Starting a business in Singapore as an Aussie

Short answer: the company is the easy part; the person who's allowed to run it from Singapore is the hard part.

The short version

Every Singapore business needs at least one local resident. For a company, that means a director who is a citizen, PR, or holder of an Employment Pass, Personalised Employment Pass or ONE Pass [1].
Foreigners register through a Corporate Service Provider, and ACRA charges S$300 to incorporate a company [1][2].
The EntrePass is only for venture-backed or innovative-tech founders who own at least 30% of the company. A café or a consultancy usually won't qualify [3].
The headline corporate tax rate is 17%, with a start-up exemption on the first S$200,000 of chargeable income for the first three years [4][5].
GST registration becomes compulsory once taxable turnover passes S$1 million in a calendar year [6].

Why Singapore isn't like registering an ABN

At home, a sole trader can grab an ABN in minutes. Singapore wants someone locally accountable.

ACRA's rule is simple. Every business must have at least one local resident, and the roles that count depend on the structure [1]. The people who qualify are Singapore citizens, Singapore PRs, and valid holders of an Employment Pass (EP), Personalised Employment Pass or ONE Pass [1]. Notice what's missing: the EntrePass isn't on ACRA's list, so check with MOM how your pass will be treated before you rely on it [1].

Two more rules catch Australians out:

Foreigners can't self-register. If you don't have Singpass as a resident, you must use a Corporate Service Provider to reserve the name and file the incorporation [1].
Your pass may need permission. EP holders must get a Letter of Consent from MOM before registering a business or taking up a role in one [1]. If you're on a Dependant's Pass, ACRA says you apply for a Letter of Consent after the business is registered [1].

Run a business without registering when you should have, and the penalty can reach a S$10,000 fine or two years' jail [1].

The structures, side by side

Most Australians end up with a private limited company (Pte Ltd), because it's what clients, banks and MOM expect.

Structure	Who's liable	Local resident needed	Good for
Sole proprietorship	You, personally	The owner, or a local authorised representative	Small, low-risk side work by residents
Partnership / LLP	Partners (limited for an LLP)	At least one local resident manager or partner	Professional firms
Private limited company	The company	At least one locally resident director	Most founders, and anything needing an EntrePass
Branch of an Australian company	The Australian parent	Locally resident authorised representatives	Testing the market without a new entity

Sources: ACRA [1][2]. Each structure has its own detailed rules on ACRA's site; the table gives the broad picture.

What a Pte Ltd needs on day one

ACRA's Bizfile checklist is short [2]:

A reserved company name. Only the person who reserved it can register, and that person must be appointed a director or secretary.
At least one director who meets the local residency rule.
Shareholders, which can be individuals or companies. You can be 100% foreign-owned.
A Singapore registered address that's open to the public during normal business hours. It doesn't have to be where you work, which is why many founders use their service provider's office.
The S$300 incorporation fee [2].

You'll also need to appoint a company secretary within six months of incorporation, and the company files annual returns with ACRA and tax returns with IRAS every year.

The director problem, and four ways around it

If you're moving to Singapore to start the business, you won't be a local resident until your pass is issued. Here are the usual routes.

Get an EntrePass. You can apply before incorporating or within six months of setting up [1]. Once issued, you live in Singapore and run your company. But see the eligibility catch below.
Stay on an EP and build on the side. If you already work here on an EP, you count as a local resident [1], but you'll need MOM's Letter of Consent for your own venture, and your employer may have views on it too.
Hire your own EP. Your new company can sponsor you for an EP, provided you meet the salary floor and COMPASS points like any other applicant. Our work passes guide explains the 2027 increases.
Use a nominee director. Corporate Service Providers offer a locally resident nominee director for a yearly fee while you run things from Australia. Read the contract closely: a nominee carries real legal duties.

The EntrePass: who it's really for

The EntrePass is MOM's founder pass, open to all nationalities. Its basic tests [3]:

The company is a private limited company registered with ACRA.
You own at least 30% of it.
The company is venture-backed or owns innovative technology.

On top of that, you must meet at least one innovation criterion: a single funding round of at least S$100,000 for a past or current business; support from a government-recognised or internationally renowned incubator or accelerator; having founded and sold a venture-backed or tech business; registered IP with real competitive advantage; or an active research collaboration with a Singapore university or research institute [3].

Some businesses are excluded outright, including coffee shops, hawker stalls and food courts, bars and nightclubs, massage parlours, employment agencies and traditional Chinese medicine [3]. If your plan is "open a brunch café in Tiong Bahru", the EntrePass is not your route.

The first pass and the first renewal last up to one year each, and later renewals up to two years [7]. Renewals get harder: from the second renewal you must show rising total business spending and a growing local workforce of Singapore citizens and PRs on your payroll with CPF paid, starting at S$100,000 a year and one local hire and stepping up from there [8].

Tax: 17%, with a softer start

Corporate tax

Singapore's corporate income tax rate is a flat 17% [4], against 25% or 30% for most Australian companies. New companies get the start-up tax exemption for their first three years of assessment [5]:

Chargeable income	Exempt	Effective rate on that slice
First S$100,000	75%	4.25%
Next S$100,000	50%	8.5%
Above S$200,000	0%	17%

To qualify, the company must be incorporated and tax resident in Singapore, with no more than 20 shareholders, all individuals or at least one individual holding 10% or more. Investment holding and property development companies are excluded [5]. After three years, a smaller partial exemption applies. The Government has also paid corporate tax rebates in recent years, so check IRAS each filing season.

Dividends from a Singapore company aren't taxed in Singapore.

GST

You must register for GST once your taxable turnover for the calendar year passes S$1 million, and apply within 30 days of year end [6]. Register late and IRAS backdates it, so you owe GST on sales you never charged it on, plus possible penalties [6]. The standard rate has been 9% since 1 January 2024. Plenty of small consultancies sit below the threshold for years.

The Australian side: ABN, residency and the treaty

This is where Aussie founders get stung, because leaving Australia doesn't automatically take your business with you.

Your Singapore company could be Australian too. The ATO treats a company incorporated overseas as an Australian resident if it carries on business in Australia and either its central management and control is in Australia or Australian-resident shareholders control its voting power [9]. If the real decisions are made by directors sitting in Sydney, the ATO may see an Australian company with a Singapore address. Hold board meetings and make the key calls in Singapore, and keep minutes.

Your own residency matters. If you're still an Australian tax resident, dividends from your Singapore company are taxable in Australia, and as a resident shareholder you may also be caught by Australia's controlled foreign company rules. Our tax residency guide covers the tests.

The treaty. Australia and Singapore have a double tax agreement, which sets out which country taxes what and gives credit relief so the same income isn't taxed twice. It doesn't make you tax-free; it decides who gets first go.

Your ABN and Australian GST. If you stop running an enterprise in Australia, update or cancel your ABN with the Australian Business Register and review any Australian GST registration. If you keep Australian clients, whether you invoice from the Singapore company or a sole-trader ABN decides which country taxes the income. Get advice from someone who works in both systems before you sign your first contract.

Your first 60 days, in order

Decide your pass route (EP, EntrePass or nominee director) before you pick a structure.
Check the EntrePass criteria honestly if you plan to use it [3].
Engage a Corporate Service Provider to reserve the name and incorporate [1].
Open a business bank account. Expect the bank to ask about your directors, owners and source of funds.
Appoint a company secretary and set your financial year end.
Sort the Australian loose ends: ABN, GST, and where the company is managed from [9].
Diarise ACRA annual returns and IRAS filing dates.

For war stories about service providers, banks and the EntrePass, ask in Cooee Singapore, our Facebook group for Australians in Singapore.

Starting a business in Singapore: ACRA, EntrePass and the local director rule