Treaty detail
Australia - China tax treaty
A practical treaty page built around the official treaty text, key withholding categories, permanent-establishment rules, and article-level summaries.
Signed
1988-11-17
Effective
1990-12-28
Articles seeded
6
Withholding snapshot
Dividends
Individual rate: 15% · Corporate rate: 15%
The treaty applies a 15 percent ceiling on dividends. China's domestic dividend-withholding rules continue to apply where treaty conditions are not satisfied.
Interest
Rate: 10%
The 10 percent ceiling can be reduced for qualifying government, central-bank, and qualifying-institution interest under the article.
Royalties
Rate: 10%
Royalties generally face a 10 percent ceiling under the older 1988 treaty.
Permanent establishment
Construction threshold: more than 6 months
Dependent-agent analysis under the older 1988 wording includes specified habitual-conclusion rules.
Other treaty flags
Pension treatment is article-specific under the treaty.
Seeded article summaries
Article 4
Residence
Defines treaty residence under the older 1988 wording.
Article 4 reflects the older 1988 wording. Residence analysis interacts with China's developing rules on Place-of-Effective-Management for foreign-incorporated entities.
Article 5
Permanent Establishment
Sets the business-presence threshold including service-PE provisions.
The treaty includes both construction and service-PE rules. Day-counting under the service-PE rule is important.
Article 7
Business Profits
Generally reserves business profits to the residence state in the absence of a PE.
Article 7 is the operating rule for cross-border services. The service-PE rule in Article 5 limits its protective effect for many service arrangements.
Article 10
Dividends
Caps source-country dividend withholding at a 15 percent ceiling.
Article 10 applies a 15 percent ceiling on dividends without a substantial-direct-ownership reduction in the older wording.
Article 11
Interest
Limits source-country withholding on qualifying interest to a 10 percent ceiling.
Article 11 produces a 10 percent ceiling with carve-outs for qualifying government and central-bank interest.
Article 12
Royalties
Caps royalties at a 10 percent ceiling.
Article 12 limits royalties at 10 percent under the older 1988 treaty. Chinese domestic industrial-equipment royalty rules can produce a different outcome.
Official text
Other treaties involving these jurisdictions
Computed from the cross-reference graph. Links open the related entity on this site.
This entry cites
- TreatyUS–AU treaty
- TreatyUS–CN treaty
- TreatyGB–AU treaty
- TreatyGB–CN treaty
- TreatyAU–CA treaty
- TreatyCA–CN treaty
- TreatyAU–JP treaty
- TreatyAU–SG treaty
Primary sources
- ATO: tax treatiesVerified 2026-05-20
- State Taxation Administration of ChinaVerified 2026-05-20
- OECD MLI matching databaseVerified 2026-05-20
Important disclaimer
This library is for general tax education only. Always verify filing obligations, due dates, and tax consequences against the cited primary source or with a qualified tax professional.