Lansdowne Financial provides an effective Resident / Nominee Director service for trusted clients, both new entrants & businesses already established in the Australian market.
Resident Director Services
Every company in Australia requires a locally Resident or Nominee Director.
All Australian companies are required under the Corporations Act to have an Australian-resident Director appointed at all times. Essentially, ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission) will look beyond the veil of the corporate structure to identify the individuals controlling the company. It is compulsory that at least one of those Directors is resident in Australia so as to provide the authorities with an individual that can be held accountable for the Company’s actions or inactions subject to the jurisdiction of the Australian courts.
For most Australian businesses, their current directorship structure already meets the Resident Director requirement. International businesses, however, must choose between using an external provider such as Lansdowne or else appointing their own locally resident staff, as a Director.
While this may appear expedient, the reality is that the risks & obligations involved are such that most companies prefer to rely on the professional, independent & specialised services of a firm such as Lansdowne, rather than imposing heavy responsibilities on their own staff who may or may not be appropriately qualified for the role. This also prevents any issues associated with staff turnover which is a common challenge facing new businesses in Australia today.
Essentially, utilising a professional external service allows the business and its staff the freedom to focus on growing the business in Australia, in the knowledge that they are legally compliant, they have support, and the ability to make changes quickly and effectively as business needs dictate.
All Directors of the Australian company (local and overseas) carry responsibility for the governance, management and control of that company. The Resident Director, being essentially a non-executive role, nevertheless carries the same risks and responsibilities as if he / she were actively involved in the business. Indeed the risk is significantly higher, in that the Resident Director automatically falls within the jurisdiction of the Australian legal system whereas actions taken against overseas directors tend to be difficult and expensive.
Given the obligations & responsibilities associated with being a resident director, Lansdowne needs to be very specific about the businesses it partners with. We are only interested in partnering with people of the highest integrity, looking to build an Australian business in full compliance with local regulations. Whilst we are happy to work with start-up businesses, we do need assurances around the ongoing liquidity & viability of the business, and importantly to have direct access to key decision makers as required (ie. overseas based Directors).
This is a two-way partnership. We will go well beyond the statutory minimum to help you succeed, but we expect the same degree of commitment from you in return together with a high degree of integrity in all our dealings.
As we launched our operations in Australia we found that the service provided by Landowne alleviated the other challenges Results Generation Experienced in other international markets. Tony and his team’s advice and knowledge were critical in our launch. We highly recommend them
Will Yankus
Founder, Chief Strategy Officer Results Generation LLCWe have used Tony’s Resident Director services for over three years and have enjoyed a completely faultless experience and as such I cannot recommend Tony highly enough. Tony has a wealth of experience and knowledge and is thorough and meticulous in his work. He is always swift to come back to us with any communication which makes working with him very easy despite our offices being on the other side of the world to one another.
Tony maintains the highest standards of professionalism and his incredibly friendly demeanour means that working with him is a pleasure. We would not hesitate to recommend Tony and his services to anybody.Lindsey Fellowes-Freeman
Finance Director WRM Media LtdTony Kearney saves lives!
Anna Thomas
Managing Director, Nunwood AustraliaTony has always been supportive and helped our organisation since we started. He is easy to deal with and prepared to offer professional business and financial advice.
Wong Chaw Meng
Managing Director, Nikkon Lighting AustraliaBeing a tech startup based in Ireland we knew we needed someone who we could trust on the ground to be our Australian resident director. Landsdowne Financial were recommended to us and working with Tony Kearney has made our entry into the Australian market very straightforward. Aside from being our resident director, a mandatory requirement for forming a PTY company in Australia, Tony has played a key role in getting our business launched and trading in Australia. Tony has vast experience of working with businesses across a variety of sectors and through his extensive network of contacts he was able to link us up with a solicitor and accountant to service our needs. I would have no hesitation in recommending Landsdowne Financial to anyone seeking to set up business in Australia
Luke Saunders
Founder and Managing Director, Lighthouse Learning LtdThe team at Landsdowne did a fantastic job of simplifying the process of legally establishing our business in Australia, they took away all of the complexity and managed the process from start to finish and gave us complete comfort that all was done right
Dr. Barbara Murphy
Founder & CSO, Equilume
