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Business Environment, About Melbourne, Invest Victoria

Business Environment

Melbourne's strong and growing economy, efficient infrastructure and global connection

Australia's economy has continued to grow strongly over the past 15 years, with annual real GSP/GDP growth of 3.7% in 2007-2008; with Victoria, Australia's south-eastern State averaging 3.2%.

Victoria accounts for almost 25% of the Australian economy, and its economy is larger than Singapore, the Philippines and New Zealand.

Melbourne is a critical hub connecting Australia to Asia Pacific and beyond. A port city, well served by sea, road, rail and communications links. It handles a large proportion of the nation’s trade.

Download fact sheets:

Victoria Quick Facts (242kb)

Cost of Living & Quality of Life (203kb)

Current Infrastructure Projects (165kb)

Related links:

Economic Overview

Port of Melbourne

Melbourne Airport

Department of Transport

Employment costs and conditions

Melbourne provides businesses with flexible employment conditions however you will need to comply with minimum workplace conditions that cover such things as hours of work, pay, superannuation and leave entitlements.

Invest Victoria can provide a tailored submission outlining all of these considerations as they apply to your business.

Download fact sheets:

Workplace Arrangements (166kb)

Related links:

Australian Fairpay Commission

Australian Tax Office for information on superannuation requirements

Business Victoria for information on public holidays and penalty rates

Business Victoria Industrial Relations for information on long service leave

Australia one of world’s safest countries for business

Australia has been ranked as one of the world’s four safest countries in which to do business by Dun & Bradstreet’s Global Risk Indicator (August 2009), which assesses economic, commercial, external and political risk to provide risk ratings for 131 countries around the world.

Doing business is Melbourne is easy. Not only is Australia rated number one for the lowest number of business start-up days, you can also take advantage of Melbourne's transparent regulatory system and a stable political and economic environment.

Business start-up days

Source: IMD 2008

And while doing business in Melbourne is straight forward, investors need to consider our regulatory processes. Investment into Australia is regulated by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and there are some instances where prior approval by the FIRB is required.

Invest Victoria can work with you to ensure that establishing your business in Melbourne is as simple and cost-efficient as possible.

Download fact sheets:

Political System (261kb)

Regulatory Facts (143kb)

Incorporating a Business (193kb)

Australia’s Banking System (213kb)

Australian Customs Service and Regulations (122kb)

Related links:

The World Bank Group | Doing Business

Foreign Investment Review Board

Consumer Affairs Victoria

Australia Competition and Consumer Commission

Australian Securities and Investment Commission for information on registering your business

Taxation in Australia

Businesses in Australia are subject to tax laws imposed by local, state and federal governments. There are many forms of tax that you must be aware of. Income tax is the most important tax imposed by the Federal Government on individuals and corporations. There is no State or Local Government tax on profits.

Taxation comparison

The table below provides a global comparison of taxation rates, highlighting Australia. While Australia's base corporate tax rate of 30% may appear high, there's considerable evidence to indicate few international firms pay as much as 30%.

Invest Victoria can put you in contact with taxation specialists that provide advice on the most effective corporate structure for your company. In many instances substantial cost savings can be made by fully evaluating the various structural and accounting options at the very initial stages of establishment.

Global comparison of taxation rates (IMD 2008)

Country

Maximum tax rate calculated on profits

Japan

41%

USA

35%

Germany

33%

India

34%

Canada

34%

New Zealand

33%

Spain

30%

Australia

30%

Singapore

18%

Hong Kong

18%

Source: IMD 2008

Download fact sheets:

Taxation in Australia (217kb)

Australian State Taxes (209kb)

Accountants and Lawyers (203kb)

Related links:

Australian Tax Office

Corporate income tax

Personal income tax

Goods and services tax

A robust legal system for protection of intellectual property

Australian-based innovation enjoys strong protection of intellectual property rights.

Australia is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property, the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. It's also a signatory to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) among others.

Intellectual property rights (IMD2008)

Country

Score (out of 10)

USA

8.32

Australia

7.69

Ireland

7.12

Japan

6.97

Source: IMD 2007

Related links:

IP Australia

Biotechnology Australia for Australia’s IP laws in a biotechnology context.