Put the right subsidiary structure and paperwork in place

This service covers the main legal steps involved in establishing a New Zealand subsidiary, including advice on the proposed structure, preparation of incorporation paperwork, filing support and core governance documents such as a constitution and board resolutions where needed. It is intended for businesses that want help with the setup sequence rather than only a single document. It does not include tax structuring, accounting advice or open-ended support after the company has been registered, although further work can be arranged separately if needed.

We usually need the proposed company name, details of the parent entity, shareholder information, director details, registered office information and a clear picture of how the subsidiary will sit within the wider group. If there are special ownership arrangements or internal approval requirements from the parent company, that is useful to know early. Having these details upfront helps us prepare the incorporation documents correctly and identify whether any governance documents should be added to the setup sequence.

A common sequence is to confirm the intended structure first, then gather the required company and officeholder details, prepare the incorporation paperwork and finalise the internal governance documents that should sit alongside registration. In some matters, the order also depends on parent-company approvals or whether shareholder arrangements need to be documented at the outset. Once the required information is ready, the filing step can proceed. We help map that order so the legal documents and registration steps line up properly.

Part of the timeline is within the legal work and part of it depends on outside processing. For example, registration timing can be affected by Companies Office processing, name availability, and how quickly director and shareholder details are confirmed. If the parent company is overseas, internal approvals or certified documents may also affect sequencing. We can prepare the legal documents and filing materials, but third-party processing times and approval steps sit outside Sprintlaw's control, so exact completion timing can vary from matter to matter.

Yes. Common issues include assuming the subsidiary can be registered before governance decisions are settled, overlooking director eligibility requirements, or treating the New Zealand entity as a simple mirror of the parent without checking whether the ownership and decision-making documents should differ. Another frequent issue is leaving shareholder arrangements until after registration, which can create avoidable follow-up work. Early clarity on who owns the shares, who controls the board and what internal approvals are needed usually makes the setup process much smoother.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Subsidiary Set Up service, pricing starts from $2,000.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.