What is a proprietary limited company?

Under Australian law, a proprietary limited company (abbreviated as 'Pty Ltd') is a business structure that has at least one shareholder and no more than 50 non-employee shareholders, where the liability of shareholders is limited to the value of shares. The company must have at least one director who is resident in Australia, and there are restrictions on the company’s ability to raise funding from the public. Proprietary limited companies are the most common type of company registered in Australia.