Country Information

 

 

    

General

Investing and doing business in Australia

Government

Accessing and entering Australia

Economic indicators

 

  


Investing and doing business in Australia
 

Business in Australia
Competitive Alternatives (KPMG, 2004)

Rank

Country
1 Canada
2 Australia
3 United Kingdom
4 Italy
5 France
6 Luxembourg
7 United States
8 Iceland
9 Netherlands
10 Germany
11 Japan

Australia is a competitive place to do business. A recent KPMG study compared 27 business costs such as labour, taxes, industrial facility, office leasing, and utilities in 121 cities in 11 countries from North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Australia was found to be a very cost effective location to establish a business (Competitive Alternatives, KPMG 2004).

The cost of prime office space in Australia is the lowest in the developed region and among the most competitively priced in the world. Prime CBD office space in Sydney costs around 35% less than both New York and Tokyo, and are 50% cheaper than London.  Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide offer even more competitive costs, nearly a third less than similar property in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing (Global Office Occupancy Costs Survey, DTZ 2004)

Outer metropolitan industrial land (fully supported by telecommunications, utilities and transport infrastructure) prices in Australia are also amongst the cheapest in the Asia-Pacific. Similarly, construction costs, are among the cheapest in the region.

If your future plans include starting a business in Australia as a resident, please refer to our partner ITEIC Australia for more information.
 

Encouraged business areas

The following sectors are recognised by the Australian government for the purposes of promoting investment:


Agribusiness; Biotechnology; Energy; Financial services; Information & Communication Technology; Manufacturing; Minerals; Nanotechnology; Services; Technology.

Agribusiness sub-sectors:
Aquaculture; Cereals; Dairy; Forestry; Horticulture; Meat; Wine.
 
Rules and regulations

Foreign investors need to familiarise themselves with government regulations (Foreign Investment Review Board/Australian Treasury) which control investment from overseas. For example, the establishment of a new business where the total investment exceeds AUD10 millions requires FIRB approval.