Time required to start a business in Australia

Australia: Time required to start a business was 2 days in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
2 days
Change on year
down 20.0%
World rank
183rd
of 188 countries
All-time high
3 days
in 2003
All-time low
2 days
in 2019
Years of data
17
2003–2019

Time required to start a business in Australia, 2003–2019

01232003201120192003: 3 days2004: 3 days2005: 3 days2006: 3 days2007: 3 days2008: 2.5 days2009: 2.5 days2010: 2.5 days2011: 2.5 days2012: 2.5 days2013: 2.5 days2014: 2.5 days2015: 2.5 days2016: 2.5 days2017: 2.5 days2018: 2.5 days2019: 2 days

Source: Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in days.

Analysis

The most recent figure for time required to start a business in Australia is 2 days, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

The figure is down 20.0% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Australia peaked at 3 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 2 days, in 2019.

Australia ranks 183rd of 188 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.86 days 2.5 days 3 days 7
2010s 2.45 days 2 days 2.5 days 10

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 180 Jamaica 3 days compare
  2. 180 Uzbekistan 3 days compare
  3. 182 Togo 2.5 days compare
  4. 184 Canada 1.5 days compare
  5. 184 Hong Kong 1.5 days compare
  6. 184 Singapore 1.5 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Australia?
Time required to start a business in Australia was 2 days in 2019, according to Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest time required to start a business recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 3 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 2 days in 2019.
How does Australia rank for time required to start a business?
Australia ranks 183rd out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Time required to start a business. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Time required to start a business
Unit
days
Source
Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
188 places, 2,945 data points, 2003–2019
Last refreshed

Number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business.