nmm

Hi all.I'm after some advice on contracting/freelancing in QLD (mentioned in case there is any difference between the states)

Moving to Brisbane permanently in Jan 2014, and currently browsing the recruitment sites. I was wondering about the possibility of becoming a contractor/freelancer.

I know in the uk, that you can either start up your own company (pretty easy through companies house) or in a way work 'through' the recruitment agency ( assume you become their employee and they take a cut for the hassle/admin).

I'm wondering what are the options in QLD? Do you have to have your own company?. How do you set that up? Who with? Can that be done from UK? Etc etc.

Would appreciate advice from any IT contractors who've done this.

Thanks, in advance.

NickyC

Most IT contractors nowadays don't bother with the private company thing. The ATO closed all the loopholes previously available to contractors years ago. It's only worth it if you're a genuine contractor working for multiple employers over the course of the year. I had one once but eventually closed it as the hassle of all the paperwork wasn't worth it for the negligible benefit.

It's still possible to be a contractor but work through an agency or umbrella company. They take care of your pay, superannuation, insurances and the like - for a fee, of course.

Kiwipaul

Agree with everything NickyC says. To be a true independent contractor you need to work for multiple clients (such that no more then 25% of income comes from any 1 client (I think thats the figure)). Some contractors get around this by forming a company and so long as their are enough of you to make sure you don't breach the 25% rule you are ok.
But it isn't worth the hassle as all the agencies will employ you as a contractor.

dave99

Not done it in QLD but I have in 2 different states here in aus and they were both the same. Theres no need to be setup as a company the agency will take care of it all, you simply submit timesheets to them each week, usually online now, and its all taken care of.

Amazulu

You can be a sole trader. This gives you some deduction benefits but you still pay the same rate of tax as employees

Very easy to operate as one too

si.young

Just go PAYE and let the agency deal with it. You can register your own business but its a royal pain in the ass as with everything here.

coldbeer

I'm an IT contractor working in Brisbane and like everyone else says let the agency pay you PAYE, maybe look into salary packaging too.

I had a Ltd Co in the UK, ignored IR35, paid myself a pittance, took it all out as divvy & gave myself a lumper with 10% CGT when I closed it down etc, etc.

Different here, doesn't seem to be worth it, and since the QLD govt fired a bunch of contractors last year (won't go into the rights & wrongs of this one) there's a lot of competition for most roles, and rates are down.

One other thing to remember is there are a bunch of things you can claim back from tax, like if you buy a laptop or PC, a %age of your internet access if you work from home, same for your mobile, sometimes parking or transport, you need to ask an accountant basically but this isn't just for contractors, permies get it too.