An ABN, a Working with Children Check, your price and your first students, in the order you will need them.
By George Lahoud · Reviewed 31 Oct 2026
The short answer
You can start as a sole trader: apply for an ABN (it is free), get the Working with Children Check your state asks for, set a price that covers your prep and travel, and keep a record of every lesson. You only have to register for GST once your turnover reaches A$75,000 a year.
A$0
to apply for an ABN
A$75,000
a year of turnover before you must register for GST
5 years
to keep your business records
Starting out as a tutor takes two registrations and a few good habits. This guide goes through them in
the order you will meet them: what you will teach, the two registrations almost every tutor needs, the
money side, and finding the first students who will pay you.
01
Decide what you will teach
Be specific about the subjects and the year levels you will take on. A clear offer, like "Year 10
maths" or "HSC chemistry", is easier to price, easier to describe on a profile and easier for a
family to say yes to.
If I had to start my tutoring business again tomorrow, the most important first step would be finding a system to organise all the admin that goes with tutoring. Before they pay you money, parents want to trust you and they are always looking to see how professional you appear, so having a well thought out communications, money collection and booking system will jumpstart your student retention and help you build lasting clients for your business.
George Lahoud · from experience
02
Get an ABN
An Australian Business Number is how the tax office knows your tutoring is a business. Applying is
free. You apply on the Australian Business Register or through the government's Business
Registration Service, and the form asks questions that check you are carrying on an enterprise:
regular paid work, done to make a profit, with records kept.
As a sole trader you can trade under your own first name and surname without registering a business
name. If you want to trade as something else, register that name with ASIC first; the fee is on
ASIC's site.
03
Get your Working with Children Check
Each state and territory runs its own check. New South Wales, Victoria,
Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory all list tutoring children among the work that
needs one, so check the rules where you teach. In New South Wales a check costs A$112 for paid workers
and lasts five years; Queensland calls its check a blue card and names private tutoring.
04
Set your price
Your price has to cover more than the hour in front of the student. Prep, travel there and back, and
the message to the parent afterwards all come out of the same rate. The rate guide goes through it,
and the rate calculator works out your real hourly pay once that time counts.
Keep 95% of every lesson
Bookings, payments, calendar and classroom for A$25 a month. Free for 30 days.
As a sole trader your tutoring income is taxed as part of your personal income. You use your own tax
file number and report the business income and its deductions in your individual tax return; there is
no separate business return.
You must register for GST once your turnover reaches A$75,000 a year, or once you can see it will.
You then have 21 days to register. Below that line, registering is your choice.
Keep your records for five years: what each family paid, what you spent on the business, and the
receipts. A photo of a receipt counts.
to apply for an ABN
A$0
a year: register for GST
A$75,000
within 21 days
to keep your records
5 years
06
Find your first students
Start with the people who already know you: family, friends, and the families around your old
school. Then put up a profile families can find, with your price on it.
My first paying student was a Year 9 student at the High School I graduated from, and they found me by word of mouth after I sent messages to parents and put up posts on Instagram and Facebook saying I was looking for tutoring students. I began charging them $60 an hour, fitting with rates for Year 9 students I had found after some research. Aspiring tutors often overthink the simplicity of sourcing students and aren't aware of the traits and connections they should be utilising. In a very saturated market, your value as a tutor not only comes from your teaching, but your reputation and the trust you instill in parents and families who you will teach. Just as I did, start by reaching out to the people you know.
George Lahoud · from experience
07
A checklist to start
Decide your subjects and year levels.
Apply for your ABN on the Australian Business Register.
Register a business name with ASIC only if you won't trade under your own name.
Get the Working with Children Check for your state.
Set your price, counting prep and travel.
Keep a record of every lesson and every expense from day one.
Tell the people who know you, and put up a profile families can find.
Run your tutoring business in one place
Keep 95% of every lesson. Bookings, payments, calendar, messaging and classroom — and families pay no booking fee.
