Australian Desk: 56 questions answered.

Yes. Neo Legal is an Australian-founded law firm operating in the UAE as the UAE practice of Cornwalls, one of Australia's oldest firms (established 1891). The bench includes nine Australian-qualified lawyers - including the founder and managing partner, the CEO of Cornwalls, and partners in banking, tax, property, construction and disputes - serving clients from Dubai Media City and RAKEZ, with Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane covered through Cornwalls.

Yes, within the UAE's framework for foreign firms: international firms operate as legal consultancies advising on international, common-law and home-jurisdiction matters alongside UAE-facing corporate, regulatory and transactional work, with onshore court advocacy conducted through licensed Emirati advocates. Neo Legal Consultancy FZ-LLC is UAE-established, and DIFC and ADGM - both English-language common-law jurisdictions - are natural venues for Australian clients' contracts and structures.

It depends entirely on whether you cease Australian tax residency - not on where you sit. Australia taxes residents on worldwide income, and the ATO applies the resides, domicile, and 183-day tests to departures. A genuine, well-documented exit - home, family, economic ties - is what converts the UAE's 0% personal tax into a real outcome. We plan the exit on the Australian side through Cornwalls and build the UAE side to match.

Since 2020, foreign tax residents are generally denied the CGT main residence exemption on sale, subject to a six-year window and limited life-event exceptions. Selling before departure, or timing the sale against residency status, can be a six-figure decision - it belongs in the exit plan, not the aftermath.

An SMSF risks breaching the residency conditions once its members and management move offshore - central management and control, and the active member test, both matter. The usual answers are restructuring the fund, converting to a small APRA fund, or winding up before departure. It needs advice before you fly, because a non-complying fund can lose close to half its assets to tax.

At the time of writing there is no comprehensive double tax agreement in force between Australia and the UAE - the CEPA trade agreement is in force, and a tax treaty has been under negotiation. Planning therefore rests on genuinely ceasing Australian tax residency rather than treaty relief, which is exactly the joint Cornwalls-Neo Legal exercise.

Yes - that is the point of the structure. UAE establishment, licensing, contracts and disputes run from Dubai; Australian tax, corporate, property and estate work runs through Cornwalls in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane; and the two sides are coordinated as a single engagement rather than two firms emailing each other.

Separately, by design. UAE assets held by non-Muslims are best covered by a DIFC or ADGM will, which guarantees common-law succession and avoids default Sharia distribution; Australian assets remain under your Australian estate plan. The two documents need drafting so neither revokes the other - a detail that catches out DIY arrangements.

Not automatically. The ATO applies the 'resides' test, the domicile test, and the 183-day test to determine whether a person remains an Australian tax resident after relocating. An individual who maintains family ties, property, or business connections in Australia may continue to be treated as an Australian tax resident even after moving to Dubai — and will remain taxable in Australia on their worldwide income, including UAE earnings. Proper residency cessation planning, documented departure, and obtaining a UAE Tax Residency Certificate are all required steps.

No. Australia and the UAE do not have a Double Tax Agreement (DTA). This means there is no treaty-based mechanism to prevent income earned in the UAE from being taxed in both Australia (if Australian residency is not properly ceased) and the UAE. This makes proper residency cessation planning especially important — for Australians moving to the UAE without a DTA, any failure to properly exit the Australian tax system results in genuine double taxation with no relief mechanism.

When an Australian tax resident ceases Australian residency — as happens when properly moving to the UAE — certain CGT events may crystallise. The main residence exemption protects the family home from CGT in most circumstances, but the interaction between the exemption, the foreign resident CGT rules, and the timing of departure requires careful planning. The CGT consequences of departure should be modelled and planned before leaving Australia, not after.

Free zone companies in the UAE offer 100% foreign ownership and simplified incorporation processes, but cannot directly sell goods or services to UAE mainland customers without using a local distributor or agent. Mainland companies (licensed through the relevant Department of Economic Development) can sell directly to UAE mainland customers but require a local service agent for certain business types. For Australian businesses whose primary customers are UAE-based, the mainland structure may be necessary despite the additional requirements.

No. An Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) authorises the holder to provide financial services under Australian law within Australia. It provides no authorisation to conduct regulated financial activities in the UAE. Australian financial services firms advising UAE clients or establishing UAE operations require separate licensing from the appropriate UAE regulator — DFSA (DIFC), FSRA (ADGM), CBUAE, or CMA — depending on the activity type and target client base.

Only if you are still an Australian tax resident. Australia taxes residents on worldwide income, and residency is decided by the ATO's tests (resides, domicile, 183-day and Commonwealth super fund tests), not by where you hold a visa. If you have genuinely left, you pay Australian tax only on Australian-sourced income such as rent. Neo Legal plans that exit with Cornwalls before you go.

No. There is no comprehensive double tax agreement between Australia and the UAE at the time of writing. The Australia-UAE CEPA, in force since 1 October 2025, is a trade agreement and does not deal with income tax, so planning has to rest on genuinely ceasing Australian residency.

Yes. Many UAE free zones let you incorporate remotely. Be careful about running it from Australia, though: a company managed from Australia can become an Australian resident company, and while you are an Australian resident the controlled foreign company rules can tax you on its passive income.

A residence visa. Most founders are sponsored by their own UAE company as an investor or partner. Investors, entrepreneurs and senior professionals who meet the criteria can hold a ten-year Golden Visa, which does not need an employer or company sponsor.

It stays in Australia and generally cannot be accessed early because you have moved, as leaving Australia is not a release condition for citizens and permanent residents. A self-managed super fund needs attention before you leave, because it can fail the residency rules once its trustees live overseas.

It stays an Australian tax resident and must keep at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia. You can keep it, restructure it under or alongside a UAE company, or wind it down, and each option has tax consequences that depend on timing against your departure.

You need both kinds of advice, and they must agree with each other. Neo Legal is the UAE practice of Cornwalls, so the Australian exit and the Dubai set-up are handled as one engagement by Australian-qualified lawyers working with our UAE team.

A free zone company can often be formed within days to a few weeks once documents are ready, and the residence visa and bank account follow. The Australian planning should start months earlier, because decisions about your home, super and companies are easier to get right before you leave.

UAE is the natural Middle East gateway and increasingly significant Asian-capital hub; UAE personal-tax-free environment supports principal relocation; UAE corporate tax with QFZP 0% is competitive; UAE family-office and SWF capital depth offers LP base; time-zone overlap with Australian, European and Asian trading windows.

Both offer mature fund-manager frameworks. The choice is driven by LP base concentration (Abu Dhabi vs Dubai), the manager's broader UAE strategy and prime-broker network.

The ATO applies four residency tests; the principal must clearly cease being Australian tax resident under all of them. The exit triggers a deemed disposal of non-Australian-sourced assets (CGT event I1) with CGT crystallising on departure. Timing and asset sequencing requires careful planning.

Where the Australian manager continues AFSL operations, Australian-resident clients continue under the AFSL while UAE-resident and international clients are served under the UAE manager licence. Key-person arrangements, conduct frameworks and AML/CFT need coordination.

Cornwalls was founded in Melbourne in 1891 and operates across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Neo Legal is the firm's UAE practice. Australian principals and asset managers engage one firm — Australian-side residency exit, CGT planning and AFSL coordination led by Cornwalls; UAE establishment led by Neo Legal.

No. The rule applies on the basis of <em>tax residency</em> at the time of the CGT event, not citizenship. An Australian citizen who is UAE-tax-resident at the date of the property contract is a "foreign resident" for this rule and loses the exemption.

The six-year absence-rule election extends the deeming of the property as your main residence. But if you sell while a foreign resident, s 118-110(3) overrides the exemption regardless. The absence rule is now useful primarily for those who return to Australian residency before selling.

Generally your original purchase price plus capital improvements and acquisition costs (stamp duty, legal fees). If the property has been your main residence for the whole ownership and you only become non-resident shortly before sale, the gain is calculated on the entire holding period — there is no step-up at the date of exit.

Contract date is the CGT event date for real estate disposals (s 104-10 ITAA 1997). If you sign the contract while still Australian-resident and settle after exit, the exemption is preserved. If you sign while UAE-resident, the rule applies regardless of settlement timing.

No. CGT Event I1 (s 104-160) explicitly does not apply to Taxable Australian Property, which includes Australian real estate. The home remains on Australian CGT exposure with original cost base, and the foreign-resident exemption rule applies on the eventual sale.

The residency test is at the CGT event date — if you are foreign-resident at the contract date, you have lost the exemption, regardless of subsequent return to Australian residency. Plan the sequence carefully.

No. Australia has no comprehensive double tax agreement with the UAE: Australia's treaty network does not include the UAE, so there are no tie-breaker rules and no treaty-reduced withholding rates to rely on. The only bilateral tax instrument is a limited airline profits agreement, and the Australia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (in force 1 October 2025) is a trade and investment agreement, not a tax treaty. Australian residency must be broken cleanly under the ATO's four domestic tests.

Yes. Australians can own 100% of a UAE free zone company, and of a mainland company for most activities since foreign ownership rules were relaxed in 2021. A small number of strategic activities remain restricted.

It depends on your customers. A free zone company suits international business and can qualify for 0% Corporate Tax on qualifying income. A mainland company can trade with anyone in the UAE. Neo Legal advises on the choice before you incorporate, because changing later means a new company.

Often, yes. Many free zones allow remote incorporation. You will usually need to visit to complete your residence visa medical and Emirates ID, and banks typically want to meet you in person.

It can, if its central management and control is in Australia and it carries on business here. That is the main risk for Australians who set up in Dubai but keep running the business from home. Once you have genuinely moved and the company is run from the UAE, it is taxed under UAE Corporate Tax.

No. The CEPA is a trade agreement covering tariffs, services and investment. It is not a tax treaty, and there is no double tax agreement between Australia and the UAE.

No. A company incorporated in Australia remains an Australian tax resident and cannot be migrated to the UAE. You can keep it, restructure it alongside or under a new UAE company, or wind it down.

Yes, but a proprietary company must also have at least one director who ordinarily resides in Australia under section 201A of the Corporations Act. If you are the only director, you will need to appoint an Australian-resident director before or when you leave.

Franked dividends paid to a non-resident carry no Australian withholding tax. Unfranked dividends are subject to 30% withholding, with no treaty to reduce it. The UAE does not tax personal dividend income.

It can. A transfer of the business, its contracts or IP by the Australian company is a disposal at market value, and transferring your shares can be a disposal by you. Neo Legal and Cornwalls plan the timing against your departure date.

They stay employed by the Australian company under Australian employment law. Moving them to a UAE employer needs their agreement and new UAE employment contracts and visas.

Yes. There is no restriction on Australians owning a UAE company. The tax consequences in Australia depend on where the company is managed and whether it is a controlled foreign company.

It can be. A foreign company is an Australian tax resident if it carries on business in Australia and its central management and control is here, which is usually the case if you make the real decisions from Australia.

A foreign company controlled by Australian residents. If it is in an unlisted country such as the UAE and fails the active income test, its passive income can be attributed to its Australian controllers and taxed in Australia each year.

Usually not for its trading income. A company passes the active income test if its tainted income is less than 5% of gross turnover. Holding companies and investment vehicles are more likely to be caught.

Make sure its high-level decisions are genuinely made outside Australia, either by you after you have moved or by directors who live in the UAE and actually decide. Neo Legal sets up the board processes and records to match.

The ATO applies four tests: the ordinary “resides” test, the domicile test (you remain resident unless your permanent place of abode is overseas), the 183-day test and the Commonwealth superannuation test. Most expats moving to Dubai are caught by the domicile test, so establishing a genuine permanent home in the UAE is the pivotal step.

Not automatically. Residency ends only when the facts show you have ceased residing in Australia and established a permanent place of abode abroad — a long-term UAE home, relocated family, severed Australian ties and consistent behaviour over time. Until then, Australia continues taxing your worldwide income.

Ceasing residency generally triggers a deemed disposal (CGT event I1) of assets that are not taxable Australian property, which can crystallise capital gains on exit. You can elect to defer the gain, but the election has its own consequences — exit-tax planning before departure is essential.

Not usually. Leaving Australia is not a condition of release for Australian citizens and permanent residents. You can access your super when you meet a condition of release, such as retiring after preservation age, which is now 60.

It risks failing the residency rules once its trustees live overseas, because its central management and control moves with them. Unless the absence is temporary and no longer than two years, or control is handed to someone in Australia, the fund can become non-complying.

An SMSF's central management and control can be outside Australia for up to two years without failing the residency test, but only if the absence is temporary. A move intended to be permanent fails the test straight away.

Either the fund has no active members, or at least 50% of the value of active members' interests belongs to active members who are Australian residents. A non-resident member who is not contributing is not counted as active.

No. The 2021-22 Budget proposed extending the two-year rule to five years and removing the active member test, but at the time of writing it has not become law. Neo Legal and Cornwalls plan on the current rules.