You may decide to carry on your business in Australia through a local representation without physically occupying any local premises. Head over to Bilateral Solutions for more information.
If you wish to occupy commercial or retail premises in Australia for the purpose of carrying on your business activities, you will need to enter into a lease agreement with the owner of the premises, who will generally be represented by a real estate agent.
Leases are in a standard form prescribed by the Australian government and most of their terms are imposed by local laws and regulations, available from the Fair Trading Department website. From experience, it is however usual practice for landlords to add special conditions into the standard lease agreement to impose more obligations (financial or legal) on their tenants. Some examples can be the cost of installing and maintaining an air conditioning system or the payment of outgoings that would typically be the responsibility of the landlord or a right for the landlord to terminate the lease agreement at short notice in order to demolish and rebuild the whole premises. It is important to know your rights and get assistance in your dealings with the landlord and real estate agent. This is something we can assist you with.
As a tenant, you may also wish to negotiate special terms with the landlord to suit your business requirements. Knowing what you can achieve is a pre-requisite to a successful outcome and we can help you reach this goal.
Please follow the link to Fair Trading for more information.