Company & Business Structuring
Company & Business Structuring
Establish the Right Foundation for Sustainable Growth
The structural decisions you make today will shape your business for years to come. Whether you're launching a new venture, restructuring an existing operation, or preparing for expansion, the right legal framework provides both protection and opportunity.
Smart business structuring goes beyond mere compliance, it's about creating a foundation that supports your commercial objectives while managing risk and optimising your position for growth, investment, and succession.
Entity Selection & Formation
Choosing between proprietary companies, partnerships, trusts, and hybrid structures requires careful consideration of your specific circumstances. We examine your business model, growth plans, funding requirements, and risk profile to recommend the structure that best serves your commercial interests.
The interplay between different entity types can create powerful opportunities for tax efficiency, asset protection, and operational flexibility. Our approach considers not just your immediate needs, but how your structure will evolve as your business grows.
Company Registration & Incorporation
Establishing your company correctly from day one prevents complications that can persist throughout your business journey. Our corporate lawyers handle the complete registration process with ASIC, ensuring your company name, share structure, and initial directorship arrangements align with your strategic objectives.
Beyond the basic registration requirements, our corporate lawyers consider factors such as share class design, directorship succession, and compliance obligations that will impact your operations. This comprehensive approach ensures your company starts with the flexibility and protection you'll need as you grow.
Custom Company Constitutions
While the replaceable rules provide a basic framework, a tailored constitution gives you control over how your company operates. Our corporate lawyers’ draft constitutions that reflect your specific governance needs, shareholder arrangements, and decision-making processes.
Your constitution can address director appointment and removal procedures, dividend policies, share transfer restrictions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. These provisions become crucial when navigating shareholder disagreements, bringing in investors, or planning succession arrangements.
Trust Deed Preparation
Discretionary trusts offer unique benefits for asset protection, tax planning, and succession strategies, but their effectiveness depends entirely on how they're structured. Our corporate lawyers prepare comprehensive trust deeds that maximise these benefits while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances.
Our trust deeds address beneficiary classes, distribution powers, trustee succession, and variation mechanisms. We also consider the interaction between your trust structure and other entities in your arrangement, ensuring seamless operation across your entire business structure.
Corporate Governance Framework
Well-designed governance structures protect all stakeholders while enabling decisive management. Our corporate lawyers craft shareholder agreements, partnership arrangements, and trust deeds that clearly define roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes.
These frameworks prevent disputes before they arise and provide clear pathways for resolving conflicts when they do occur. More importantly, they create confidence among founders, investors, and key personnel about how the business will operate and grow.
Asset Protection Strategies
Protecting your business and personal assets requires thoughtful structural planning. Our corporate lawyers design arrangements that separate high-risk activities from valuable assets while maintaining operational efficiency and compliance with director duties.
These strategies become particularly important as your business grows and faces increased liability exposure. The right structure can provide significant protection without constraining your ability to operate and expand.
Tax-Effective Structuring
Business structures directly impact your tax obligations and opportunities. Our corporate lawyers work closely with your accountant to ensure your legal structure aligns with your tax strategy, considering income distribution, capital gains treatment, and succession planning implications.
Effective structuring can provide significant ongoing tax benefits while maintaining the flexibility to adapt as tax laws and your circumstances change.
Why Structure Matters More Than Ever
Modern businesses face complex regulatory environments, sophisticated investors, and evolving market conditions. A well-structured business can adapt to these challenges while poorly structured ventures often find themselves constrained by their original choices.
The cost of restructuring later, both financial and operational, typically far exceeds the investment in getting it right from the beginning. More importantly, some opportunities may be lost forever if your structure cannot accommodate them when they arise.
Supporting Your Growth Journey
Our corporate lawyers understand that business structures must serve commercial reality, not the other way around. Our recommendations consider your industry dynamics, funding plans, exit strategies, and family circumstances to create solutions that grow with your ambitions.
Whether you're building a family business for generational transfer, creating a technology venture for rapid scaling, or establishing a professional practice for lifestyle and income, we ensure your structure supports your specific vision of success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: How do I know which business structure is right for my venture?
Answer: The optimal structure depends on multiple factors including your business model, growth plans, funding requirements, and personal circumstances. We analyse these elements together to recommend the approach that best balances protection, flexibility, and tax efficiency for your specific situation.
Question: Should I use a standard company constitution or have one drafted specifically for my business?
Answer: While the replaceable rules under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) provide basic governance, a custom constitution gives you control over crucial decisions like director appointments, share transfers, and profit distributions. For most growing businesses, the additional protection and flexibility justify the investment in tailored documentation.
Question: What's involved in setting up a discretionary trust and how long does it take?
Answer: Trust establishment involves drafting the trust deed, appointing trustees, establishing the initial trust fund, and obtaining a tax file number. The process typically takes one to two weeks, depending on the complexity of your requirements and beneficiary arrangements.
Question: Can I change my business structure later if my needs evolve?
Answer: While restructuring is possible, it often involves significant costs, tax implications, and operational complexity. However, we design initial structures with built-in flexibility to accommodate likely changes and can guide you through restructuring when necessary to support new opportunities.
Question: How does business structuring affect my ability to raise capital?
Answer: Investors and lenders evaluate business structures carefully when making funding decisions. The right structure can enhance your attractiveness to investors, while poor structuring can create barriers to capital raising. We ensure your structure supports your funding strategy from the outset.
Question: What ongoing obligations come with different business structures?
Answer: Each structure type carries specific compliance requirements, reporting obligations, and governance responsibilities. We explain these obligations clearly and help you establish systems to meet them efficiently, ensuring your structure remains an asset rather than a burden.
Question: How often should I review my business structure?
Answer: We recommend reviewing your structure whenever significant changes occur in your business, such as new business partnerships, major growth, changes in ownership, or shifts in your industry's regulatory environment. Regular reviews help ensure your structure continues to serve your evolving needs.
Ready to build the right foundation for your business? Contact us to discuss how strategic structuring can support your commercial objectives and protect your interests as you grow.
