Most business owners chose their structure on the day they got an ABN and never looked at it again. That was fine at $80,000 of profit and no staff. It is not fine when you have a house, a share portfolio, a commercial property, a team, a bank guarantee and a spouse who isn't in the business. Everything you own may now be sitting in the line of fire of the riskiest thing you do.
BPAG is moving strongly into this work because it is where good advice makes the biggest difference. Here is how we think about it, what we actually do, and where the limits are.
What does business structuring and asset protection actually involve?
Two jobs, done together.
- Structuring decides which legal entity does what: who trades, who employs, who owns the premises, who holds the investments, and how profit flows to the family. Each choice has a tax result.
- Asset protection separates what you risk from what you keep. The trading entity takes on contracts, staff and customers. Your savings, investments and, where it suits, your home sit somewhere a creditor of the trading entity would find harder to reach. No structure guarantees protection: personal guarantees, clawback rules and family law can still reach assets, which is why we test each option against those risks.
Done well, the two support each other. Done badly, a structure built purely to cut tax can leave assets more exposed, and a structure built purely for protection can cost more tax than it needs to.
Key point: Asset protection only works when it's set up while you're solvent, at market value, for genuine reasons, and with records to prove it. It is planning, not hiding.
What are you actually protecting against?
We start with a risk map, not a structure chart. Most families face five threats. This is the table we work through in a first meeting.
| Threat | How it reaches your assets | What usually helps | Who else is involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business failure, lawsuits, unpaid suppliers | Creditors pursue whoever owes the debt, and anyone who guaranteed it | Trade through a company; hold passive assets in a separate entity with its own trustee; insurance; avoid personal guarantees where you can | Insurance broker, solicitor |
| ATO debts as a director | Director penalty notices make directors personally liable for some unpaid PAYG withholding, GST and super | Lodge BAS and pay Payday Super on time; keep the books current | Us |
| Relationship breakdown | The family courts can treat assets you control (including trusts) as part of the property pool | Think about who controls each trust; document family loans properly; consider a binding financial agreement | Family lawyer |
| Death or loss of capacity | Wills don't control trust assets or super; family provision claims; incapacity without the right powers | Trust succession clauses, testamentary trust wills, death benefit nominations, enduring powers of attorney | Estate solicitor, financial adviser |
| ATO integrity rules and trust governance | Distributions that don't follow the deed or the law can be reassessed at the top rate or challenged by beneficiaries | Proper 30 June resolutions, real consideration of beneficiaries, section 100A review | Us, solicitor for deed issues |
Most people only think about the first row. The fourth and fifth rows are where we see the most damage, because nobody notices until it is too late to fix.
Which structures do we use, and what does each one do?
There is no single best structure. There is a best structure for your income, risk, family and plans. Here is the honest summary of the building blocks. For more detail, read our guide to sole trader vs company vs trust.
| Structure | Tax on profit (2026–27) | Protection | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | Your personal rates, up to 45% plus Medicare levy | None. You and the business are the same person | Every business debt is your debt |
| Partnership | Each partner's personal rates | None. Each partner can be liable for the others | Shared liability with your partners |
| Company | 25% for base rate entities, otherwise 30% | Limited liability, unless you sign guarantees or breach director duties | Money out is taxed again; loans to you trigger Division 7A |
| Discretionary (family) trust | Taxed in beneficiaries' hands, at their rates | Beneficiaries don't own the assets, so a beneficiary's creditors usually can't reach them | Trustee liability; annual resolutions; integrity rules; proposed 2028 minimum tax |
| Unit trust | Unitholders' rates | Units are property and can be reached by a unitholder's creditors | Less flexible; landholder duty rules |
| SMSF | 15% in accumulation; can be lower in retirement phase (members with balances above $3 million also face Division 296 tax from 2026–27) | Super is generally protected in bankruptcy if contributed in the normal way | Strict rules; financial adviser needed to set up |
The trust we're asked about most is the family trust. If you want to understand exactly how one works before we talk, start with our guide family trust explained.
The setup we recommend most often
For a profitable business with assets worth protecting, the pattern is usually:
- A trading company that runs the business, signs the contracts and employs the staff. It keeps only enough assets to operate.
- A family trust that owns the shares in the trading company, so profit can be distributed across the family and the shares themselves aren't in your name.
- A separate trust for passive assets, such as the business premises or investments, with its own corporate trustee. If one company acts as trustee for both a trading trust and a property trust, trading creditors can reach the property through the trustee's right to be paid back from trust assets. One trustee per trust closes that door.
- The family home held, where it makes sense, by the lower-risk spouse. We cover the trade-offs in our guide to protecting the family home.
- Super, which is generally protected from bankruptcy creditors when contributions follow your normal pattern and weren't made to defeat creditors.
That is a pattern, not a prescription. A café owner turning over $600,000 with no property may need only a company and good insurance. A specialist surgeon with a $3 million portfolio in their own name needs a very different conversation.
Why does 30 June 2027 matter for your structure?
Because the tax cost of moving assets is about to change.
This is law. Under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, from 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount is replaced by cost-base indexation for gains that accrue from that date, for individuals, trusts and partnerships. Individuals also face a new 30% minimum tax on certain capital gains from that date. Assets you hold on 30 June 2027 are treated as sold and bought back at market value at that point, so growth up to then keeps the 50% discount and the tax is deferred until you actually sell. The full picture is in our guide to the 30 June 2027 tax changes.
Two things follow from that:
- If you're already in the right structure, don't panic-sell. The law protects the growth you've built up. What you need is a reliable record of market value at 30 June 2027.
- If assets are in the wrong name, moving them before 30 June 2027 may be cheaper than moving them later. A transfer is a CGT event, so it can trigger tax and state stamp duty now. But while the 50% discount and, for eligible businesses, the small business CGT concessions and rollovers are still available in their current form, the cost of getting into a protected structure can be much lower. After 1 July 2027 the arithmetic changes.
This is not law. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 3) Bill 2026, introduced on 14 October 2026, proposes a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trust income from 1 July 2028, collected from the trustee, plus rollover relief from 1 July 2027 for families who restructure out of a discretionary trust. It is a Bill, not law, and its final shape may change. We model it for every trust client, but we won't tell you to wind up or restructure a trust on the strength of a Bill. Our guide to the discretionary trust tax changes tracks its progress.
Should you act before 30 June 2027? A quick decision table
| Your situation | Our usual starting view |
|---|---|
| Investments or property already in a family trust or company that suits you | Hold. Arrange a 30 June 2027 valuation and keep good records |
| Shares or commercial property in your personal name, and you carry business or professional risk | Model a transfer to a protected structure before 30 June 2027 |
| Trading as a sole trader with real profit and real risk | Model moving the business into a company (and possibly a trust) using the available rollovers and concessions |
| A family trust distributing to low-income adults or retirees | Model the proposed 2028 trust tax, but don't restructure until the Bill's fate is known |
| A business you plan to sell within a few years | Talk to us now. Structure and timing drive the tax on sale |
| Already behind on tax or supplier debts | Don't move assets. Get insolvency and legal advice first |
Our guide to strategies before 30 June 2027 covers the full list we check.
What can't asset protection do?
Good advice includes the limits. Here are the ones we explain to every client.
- It can't be done after the trouble starts. Transfers for less than market value can be clawed back by a bankruptcy trustee for a period of years (longer for transfers to family entities), and transfers made to defeat creditors can be undone with no time limit at all.
- It can't beat a personal guarantee. If you've guaranteed the business loan or the lease, the structure doesn't help with that debt.
- It doesn't make a trust invisible in a separation. Courts look at who really controls a trust. If you hold the appointor role, expect the trust's assets to be in the conversation. Separation planning belongs early, not after the relationship ends.
- It doesn't replace insurance. Professional indemnity, public liability, and management liability cover come first. Structure is the second line of defence.
- Marketed schemes often fail when tested. We regularly get asked about gift-and-loan-back or "equity stripping" arrangements over the family home. Where they're used to defeat creditors, a spouse's claim or a family provision claim, they can be unwound by a bankruptcy trustee or a court. We'd rather tell you that now than after you've paid for one.
How does a structuring engagement work with BPAG?
- Free strategy call. We ask what you own, whose name it's in, what you do for a living, and what worries you. If a simple setup is right for you, we'll say so.
- Structure map and risk review. We draw your current group: every entity, owner, trustee, appointor, loan and guarantee. Our trust deed agent summarises each deed and flags the powers, appointor rules and vesting date for your accountant to check.
- Modelling. We cost each option with real numbers: the tax and stamp duty to get there, the ongoing tax and running costs, and the protection you'd gain. Our CGT agent and our restructure rollover agent work through the concessions and rollovers that might apply; a qualified accountant reviews every figure.
- Written advice. You get a plain-English recommendation. Our structure advice letter agent drafts it from the agreed facts, and the accountant who advised you checks and signs it.
- Legal and financial advice in step. We brief your solicitor on trust deeds, deed variations, loan agreements, wills and binding financial agreements, and a licensed financial adviser on anything involving super products. You don't have to be the go-between.
- Implementation. We handle the tax side: ABNs, TFNs, GST registration, company registration with ASIC, Xero files, bank accounts, transfer valuations and the tax returns that record the move.
- Keeping it working. Every year: trust distribution resolutions before 30 June, company records, a check of the risk map, and a look at any law changes. Structures fail more often from neglect than from bad design.
Like everything at BPAG, this runs on Nagaris. The AI agents draft; qualified accountants review and sign off, and nothing is sent to you or the ATO without a person approving it. Your documents are stored in Australia.
"I started using BPAG 3 years ago and they have been advising my business and myself in an extraordinary way. The team is also caring and they listen to what your needs are." Christian Luis Barbeitos Alvarez, Google review
What does it cost?
Structuring advice is quoted as a fixed fee before we start, once we know how many entities and assets are involved. You won't get a surprise invoice.
Ongoing, most structured groups sit on one of our fixed-price plans, which you can compare on our pricing page. Our Fractional CFO plan (from $499 per week + GST) includes proactive annual tax planning, which is where we review your structure each year.
An honest point on value: if you're a sole trader with modest profit, no employees, no property and low liability risk, a complex structure can cost more to run than it saves. Good insurance and a simple setup may be the better answer, and we'll tell you so.
What should you send us?
The more of this we have before the first proper meeting, the more useful that meeting is.
- A list of what you own (home, investment properties, shares, crypto, business, super) and whose name each is in
- Trust deeds and every deed of variation, plus company constitutions
- Your last two years of financial statements and tax returns for each entity
- Loan documents, especially any personal guarantees
- Leases for business premises
- Wills, enduring powers of attorney and super death benefit nominations, if you have them
- Any shareholder or partnership agreements
- Anything you've been sent by a seminar or promoter that you're considering
You can upload photos of documents from your phone. There's no portal password to remember.
Who does what: accountant, solicitor and financial adviser
Clear roles protect you. Here is how the work splits.
| Task | Who does it |
|---|---|
| Structure design, tax modelling, CGT and duty estimates | BPAG |
| Registrations, tax returns, financial statements, resolutions | BPAG |
| Trust deeds, deed variations, loan agreements and mortgages | Your solicitor (we brief them) |
| Wills, testamentary trusts, powers of attorney, binding financial agreements | Your solicitor (we brief them) |
| Whether to start or wind up an SMSF, contribution and pension strategy, insurance | A licensed financial adviser (AFSL) |
If you don't have a solicitor or adviser, we can introduce you to people we work with regularly.
Where to go from here
If you want to go deeper on one part of this, we have dedicated pages for each:
- Asset protection advice for the risk side
- Business structure advice for setting up a new company or trust
- Family trust setup if you've decided a trust is right
- Business restructuring for moving an existing business or assets with rollovers
- Succession and estate planning for passing the business and wealth on
Or skip the reading and book the free strategy call. Bring the list of what you own. We'll tell you what's exposed.
Frequently asked questions
Is asset protection legal in Australia?
Yes, when it's done while you are solvent, at market value, for genuine reasons, and with the paperwork to prove it. What doesn't work is moving assets to defeat creditors you already have or can see coming. Courts can unwind those transfers under the Bankruptcy Act and family law, sometimes many years later.
Does a company protect my house if my business fails?
A company limits your liability to what you've put into it, which is a big step up from trading as a sole trader. But that protection disappears where you've signed a personal guarantee, as a director you can be personally liable for some unpaid tax and super, and courts can pursue directors for insolvent trading. A company is the first layer, not the whole answer.
How long does a restructure take?
A new company and trust can be set up in days once the advice is agreed. Moving existing assets or a running business takes longer, because valuations, stamp duty assessments, contracts, bank consents and the solicitor's documents all need to line up. If you want something done before 30 June 2027, start the conversation well before then.
Should I put my business in my spouse's name?
Holding passive assets such as the family home in the name of the lower-risk spouse is a common and legitimate step when it's done from the start. Transferring an existing asset can trigger stamp duty and CGT, can be clawed back if you become bankrupt within the relevant period, and needs to be weighed against family law and estate planning. We model the cost and the risks before anything moves.
Do I need a lawyer as well as an accountant?
Usually, yes. We design and model the structure, handle the tax, registrations and ongoing compliance, and brief the solicitor. The solicitor prepares the legal documents such as trust deeds, deed variations, loan agreements, wills and binding financial agreements. Most clients find one coordinated brief saves time and fees.
Can I just copy the structure a friend or seminar recommended?
Structures that work for one family can be expensive or ineffective for another. A setup built around one person's tax rate, state, family and risk profile may suit nobody else. We also see marketed schemes, such as gift-and-loan-back arrangements over the family home, that are exposed to bankruptcy clawback and family law challenges, so get independent advice before you sign anything.
Official sources
General information only, current as at 23 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.