The right resident director service gives you a named, qualified person who will still be on your board in three years, protected well enough to stay and informed well enough to keep your company out of trouble. To find one, ask every provider the same questions about who the director is, what they check, what protects them, what they will sign, how they monitor the company and how they leave. The answers matter more than the headline fee.
Price is covered separately in resident director cost. This page is about quality.
First, be clear on what you're buying
Before you compare anyone, decide which of these you need:
- The seat only. A holding company with its own accountant may need just a qualifying director, routine signings and the annual solvency resolution.
- The seat plus the compliance calendar. A trading subsidiary usually also wants the annual review, officeholder and address changes, and a registered office run for it.
- Board-level governance. Groups with investors, several entities or FIRB conditions may want a company secretary, minuted board meetings and condition tracking.
- Possibly no director at all. If the overseas entity registers in Australia as a foreign company rather than forming a Pty Ltd, it needs a local agent instead. Check subsidiary vs branch first.
Quotes only compare when they cover the same scope.
The questions to put to every provider
About the person
- Who exactly will be our director? Get a name. You should be able to see that person on your company's ASIC record once appointed.
- Do they live in Australia, and will they stay? The seat only works while the director ordinarily resides here. Ask what happens if they move.
- Do they already hold a Director ID? ABRS requires a Director ID before appointment, and a professional director should already have one (ABRS).
- How many boards do they sit on? There is no legal cap, but a director with hundreds of seats cannot know any of them. Ask how they manage workload.
- What is their background? Governance, accounting or legal experience is relevant. So is a clean record on ASIC's banned and disqualified registers, which you can search yourself.
About onboarding checks
- What due diligence do you run before appointment? Since 1 July 2026, acting as, or arranging for someone to act as, a director of a company for another person is a designated service under AUSTRAC's regime (items 7–8), and providing a registered office address is item 9 (AUSTRAC). Expect identity, beneficial ownership and sanctions checks. A provider that asks for nothing is a warning sign.
- Are you enrolled with AUSTRAC? Ask them to confirm their status in writing. Your bank or auditor may ask you the same question.
- Do you check our tax position first? A new director can be personally liable for unpaid PAYG withholding, GST or super guarantee charge that was due before they joined, unless it is dealt with within 30 days of appointment (ATO). A careful director will ask for lodgement and payment status before agreeing. That protects your appointment as well as theirs.
About protection
- Who provides the D&O insurance, and is it confirmed before appointment? Some providers require you to buy it; some include cover. Know which, and what it costs.
- Do you use a deed of access, indemnity and insurance? It is standard for professional non-executive directors. The law limits what a company can indemnify, so the deed is necessary but not a blank cheque.
- Do you ask for a deposit or parent support? Some providers do. Understand the amount and when it is refunded.
About decision rights
- What will the director sign without referring back to us? Ask for the written list.
- What must be escalated? Borrowing, guarantees, related-party transactions and anything touching solvency should be. A provider that will sign anything is not protecting you.
- How fast do you turn signings around? Ask for a service standard in business days, and how they handle time-zone gaps. Australian companies can sign documents electronically, so a wet-ink courier round should rarely be needed.
About monitoring
- What do you watch between annual reviews? For example ASIC deadlines, lodgement status and public-record notices about the company.
- What information will you ask us for, and how often? Management accounts or bank visibility at agreed intervals are reasonable. A director who never asks has no basis for the annual solvency resolution.
- Do you lodge ASIC changes yourselves? Firms that lodge on clients' behalf commonly register with ASIC as a registered agent, which requires an ABN and a responsible person who lives in Australia (ASIC).
About leaving
- On what grounds can your director resign, and with how much notice? Look for documented triggers, not "at our discretion".
- Do you require another director on the board? ASIC says a sole director cannot resign until replaced (ASIC). A provider that insists you keep an overseas director alongside theirs is planning responsibly for an exit, not being difficult.
- What happens when we leave? Ask about exit fees, coordination with your new director, how quickly the resignation is lodged (ASIC records a late-notified exit at the lodgement date if more than 28 days pass) and what records you get back.
Red flags
- The service is marketed as a way to keep the owners' identity private.
- The director will "sign whatever you send", or the provider describes the role as passive.
- No written engagement, decision protocol or indemnity deed.
- Insurance is "your problem" with no check that it exists.
- The fee looks low, but routine resolutions, registered office or annual review work are billed hourly.
- Nobody can tell you who the director will be until after you pay.
- Exit terms aren't stated, or the director can resign without notice.
The reasons behind several of these flags are explained in nominee director Australia.
How to run the comparison
Send every shortlisted provider the same short brief: your group structure, what the Australian company does, whether it has staff or GST registration, and when you need the director in place. Ask for written answers to the questions above and a fixed quote for the same scope. Then ask one practical test question, such as how they would handle a request to sign a contract on a Friday afternoon in your time zone. The way a provider answers that tells you more about day-to-day service than its website does.
A simple scoring grid
Score each provider 0 (no), 1 (partly) or 2 (yes, in writing).
| Area | What a 2 looks like |
|---|---|
| Named director | Identified before you sign, Australian-resident, holds a Director ID |
| Due diligence | CDD, sanctions and tax position checked before appointment |
| Protection | Deed signed, D&O confirmed before appointment |
| Decision protocol | Written list of routine vs escalated matters |
| Monitoring | Defined checks and information requests during the year |
| Service standard | Response and signing times stated in business days |
| Exit | Notice periods, handover process and no exit fee at renewal |
| Price clarity | Fixed annual fee; government fees and extras listed separately |
A provider scoring under 10 out of 16 deserves a hard second look, whatever its price.
Where we fit
We publish our answers to these questions on how it works and our fixed packages on pricing. We don't give tax, legal or FIRB advice, so keep your own advisers for those, and ask them to review any engagement letter before you sign, ours included.
General information current at 27 October 2026; not legal, tax or financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
Should we pick the cheapest resident director provider?
Compare what each fee covers before comparing the number. A low fee that excludes insurance, monitoring or routine signings can cost more once those are added, and a director who resigns early costs you the most of all.
Is it a bad sign if a provider asks lots of questions about our owners?
No, it's the opposite. Acting as a director for another person is an AUSTRAC-regulated service, so a compliant provider has to identify you and your beneficial owners before it acts.
Can we switch providers mid-year?
Usually yes, but read the term and exit clauses first. The new director must be appointed before the old one resigns, or the company will be left without a resident director in between.
Do we need a provider that also does our tax?
Not necessarily. Many owners keep their accountant for tax and use a specialist for the director seat and governance calendar. What matters is that the two talk to each other about lodgement status.
Official sources
- AUSTRAC: Professional designated services austrac.gov.au
- ASIC: Act as a registered agent for companies asic.gov.au
- ASIC: Add or remove a company officeholder asic.gov.au
- ATO: Director penalties ato.gov.au
- ABRS: Who needs to apply and when abrs.gov.au
- ASIC: Banned and disqualified registers asic.gov.au
Checked against these sources on . Fees, thresholds and forms change: confirm with the source before you lodge.
General information about Australian law and practice, not legal or tax advice for your circumstances. Check the official sources, or ask your adviser, before you act.