A company bank account is a business transaction account opened in your company’s legal name and ABN, and every Australian company needs one. The government’s business bank account guidance is clear that companies, partnerships and trusts must keep a separate bank account for tax purposes.
Here’s the honest bit. Plenty of founders register their Pty Ltd, feel great for a day, then keep paying company bills from their personal card for months because the bank checklist looks like homework. It isn’t. With the right documents in one folder, most single-director companies are set up in an afternoon.
- Companies must have their own account. Sole traders can skip it, but companies, partnerships and trusts are expected to keep business money separate for tax purposes.
- Your ACN, ABN, constitution and a directors’ resolution do most of the work. Add ID for every director and signatory, plus details of anyone who owns or controls 25% or more.
- The account must be in the company’s name, not yours. An account in your personal name with your trading name tacked on is not a company bank account.
- Single-director companies can open online in minutes. Multiple directors, trusts and overseas directors should plan for a branch visit and a few extra days.
- Setup costs you paid personally aren’t lost. Record them as a loan from you to the company, then repay yourself once the account is open.
Do you legally need a company bank account in Australia?
Yes. Government guidance says a company must have a separate bank account for tax purposes, while a sole trader doesn’t have to. You’ll find articles claiming no law strictly forces it. Don’t build your business on that loophole.
A company is a separate legal person. Its money belongs to it, not to you. Section 286 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) requires your company to keep financial records that correctly record and explain its transactions, and to hold onto them for seven years. Good luck doing that from an account that also pays for your groceries.
The bigger trap is tax. When company money pays for personal things, the ATO can treat those payments as loans or unfranked dividends to you under Division 7A. That’s how a simple first-year tax return turns into a clean-up job. A dedicated company bank account is the cheapest insurance against it.
What goes wrong when company money sits in your personal account?
- Your accountant spends paid hours working out which transactions belong to the company. You pay for every one of them.
- If the company ever hits financial trouble, messy records make it harder to show you kept company money separate and acted properly as a director.
- Clients notice. Paying a Pty Ltd invoice into an account in a person’s name looks odd, and some larger clients’ accounts teams will refuse to process it.
What documents do you need to open a company bank account?
Every bank has its own form, but they’re all checking two things: that your company exists, and who’s behind it. Here’s what we’d have ready before you start.
| Document | Where you get it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| ACN and Certificate of Registration | ASIC issues it when your company is registered | The account name must match the certificate exactly, including “Pty Ltd”. |
| ABN | Australian Business Register | Some banks accept the ACN while the ABN is pending. Many don’t. Ask before you apply. |
| Registered office and principal place of business | Your company registration details | A PO Box won’t work as a registered office. Your home address is fine. |
| Company constitution | Your formation documents | Using the replaceable rules instead? Be ready to confirm that in writing. |
| Directors’ resolution to open the account | Signed by all directors | This is where you name the signatories and how many must approve a payment. |
| ID for every director and signatory | Passport, driver licence, Medicare card | Names must match across documents. A maiden name on one ID and a married name on another will stall you. |
| Beneficial owner details | Your register of members | Anyone who owns or controls 25% or more of the company, directly or through a trust or another company. |
| Director ID | Australian Business Registry Services | Every director needs one before being appointed, so you should already have it. |
| TFN and tax residency details | ATO and your own records | Banks collect this for international tax reporting. Declare any overseas tax residency for the company or its controllers. |
Some banks also ask for share certificates or the register of members. A letter to the bank manager listing your company details speeds things up at a branch, and it’s one of the documents Lawpath provides on company registration with our compliance package.
One thing you can skip: the company seal. It hasn’t been mandatory since 1998, and your constitution doesn’t need a stamp. If a branch insists, ask them to show you the policy. In our experience, a signed directors’ resolution does the same job.
Is the 100-point ID check still a thing?
Sort of. The 100-point check came from the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988, which was repealed on 7 January 2025. Banks now verify identity under anti-money laundering rules, and most check your licence or passport digitally against government records.
Lots of banks still publish a points table because customers understand it. So keep a passport or licence plus a secondary document handy. Just don’t panic if the online form never mentions points at all.
Why does the bank want to know who owns the company?
Banks have to identify the real people behind a company, known as beneficial owners. AUSTRAC’s beneficial owner guidance draws the line at anyone who owns or controls 25% or more, directly or indirectly.
This catches founders out when shares sit in a family trust or a holding company. The bank will follow the chain until it reaches a human. Have the trust deed or holding company details ready, or expect a follow-up email and a week’s delay.
Why do company bank account applications get knocked back?
Rejections are rarely about your business. They’re about mismatches. The common ones:
- The wrong account type. Opening a personal or sole trader account and adding the company’s ABN later doesn’t work. Choose the company option from the start.
- Name mismatches. The company name on the application has to match the ASIC certificate character for character, or the application can land in manual review.
- A missing signatory. Everyone named in the resolution has to finish their ID check before the account goes live, including the co-founder who’s overseas for a month.
- Unexplained ownership. Shares held on trust with no trust details supplied. The bank pauses until it can see who really owns the company.
Sort these out before you hit submit and you’ll skip a week of back-and-forth emails.
How do you open a company bank account, step by step?
Order matters. Most of the stalls we see come from trying step four before step one.
- Register the company and get your ACN. The account can’t exist until the company does. If you’ll need GST, tick it on the registration form so your ABN and GST registration arrive together.
- Wait for the ABN, or confirm your bank will take the ACN alone. A two-minute call saves a rejected application.
- Pass a directors’ resolution. Record the decision to open the account, the bank, and who can sign. Sole directors need one too. A one-page directors’ resolution template covers it.
- Pick your bank and account. More on how to choose below.
- Apply online or book a branch visit. Sole-director companies with Australian ID can finish online at most major banks. Several directors, a trustee company or an overseas director means each signatory verifies in person.
- Make the first deposit. If shareholders haven’t paid for their shares yet, do it now. Even a one-cent-per-share issue belongs in the company account, so your share capital shows up from day one.
- Connect it and switch everything over. Link the account to Xero or MYOB, then update invoice templates, payment gateways, direct debits and the bank details your customers pay into.
How long does it take to open a company bank account?
For a single-director company with an ABN and Australian ID, same day is realistic. Sometimes it’s done within the hour. Two or more directors, a corporate trustee or anyone living overseas stretches that to several days or a few weeks, mostly spent on identity and ownership checks.
The slowest part is rarely the bank. It’s the founder hunting for a signed resolution at 4pm on a Friday.
How do you choose the right bank for your company?
Don’t overthink it. For most new Pty Ltd companies, an everyday business transaction account with no monthly fee for online banking is plenty, and several of the big four offer one. Paying for branch services you’ll never use is where founders quietly overspend.
What matters more than the logo on the card:
- Bank feeds. If the account doesn’t connect cleanly to Xero or MYOB, bookkeeping gets painful fast.
- Dual approvals. Got a co-founder? Set payments above a set amount to need two sign-offs. It protects you both.
- Card and online payments. If customers pay by card, compare merchant fees and how quickly funds settle.
- International transfers. Exchange rate margins vary widely. Paying overseas contractors every month? Compare them before you commit.
- The fine print on credit. Overdrafts and business credit cards commonly come with a personal guarantee from the directors. Read it before you sign, because it puts your own assets on the line.
Fintech and non-bank accounts suit some businesses, especially those dealing in multiple currencies. The trade-off to check: whether the provider is an authorised deposit-taking institution. Deposits with those institutions are protected by the government’s Financial Claims Scheme up to $250,000 per account holder per institution. Some payment accounts aren’t.
What’s different for sole traders, partnerships and trusts?
Not running a company? The rules shift with your structure.
| Structure | Separate account required? | Name on the account | Extra documents banks ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | No, but strongly recommended | Your name, or your registered business name | ABN, business name registration |
| Partnership | Yes | The partnership’s name | Partnership agreement, the partnership’s ABN, ID for every partner |
| Company | Yes | The company’s full name, including Pty Ltd | ACN, constitution, directors’ resolution, beneficial owner details |
| Trust with a trustee company | Yes | [Trustee company] ATF [Trust name] | Trust deed and every variation, trustee company documents, the trust’s ABN and TFN |
Partnership bank account rules
Partners are jointly liable for partnership debts, so who can move money matters more than usual. Set the account to need two signatures for anything significant, and write the same rule into your partnership agreement. The bank mandate and your contract should say the same thing.
No written agreement yet? Some banks will accept a letter from your accountant or solicitor confirming the partnership exists. Without an agreement, though, your state’s partnership legislation decides who controls what. A partnership agreement template fixes that before it becomes an argument.
Trust accounts
Trust accounts stall more than any other kind. The culprit is almost always an old deed with a missing page or an unsigned variation. Get a complete, signed copy of the deed and every variation before you apply.
What if a director lives overseas?
Under section 201A of the Corporations Act, a Pty Ltd company needs at least one director who ordinarily lives in Australia. Overseas directors are allowed to be signatories, but plan for certified or notarised ID, English translations of foreign documents, and an in-person check. Build a couple of extra weeks into your timeline.
What we see in Lawpath consultations
Lawpath’s accountants speak with newly incorporated founders every week, and the same bank account questions keep coming up. Here are the patterns worth knowing before you open yours.
“Can’t I just keep my sole trader account?”
No. It’s the question advisers hear most from founders switching from sole trader to company. The company is a new legal entity with its own ABN. It needs a new account in its own name, plus a new Xero or MYOB file, because the sole trader file doesn’t carry over. Keep the old account open only long enough to wind down the sole trader side.
Setup costs you paid personally
Registration fees, a laptop, the logo. Founders pay for these before the company account exists, then worry they’ve lost the deduction. They haven’t. Our accountants tell clients to record these as a loan from the director to the company, keep every receipt, and have the company repay them from its new account.
Money moving between you and the company
Money flowing from you to the company is simple. It’s a director’s loan the company owes you. The other direction is where people get burnt. Pulling company money out for personal spending without paperwork creates Division 7A exposure. Need cash out? Pay yourself properly through wages, director’s fees or dividends, and ask an accountant which suits you.
Forgetting to switch everything over
One pattern shows up constantly: the new account opens, then half the income keeps landing in the old sole trader account for months. Customers still have the old BSB. The payment gateway still pays out to the personal account. Pick a hard switch date, like the start of a quarter or 1 July, and update invoices, gateways and direct debits that day.
Getting stuck waiting on paperwork
Founders regularly book an accounting consultation and then can’t act on the advice, because the company documents or ABN haven’t landed. The fix is sequencing. Company first, then ABN, then bank account, then accounting software and bank feeds. Each step unlocks the next.
Frequently asked questions
Can I open a company bank account before my ABN arrives?
Sometimes. A few banks will open a company account with just the ACN, while others insist on the ABN. Call your bank before applying. If you applied for the ABN alongside company registration, the wait is short for most companies, though the ABR can take longer if it needs more information.
Can I use my personal bank account for my company?
No. Government guidance says companies must have a separate bank account for tax purposes. Mixing funds makes accurate company records harder to keep, and company money paying for personal expenses can trigger Division 7A problems with the ATO.
Can I open a company bank account online?
Yes, if your company has one director with Australian ID. Most major banks let sole-director companies apply and verify identity online. Companies with several directors, trustee companies and overseas directors will need each signatory to verify in person.
How long does it take to open a company bank account?
A single-director company with its ABN and Australian ID can open an account the same day. Multi-director companies, trusts and overseas directors should allow several days to a few weeks, mostly for identity and ownership checks.
Do I need a company seal or a stamped constitution?
No. Company seals haven’t been mandatory in Australia since 1998. Banks want a signed constitution, or confirmation you use the replaceable rules, plus a directors’ resolution authorising the account and naming the signatories.
What do I need to open a partnership bank account?
You’ll need the partnership’s ABN, ID for every partner, and a partnership agreement or other proof the partnership exists, such as a letter from your accountant or solicitor. Decide upfront who can sign and whether payments need two approvals.
Can a non-resident director open a company bank account in Australia?
Yes, as long as the company is registered in Australia. A Pty Ltd company also needs at least one director who ordinarily lives in Australia. Expect certified or notarised ID and an in-person verification step.
Does it cost anything to open a company bank account?
Opening one is free at most banks, and several big-four banks offer business transaction accounts with no monthly fee if you bank online. Costs come from branch transactions, international transfers, merchant facilities and credit, so match the account to how you’ll use it.
If you’ve registered a company, you’ve already done the hard part. Opening the account is a checklist, not a test. Gather the documents above, sign a one-page resolution, and you’ll wonder why you put it off.
Still to register your company? Register your company with Lawpath and get the certificate, constitution and resolutions your bank asks for, all in one place. It’s how 650,000+ Australian businesses have got set up without the paperwork chase.
