Corporate Advisory
Migration
Integrated business, tax and investor migration advisory for clients relocating to Australia.
Corporate Advisory
Strategic counsel to boards and executives shaping the next phase of growth.
Overview
How we help.
Australia’s business and investor visa pathways are some of the most sought-after in the world — but they are also among the most technically demanding. A successful migration requires careful coordination of immigration law, Australian tax residency rules, corporate structuring and long-term wealth planning. Getting any one of these wrong can compromise the visa, trigger avoidable tax exposures or undermine the very investment the migration was designed to protect.
Corson Fiske works alongside registered migration agents and immigration lawyers to deliver the commercial, tax and structuring dimensions of a migration. Our role typically begins well before the visa application is lodged — helping clients understand how Australian tax will apply to their existing wealth, what restructuring should occur before they become Australian tax residents, and how their businesses should be held once they arrive.
We regularly work with clients from Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Asia and Asia, using our Singapore and Auckland offices to provide seamless advice across jurisdictions. Our partners understand the commercial context of inbound migration — because we have been advising on it for years.
Capabilities
- Business innovation and investment visa commercial advisory
- Pre-arrival tax residency planning
- Restructuring of offshore holdings prior to arrival
- Australian entity and trust structuring
- Asset protection and succession planning
- ATO and ASIC compliance setup
- Ongoing advisory post-arrival
- Coordination with registered migration agents
Client Situations
When clients engage us.
Every engagement is different, but the issues that bring clients through our door tend to fall into familiar patterns.
A Business Innovation visa is being considered
The client qualifies in principle but needs commercial advice on the business investment component — including structure, tax implications and long-term viability.
A Significant Investor visa requires structuring
The client is planning to commit the required investment and needs advice on how to hold it in a way that is tax-efficient, compliant with the visa rules and aligned with broader wealth planning.
A pre-arrival restructure is required
Existing offshore trusts, companies and investments need to be reviewed and potentially restructured before the client becomes an Australian tax resident.
Post-arrival compliance is needed
The client has arrived and now needs Australian tax lodgement, business establishment support and ongoing advisory from a single integrated firm.
A shareholder dispute is threatening the business
Disagreements between shareholders or directors are affecting the business itself. Independent strategic advisory can break the deadlock before it becomes destructive.
Succession planning has been deferred too long
The next generation of leadership has not been identified or prepared. Independent advisory on structure, timing and process is now urgent.
Outcomes
What you can expect.
- A migration outcome that satisfies both immigration and commercial objectives
- Pre-arrival structuring that minimises Australian tax exposure on existing wealth
- Australian entities and trusts established and ready to transact
- Ongoing advisory support through the early years of Australian residency
Client Success
Outcomes from recent engagements.
Indicative results from engagements within this practice area. Client details have been anonymised; outcomes reflect actual matters completed by the firm.
$180M
Enterprise Value Created
Strategic transformation
Advised the board and founders of a growth-stage technology business through a three-year transformation that tripled enterprise value ahead of a successful trade sale.
Technology company
12 months
Return to Profitability
Operational turnaround
Redesigned the operating model and commercial framework of a multi-site NDIS provider, returning the business to profitability within 12 months.
NDIS provider
6 weeks
From Brief to Investment
Growth capital raise
Led a structured capital raise for a founder-owned software business, completing a competitive process from mandate to executed investment within six weeks.
Software business
Why Corson Fiske
Experience where it counts.
Clients engage Corson Fiske because they need advice they can act on — delivered by senior practitioners who understand both the technical detail and the commercial consequences. Every engagement is led by a partner with direct experience in business and investor migration, supported by a team sized to the matter rather than the billing target.
Our integrated structure means tax, legal, accounting and advisory questions are resolved within a single firm. For clients operating across Australia, Asia, New Zealand or Asia, our office network in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Singapore and Auckland provides consistent advice across jurisdictions.
How we help
A structured approach to resolving your issue.
01 — Assess
Understand the position
A confidential briefing to understand the facts, the commercial drivers and the constraints you are working within.
02 — Analyse
Options and risks
Technical and commercial analysis of the realistic options available, with a clear view of the risks and likely outcomes of each.
03 — Advise
Clear recommendation
A written recommendation you can act on — not a set of caveats. We stand behind our advice and explain our reasoning in plain English.
04 — Execute
Implementation support
Hands-on delivery of the agreed plan, with ongoing engagement through to completion.
Key Considerations
What clients need to know.
Engaging external advisors on any significant matter raises practical questions about scope, timing, cost and outcomes. We believe in being straightforward about each of these from the first conversation.
How engagements typically begin
Every engagement starts with a confidential initial conversation — usually 30 to 60 minutes — in which we listen to the situation, ask the questions needed to understand it properly, and share a view on whether and how we can help. There is no charge for this conversation and no obligation to proceed.
How we scope and price work
We prefer fixed-fee or capped-fee arrangements wherever the scope allows. Where the scope is genuinely uncertain — as in contested matters — we agree hourly rates upfront and provide regular fee updates against defined phases. We do not bill for internal discussions, file opening or routine administration.
Who you will work with
Every engagement is led by a partner with direct experience in the matter type. That partner remains your primary point of contact throughout. Specialist colleagues join the team where their expertise is required, but you will never be passed from person to person or find the partner you hired is no longer on the file.
How we handle confidentiality and privilege
All engagements are subject to strict confidentiality. Where legal advice is being delivered, it is provided through our incorporated legal practice and attracts legal professional privilege. We take document security, information handling and communications discipline seriously on every matter.
Get the right advice from Corson Fiske.
Confidential, no-obligation initial consultations with a partner who specialises in business and investor migration.