This page provides guidance on the definitions of Australian and New Zealand businesses.
Further guidance is also available on the preferencing of Australian businesses in procurement. The guidance for suppliers is on the Selling to Government website. The guidance for procuring entities is on the Commonwealth Procurement Rules page.
Overview
From 17 November 2025, the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) includes the following definitions for Australian and New Zealand businesses.
An Australian business -
- is a business, including any parent business, that:
- has 50% or more Australian ownership, or is principally traded on an Australian equities market; and
- is an Australian resident for tax purposes; and
- is a business that has its principal place of business in Australia.
A New Zealand business – as defined in New Zealand’s Government Procurement Rules, available at www.procurement.govt.nz.
What does Australian ownership mean?
The ‘50% or more’ requirement for Australian ownership may be met by one individual or entity, or may be met by a cumulative representation of ownership by multiple individuals and/or entities.
A business must be able to demonstrate that the declaring business, and any parent business if applicable, meet the requirement to have 50% or more Australian ownership or be principally traded on an Australian equities market.
For partnerships, 50% or more of each class of partnership interest must be Australian owned (that is, partner(s) are Australian, as per below), with the partnership interest reflected in the partnership agreement.
For trusts, where at least 50% of the trustee(s) are Australian, the trust will be taken to be Australian.
For incorporated associations and companies limited by guarantee, 50% or more of the members must be Australian.
In terms of a natural person, an ‘Australian’, for the purpose of the definition, is a person who is one of the following:
- an Australian citizen
- the holder of a permanent visa, or
- the holder of a special category visa (subclass 444)
with the holder, permanent visa, special category visa (subclass 444) and visa having the same meaning as in the Migration Act 1958 as in force from time to time.
For more information on visa requirements, visit the Department of Home Affairs website.
What is an ‘Australian resident for tax purposes’?
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website includes information on how to correctly assess the residency status of a business entity. The website clearly sets out the different residency criteria for a sole trader and for companies and corporate limited partnerships.
A business must be able to demonstrate that the ‘Australian resident for tax purposes’ requirement is met by the declaring business, and any parent business if applicable.
For a sole trader, the tax residency will be based on the individual’s Australian income tax residency.
For partnerships, for the purposes of the Australian business definition, 50% or more of the partners in each class of partnership interest must be a tax resident of Australia.
For trusts, for the purposes of the Australian business definition, 50% or more of the trustee(s) must be a tax resident of Australia.
For more information on tax residency, visit the ATO website.
What is a parent business?
A parent business is an entity that has a controlling or majority interest in another business.
What is a ‘principal place of business’?
For the purposes of the Australian business definition, the ‘principal place of business’ is the main place in the world where the business is run from. To be able to identify as an Australian business, this location (that is, the main place the business is run from) must be a street address in Australia.
For more information about ‘principal place of business’, visit business.gov.au.
What is a ‘New Zealand business’?
For the purposes of the CPRs, a New Zealand business is defined as:
New Zealand business – as defined in New Zealand’s Government Procurement Rules, available at www.procurement.govt.nz.
For information about the definition of a New Zealand business, please contact the New Zealand Government through the website linked above.
Further Questions
Please refer to the guidance on the Consideration of Australian Businesses for additional information regarding the preferencing of Australian and New Zealand businesses in Australian government procurement.
If you have any further questions regarding the application of the Australian business definition, please email Sellingtogov@finance.gov.au.
