Starting a business in Australia is ridiculously expensive. In the UK it's £20 ( last time I looked ). In Australia it was $900 or so when I looked. Lots of regulations on this and that. My pet theory is that it started out militaristically and has stayed that way ever since.
I was answering the first part of the grandparent. It's easy to start a self employed business, but I'm referring to limited liability companies in the UK and incorporated companies in Australia. Pretty obvious really, that's why the UK is a nation of small shopkeepers. It's simple to do.
Has nothing to do with the cost of software, except in respect of margins, which I and others have mentioned are kept at near parity in the large retail sector, a sector with somewhat unstressed economies of scale.
Incorporating a company is relatively cheap ($450AUD) and the last time I did it, it was done <10 minutes. All you need to do is scan and email through some identification, nominate the directors, and set the allocation of shares. Most online "company incorporation" providers send you all the material to conduct your first meeting of directors and the Corporations Act provides a standardized set of "replaceable" rules that you can use as is, or modify to form your company's constitution.
You can then register with the ATO (<10 minutes) and you're all done: ACN and TFN.
Summary: In Australia <$500 and <20minutes gets you a Pty. Ltd. from your couch at home.
Thanks for that. I only had a cursory look at starting a company with an ABN when in Australia. It was a few years ago, but I was initially shocked at the difference. In the UK it's £20 to register a private limited company, £15 for the annual return, and that's it for companies house. Inland revenue and employment is extra, but it's cheap to set up trading companies in the UK. And the more of those you have the more likely you are to have competitive pressures in retail.
I'm no expert on Australia's seemingly top heavy retail structure. Maybe it's just an incorrect impression I have that the top end of town gets accommodated, but that the rest have lots of hoops to jump through.
You can get an ABN[1] and set up as a sole trader/partnership online completely free if you're an Australian citizen (I'm not sure whether you can if you're foreign).
I paid about $560 to set up my company (a company has an ACN[2] from the ASIC[3] and an ABN and TFN[4] from the ATO[5]) but if you do the paperwork yourself it's cheaper.
1. Australian Business Number
2. Australian Company Number
3. Australian Securities and Investment Commission
4. Tax File Number
5. Australian Tax Office
Yes, setting up as a sole trade is completely free, just need to fill in some paperwork. Setting up a Pty Ltd is a $399AU ASIC fee last I checked, and filling in some more paperwork.
I used a service for this, which produced all of the necessary documentation for me, which cost only $200 extra.
It then costs about $200-$300 a year to maintain through the annual ASIC renewal fee.
