Back in 2019 I became a permanent resident of Australia. That meant that I could finally establish my voiceover business in Australia. To establish a business in Australia you will need to get an ABN (Australian Business Number) and optionally register an Australian Business Name to associate with that ABN. I could have operated under my name but I figured I like the idea of setting it up as an entity so I opted for that.
The cost for setting up the business was nominal. You don’t need to go to anyone to register your ABN… there are hundreds of businesses out there dedicated to “helping” you register for your business for a measly $99 however the true price for obtaining an ABN is $0.
That’s right… nothing! All you have to do is head on over to :
https://register.business.gov.au/
and click on what you want to do…
In this case click Get Started and go through the process.
The next page will give you a few more options to chose from:
In my case I just wanted to setup the ABN and the Business name. The ABN is for free and the Business name is for a fee.
Before choosing a name its probably a good idea to go to :
https://help.register.business.gov.au/
to see if the name is already taken. If it’s not then you’re fine. However if its taken then you’ll need to rethink your business name as no 2 entities can be registered with the same name.
Cost of registering your name is: $37 for 1 year and $87 for 3 (Saving $24)
If you are on a shoestring budget… then just register your ABN and you’ll be good to go. If you are able to register a name then that will make things easier for your to register a business bank account and will make you look professional in your overall marketing and business dealings (account included).
Before you start the registration process you will need the following items:
Finally please remember to use the following Classification for your business activity, the Govt currently does not have Voice Artist or Voice Actor has a classification so we would fall under category #90029 “other creative artists, writers and performers”.
Last at this stage is choosing to register for GST or not. Goods and Services Tax is applicable only for Australian companies that you are doing business with inside Australia and not your International Clients. If you choose to register for GST then every 3 months the Australia Tax Office (The ATO) will ask you lodge for any GST your charged during that period.
That concludes the setup of your Australian Voiceover Business… I will write up a quick post expanding on the Taxed income vs non taxed income next.