Choosing a structure is one of the few decisions in business that gets harder to undo every year you leave it. The day you start, a company and a trust cost a few hundred dollars in fees and an afternoon of paperwork. Five years later, moving the same business can mean valuations, CGT, stamp duty, new contracts and a solicitor's bill.
This page is about getting it right at the start, or at the point you outgrow what you started with. If you want to compare the options yourself first, read our guide to sole trader vs company vs trust. This page is about what we do and what it costs you.
What does business structure advice cover?
Four questions, answered in writing:
- Who runs the business? The entity that signs contracts, employs staff and takes the risk.
- Who owns that entity? Usually you, a spouse, or a family trust.
- Where do the valuable assets sit? Premises, equipment, investments and spare cash rarely belong in the trading entity.
- How does money get to the family? Wages, dividends, trust distributions or loans, each taxed differently.
The answer depends on profit, risk, family, existing assets and where you want the business to be in five years. A sole trader making $70,000 needs different advice from two founders planning to raise capital, and both need different advice from a dentist buying into a practice.
Which structure is right for you? Our starting views
This is how we usually start the conversation. The final answer depends on your facts.
| Your situation | Our usual starting view |
|---|---|
| Just starting, modest profit, low risk, no staff | Sole trader with good insurance. Revisit when profit or risk grows |
| Profit well above what you need to live on, plans to grow | Company, often with its shares owned by a family trust |
| Spouse or adult children on lower incomes, assets worth protecting | Company owned by a family trust; consider a separate trust for passive assets |
| Two or more unrelated owners | Company with a shareholders agreement, or a unit trust for property. Each owner may hold through their own family trust |
| Professional practice (medical, dental, legal, engineering) | Usually a company or trust, but personal services income rules and professional firm profit guidance limit income splitting. We check both |
| Buying business premises | A separate entity from the trading business, often a trust with its own trustee company, or possibly your SMSF |
| Planning to raise investor money or sell within a few years | Company, set up cleanly from day one. Structure drives the tax on sale |
The structure we recommend most often
For a profitable, growing business:
- A trading company runs the business and pays tax at 25% if it's a base rate entity (aggregated turnover under $50 million and no more than 80% passive income), otherwise 30%, for 2026–27.
- A family trust owns the shares in that company, so dividends can go to the family members who need them, and the shares aren't in your personal name.
- A separate trustee company acts for the trust, so trustee liability sits with a company rather than with you personally (directors can still be liable in some situations), and control passes more cleanly if someone dies.
Our structure advice letter now gives asset protection, succession and long-term flexibility as the main reasons for a family trust, more than tax. Integrity rules and the proposed 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts from 1 July 2028 (a Bill, not yet law) have narrowed the tax case. Our family trust setup service covers the trust in detail.
What's in our structure advice letter?
You get a written recommendation, not just a chat. The letter sets out:
- The recommended structure, drawn as a simple diagram
- Why each entity is there and what it's for
- How each entity is taxed, and how money will reach you (wages, dividends, distributions, loans)
- The rules that come with it, such as Division 7A on company loans and the 30 June trust resolution
- Asset protection notes, including what the structure doesn't protect
- Stamp duty warnings if existing assets will be moved in
- Setup costs as line items, and expected annual running costs
- The estate planning steps that should follow, such as updating your will
Our structure advice letter agent drafts the letter from the facts and the recommendation your accountant has agreed. The accountant checks every line and signs it. Our client advice letter agent then puts it into a plain, branded format. The advice is the accountant's, not the software's.
How do you set up a company and a trust? Step by step
Here's the order we work in, and why order matters. Get the sequence wrong and you can end up with shares issued to the wrong owner or a trust that can't legally hold them.
| Step | What happens | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Advice agreed and signed off | You and BPAG |
| 2 | Director IDs for every proposed director (each director applies personally, once for life) | You, with our help |
| 3 | Trustee company registered with ASIC, with a constitution suited to a trustee | BPAG |
| 4 | Trust deed prepared and signed, settled with a small sum by an independent settlor | Solicitor or deed provider, briefed by us |
| 5 | Trust TFN and, if needed, ABN | BPAG |
| 6 | Trading company registered, with shares issued to the trustee of the family trust | BPAG |
| 7 | Company TFN, ABN, GST (if turnover will be $75,000 or more), PAYG withholding if employing | BPAG |
| 8 | Bank accounts in each entity's name; business name transferred or registered | You, with our checklist |
| 9 | Xero files set up for each entity, with chart of accounts and bank feeds | BPAG |
| 10 | Contracts, leases, insurance and supplier accounts moved to the new company | You, your solicitor and broker |
Steps 2 to 7 usually take days, not weeks. Step 10 is where most delays happen, because landlords, banks and insurers move at their own pace. Our ASIC company compliance agent checks each form and deadline, and our director resolutions agent drafts the first board minutes and share issue for your accountant to review. If you'd rather we keep the company registers and ASIC lodgements on an ongoing basis, see our ASIC company secretarial service.
Watch out: If you're moving an existing business into the new structure, steps 6 to 10 are a restructure, not a setup. There may be CGT, stamp duty and GST on the transfer. Our business restructuring service covers the rollovers that can defer the tax.
What does each structure cost to run each year?
This is the question people forget to ask. A structure that saves $8,000 of tax but costs $6,000 a year to run is not much of a structure. Government fees below are for 2026–27; professional fees depend on transaction volume, so we quote them as part of your plan.
| Structure | Government fees each year | Returns and paperwork each year | Other running costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | None | Your individual return with business schedule; BAS if registered for GST | Your own business insurance |
| Company | ASIC annual review fee, $342 for a proprietary company | Company tax return, financial statements, BAS, annual solvency resolution, keeping ASIC details current | Division 7A loan agreements and minimum repayments if you borrow from the company |
| Family trust with a trustee company | ASIC annual review fee for the trustee company (generally the full proprietary rate, as a family trust trustee isn't a special purpose company) | Trust tax return, financial statements, 30 June distribution resolution, BAS if trading | Land tax at trust rates in some states if it holds property |
| Company owned by a family trust | Two ASIC fees (trading company and trustee company) | Company and trust returns, dividend resolutions, trust resolution | As above |
| Partnership | None | Partnership return; each partner's individual return | Partnership agreement kept current |
Setting up costs include ASIC's company registration fee, $636 for a proprietary company from 1 July 2026, plus the trust deed and our advice and setup fee. TFN, ABN and GST registration are free. The biggest setup cost is often one people miss: stamp duty and CGT if existing assets are moved in.
At BPAG the ongoing work for a company and trust usually sits inside one fixed-price plan. Compliance Essentials, from $149 per week + GST, covers bookkeeping up to 100 transactions a month, BAS, the company tax return and annual financial statements. Compare plans on our pricing page.
What mistakes do we see with new structures?
- Shares issued to the person instead of the trust. Fixing it later can mean a CGT event and duty.
- One trustee company for everything. One company acting for a trading trust and an asset trust can let trading creditors reach the assets.
- Taking money out of the company like a personal account. Withdrawals that aren't wages or dividends become Division 7A loans, which need a written agreement and minimum yearly repayments, or they're taxed as unfranked dividends. Our Division 7A guide explains how.
- The settlor is a beneficiary. The settlor should usually be someone who can never benefit.
- Personal services income ignored. A consultant who sells their own skills can't simply split income through a company. The personal services income rules may attribute it straight back to them.
- Spouse made a director "for the paperwork". Directors carry personal duties and director penalty exposure. Only appoint people who understand that.
- No will update. Your will doesn't control the trust. The trust deed and your shares do, and both need succession planning.
- A structure built for a business you don't have yet. Three entities for a side business making $20,000 is cost without benefit.
How does working with BPAG on your structure work?
- Free strategy call. We ask about the business, profit, risk, family and existing assets. If a sole trader setup is right, we'll tell you.
- Written advice. A structure advice letter, signed by your accountant, with costs as line items.
- Setup. We register the entities, brief the deed provider or solicitor, and set up Xero and bank feeds. You sign documents on your phone; no account needed.
- First year. We set up the BAS, payroll and Payday Super cycles, make sure the first 30 June resolution happens, and prepare the first set of returns.
- Annual review. Every year we check the structure still fits: profit, risk, family and law. Structures should change when your life does.
All our work runs on our AI-native practice platform. Agents draft; a qualified accountant reviews and signs off every piece of advice, and nothing is lodged with ASIC or the ATO without a person approving it.
"It's been wonderful working with the BPAG team! They are true experts and have provided incredibly valuable business advisory and tax services, helping my business grow." Mitchell King, Google review
What should you send us?
- What the business does, expected turnover and profit, and whether you'll employ staff
- Who's in your family, their ages and roughly what each earns
- What you already own and whose name it's in
- Any existing ABN, business name, company or trust details
- Any partners or investors, and what each is contributing
- Whether you'll lease or buy premises
- Your current will, if you have one
Where to next?
If asset protection is the main driver, read about our asset protection advice. If you're a consultant, agency or professional, our page for professional services firms covers the personal services income rules in more depth. And if you're buying an existing business rather than starting one, the structure should be settled before you sign; see buying a business.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change my business structure later?
Yes, but changing usually costs more than getting it right at the start. Moving a running business can trigger CGT, stamp duty and GST issues, and new contracts, bank accounts and registrations. Rollovers can defer some of the tax, which is what our business restructuring service covers.
Do I need a company to employ staff?
No. Sole traders, partnerships and trusts can all employ staff, register for PAYG withholding and pay super. But employing people raises your risk of claims and unpaid liabilities, which is often the point where limited liability starts to make sense.
What's the difference between a business name and a company?
A business name is just a trading name registered with ASIC. It doesn't create a separate legal entity or limit your liability. A company is a separate legal person that owns its assets and owes its own debts, and it can register business names of its own.
Should my company or my trust hold the business?
For most growing businesses we recommend a company running the business, with its shares owned by a family trust. The company limits liability and caps the tax rate on retained profit, while the trust gives flexibility over who receives dividends. A trust trading directly can suit some families, but the trustee then carries the trading risk.
Can I set up a company myself online?
You can register a company yourself through the government's Business Registration Service. The registration is the easy part. The decisions around it, such as who the shareholders should be, whether a trust should own the shares and how money will come out, are where mistakes get expensive.
Do sole traders need an accountant to choose a structure?
Not always. If your profit is modest, you have no staff and low liability risk, staying a sole trader with good insurance may be the right answer, and we'll say so. Advice pays for itself once profit, risk or family assets grow.
Official sources
General information only, current as at 18 October 2026. It is not personal tax, legal or financial product advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account. Talk to us before you act. Where a recommendation needs a licensed financial adviser or a solicitor, we work alongside them.