,000 and mid-range builds run well past $150,000 (as at August 2026). Even a simple office or shop needs flooring, lighting, signage and furniture.
- Make-good — most leases require you to return the premises to their original condition when you leave. That's a real future cost of thousands that belongs in your planning now, not a surprise at the end.
Initial stock
Retail and hospitality need shelves that don't look empty on day one. Budget realistic opening stock plus a re-order buffer — for a small cafe that might be $3,000–$8,000 in food, beverage and packaging before the first customer walks in. Service businesses can often skip this line entirely.
The software stack
Accounting software, invoicing, a booking or job-management tool, email, file storage — a typical small business lands around $100–$200 a month once it's all added up. It's not optional spend; doing your books in a shoebox costs far more at tax time. Our essential software stack guide shows what you actually need at each stage and what can wait.
Marketing basics
- Domain name: $10–$30 a year for a .com.au (as at August 2026). Register it early even if the website comes later.
- Website: a DIY builder costs roughly $20–$50 a month and is fine for many service businesses. A simple professionally built site runs about $1,200–$3,000, and a solid custom small-business site $3,000–$5,000+ (as at August 2026). Don't spend five grand before you've proven anyone will buy.
- Initial ads: if you'll test paid ads, set aside $300–$1,000 as a genuine experiment budget — enough to learn what works, small enough that failure doesn't hurt.
- Free stuff first: a Google Business Profile costs nothing and for local businesses often outperforms everything else you could pay for.
Professional fees
An hour or two with an accountant before you register anything is the best money on this list — expect roughly $300–$800 for structure and setup advice, with accountant hourly rates commonly $180–$450 (as at August 2026). Getting the structure wrong costs vastly more to unwind later. Legal fees are more situational: a lease review or a client contract template might be $500–$1,500 each, and worth it when real money rides on the document.
Working capital: the one that actually kills businesses
Here's the number missing from most startup budgets: 3–6 months of operating costs plus your own living costs before revenue stabilises. Not before your first sale — before income is regular enough to pay rent, suppliers and yourself without sweating.
Most new businesses don't fail because the fit-out ran over budget. They fail because month four arrived, invoices were slow, and there was nothing left in the tank. If your startup budget covers the visible costs but leaves nothing for the gap, you're not ready yet — you're one slow month from the end. Our cash flow management guide covers how to model and survive that gap.
Three worked examples
Every business is different, but here's roughly how the numbers stack up for three common startups (as at August 2026).
Home-based freelancer: roughly $2,000–$5,500
| Item | Lean | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|
| Business name registration (1 yr) | $47 | $47 |
| Laptop and equipment | $0 (existing) | $2,000 |
| PI + public liability insurance | $900 | $1,500 |
| Software stack (first 3 months) | $300 | $500 |
| Domain + website | $150 | $700 |
| Accountant setup advice | $400 | $600 |
| Initial marketing | $100 | $300 |
| Total | ~$1,900 | ~$5,650 |
Plus living costs while you build a client base — the real barrier for freelancers isn't the setup cost, it's surviving the first quarter.
Mobile tradie: roughly $15,000–$40,000
| Item | Lean | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|
| Ute or van | $8,000 (used) | $22,000 |
| Vehicle fit-out and racking | $1,000 | $3,500 |
| Tools | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| Public liability insurance | $800 | $1,500 |
| Licences and cards | $300 | $800 |
| Signage / wrap + marketing | $500 | $2,000 |
| Website + domain | $200 | $1,500 |
| Software (first 3 months) | $200 | $500 |
| Business name + accountant | $450 | $850 |
| Initial materials and consumables | $500 | $1,500 |
| Total | ~$15,000 | ~$40,150 |
If you already own a suitable vehicle, the lean number drops under $7,000 — which is why so many tradies start that way.
Small cafe: roughly $120,000–$340,000+
| Item | Lower | Upper |
|---|---|---|
| Fit-out | $60,000 | $180,000 |
| Equipment (espresso machine, fridges, kitchen) | $15,000 | $40,000 |
| Lease bond (approx. 3 months' rent) | $8,000 | $20,000 |
| Licences, permits, council fees | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| Opening stock | $3,000 | $8,000 |
| Insurance (year one) | $3,000 | $7,000 |
| POS, software, EFTPOS setup | $1,500 | $4,000 |
| Company setup + professional fees | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| Launch marketing | $1,500 | $5,000 |
| Working capital (3 months) | $25,000 | $60,000 |
| Total | ~$121,000 | ~$336,000 |
Buying an established cafe with an existing fit-out can be cheaper than building from scratch — but get the books independently reviewed first. Whatever the build, add a 10–20% contingency, because fit-outs run over far more often than they run under.
Start lean — but don't be silly about it
The lean-start philosophy is simple: spend on what makes money, defer what makes you feel like a business.
Defer: the office, the custom website, the logo designer, the new vehicle, bulk stationery, paid ads before you've proven the offer. All of it can wait until revenue justifies it.
Never skimp on: insurance (one uninsured incident can end everything), setting aside GST and income tax in a separate account from your very first invoice (spent tax money is the classic small-business death spiral), and proper structure advice before you register.
Before you commit a dollar, run your own numbers properly — our free business plan builder walks you through startup costs, pricing and a break-even estimate in about twenty minutes.
Key takeaways
- Government registrations are cheap: ABN free, business name $47 a year, company $636 (as at August 2026). The real money is elsewhere.
- Insurance is non-negotiable from day one — budget $500–$1,500+ a year for public liability and get three quotes.
- Working capital is the killer: budget 3–6 months of operating and living costs before revenue stabilises, or you're one slow month from closing.
- Rough all-in ranges: home-based freelancer $2,000–$5,500, mobile tradie $15,000–$40,000, small cafe $120,000–$340,000+.
- Start lean on everything that doesn't make money — but never on insurance, tax set-aside or setup advice.
Where to get help
- business.gov.au — startup checklists, and the ABLIS tool for finding every licence your business needs
- asic.gov.au — business name and company registration, current fees
- ato.gov.au — ABN, GST registration and tax obligations for new businesses
- fairwork.gov.au — pay and conditions before you hire your first employee
- Your accountant — an hour of structure and setup advice before you register anything is the cheapest insurance on this list
General information only. This guide doesn't take your personal or business circumstances into account and isn't financial, legal or tax advice. Rates and thresholds change — confirm current figures with ato.gov.au or your accountant before acting.