A resident director for your Australian subsidiary.

A resident director is a director of your Australian company in every sense, with the same legal duties as any other director. The right appointment is someone who understands governance and takes the role seriously.

Every Australian proprietary company must have at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia (s 201A Corporations Act 2001). Reservoir Legal explains what "ordinarily resides" means, and what happens if a company does not comply, in Does my Australian company need a resident director?

What the role involves

• Acting as a director of your Australian company and meeting the s 201A requirement
• Understanding your group and how the Australian company fits into it
• Reviewing and signing board resolutions, minutes and ASIC documents
• Maintaining oversight of the company's Australian governance and compliance obligations
• Raising issues early and escalating them to the board
• Being your local point of contact for Australian regulators and advisers

What stays with your group and advisers

• Day-to-day management and commercial decisions
• Bookkeeping, tax returns and payroll, which sit with your accountants
• Personal guarantees for the company's obligations, which we do not provide

Before we are appointed

We take time to understand your group, structure and plans for Australia. We carry out identity checks on the company and its owners in line with our anti-money laundering obligations. We usually ask for a deed of access, insurance and indemnity, and for the company to hold directors' and officers' insurance. For early-stage companies, we discuss the options that suit the business.