Quick answer: To start an ecommerce business in Australia you need an ABN, a business name if you are not trading under your own, a platform such as Shopify or WooCommerce, an Australian payment gateway, and a shipping arrangement. GST registration becomes compulsory at $75,000 turnover. Expect $2,000 to $5,000 to launch yourself, or $10,000 to $30,000 for a professional build including stock.
Most guides to starting an online store are written for the American market and skip the parts that actually apply here: ABN registration, the GST threshold, .com.au eligibility, buy now pay later expectations, and the shipping reality of a country this size.
This covers the Australian specifics in the order you need them.
Do you need an ABN? Yes, if you are running a business rather than selling occasional personal items. It is free, takes minutes, and is also required for a .com.au domain.
Is ecommerce profitable in Australia? It can be, but not passively. Margins are compressed by shipping costs across long distances and by competition from large retailers with their own logistics. The businesses that do well have either a differentiated product, a genuine niche, or repeat purchase built into the product. Reselling commodity goods on price rarely works.
The seven types of ecommerce
Settle this early, because it determines pricing, marketing and your legal obligations.
|
Type |
What it means |
Example |
|
B2C |
Business to consumer |
An online homewares store |
|
B2B |
Business to business |
A supplier selling packaging in bulk |
|
C2C |
Consumer to consumer |
Gumtree or eBay listings |
|
C2B |
Consumer to business |
A freelancer selling stock photography |
|
D2C |
Direct to consumer, bypassing retailers |
A brand selling its own product online only |
|
B2G |
Business to government |
A supplier on a government panel |
|
C2G |
Consumer to government |
Paying fees or fines online |
Most people starting out are building B2C or D2C. B2B ecommerce in Australia is less crowded, carries higher order values and more repeat purchasing, and is worth considering if your product suits it.
Step 1: Decide the model before anything else
|
Model |
You hold stock |
Margin |
Main risk |
|
Own product, own stock |
Yes |
Highest |
Capital tied up in inventory |
|
Wholesale and resell |
Yes |
Moderate |
Competing on price |
|
Dropshipping |
No |
Lowest |
No control over quality or delivery times |
|
Print on demand |
No |
Low to moderate |
Limited differentiation |
|
Digital products |
No |
Very high |
Marketing is the entire job |
Dropshipping deserves a specific warning here. Long delivery times from overseas suppliers sit badly with Australian consumer expectations, and you remain responsible under Australian Consumer Law for goods you sell regardless of who ships them. Consumer guarantees apply to you, not your supplier.
Step 2: Register the business
Get an ABN. Free, through the Australian Business Register. You can trade as a sole trader on an ABN immediately.
Choose a structure. Sole trader is simplest and cheapest. A company gives liability separation and can be more tax effective at higher profit, but costs more to establish and maintain. Most people start as a sole trader and incorporate later. Speak to an accountant first, because changing structure later has tax consequences.
Register a business name with ASIC unless trading under your own legal name. Inexpensive, renewable in one or three year terms.
Register for GST once annual turnover reaches or is expected to reach $75,000. Below that it is optional. Voluntary registration lets you claim GST credits on expenses but means adding GST to your prices, which matters when selling to consumers rather than businesses.
Secure your domain. A .com.au requires an Australian presence, normally an ABN or ACN, which is another reason to register the ABN early. Direct .au domains are also available. Australian buyers respond to a local domain, so it is worth holding even if you also own the .com.
The government’s own guidance at business.gov.au is worth reading alongside this, particularly on record keeping and tax obligations.
Step 3: Choose a platform
|
Platform |
Best for |
Rough monthly cost |
Notes |
|
Shopify |
Most Australian small to mid stores |
From around $50 |
Fastest to launch, AUD native, large app ecosystem |
|
WooCommerce |
Content heavy stores, full control |
Hosting from around $20 plus extensions |
Runs on WordPress, more setup and maintenance |
|
BigCommerce |
Larger catalogues |
From around $50 |
Strong built in features |
|
Squarespace |
Very small catalogues |
From around $40 |
Simple, limited at scale |
|
Magento or Adobe Commerce |
Enterprise |
Substantial |
Requires a development team |
For most people starting out, Shopify is the pragmatic choice. It handles hosting, security and payments, works in Australian dollars, and you can launch in days.
WooCommerce makes sense if content and SEO are central to your strategy, or you want to avoid platform transaction fees at higher volume. It costs less in fees and more in maintenance. Our comparisons of WordPress and Shopify, the best CMS for ecommerce and Shopify versus Magento go through the trade offs.
Step 4: Set up payments
Australian buyers expect more payment options than most markets.
Card payments. Stripe, Square or the platform’s own gateway. Expect roughly 1.7% to 2.2% plus a fixed fee per domestic card transaction, higher for international cards.
PayPal. Still expected by a meaningful share of Australian shoppers, particularly older demographics.
Buy now pay later. Afterpay and Zip are close to standard in Australian retail, especially in fashion, homewares and anything over about $100. Merchant fees are higher than cards, commonly 4% to 6%, but the conversion lift and larger basket sizes often justify it. Decide based on your category and margin.
Apple Pay and Google Pay. Simple to enable and meaningfully improve mobile checkout completion.
Our explainer on payment gateways covers how to choose.
Step 5: Work out shipping before you set prices
Shipping is where Australian ecommerce margins go to die, and it has to be decided before pricing.
Carriers. Australia Post remains the default for reliability and reach, including regional and remote areas. Sendle, CouriersPlease and Aramex are often cheaper for metro parcels. Most stores end up using two: a courier for metro, Australia Post for everywhere else.
The distance problem. Sydney to Perth costs substantially more than Sydney to Melbourne. A single flat national rate means either losing money on remote orders or overcharging metro customers. Options:
- Flat rate calculated to break even on average, accepting variance
- Zone based rates
- Live carrier rates at checkout
- Free shipping over a threshold, priced into your margin
Free shipping thresholds work. Australian shoppers respond strongly to them and they lift average order value. Set the threshold above your current average order value, not below it.
State delivery times honestly. Under promising and over delivering produces far better reviews than the reverse.
Step 6: Build the store properly
The elements that decide whether visitors buy:
- Product photography. The highest return investment for a new store. Multiple angles, scale reference, real use context. Poor photography costs more sales than almost anything else
- Product descriptions covering materials, dimensions, sizing, care and what is included, not marketing adjectives
- Reviews enabled from day one
- Guest checkout. Forced account creation is a documented cause of abandonment
- Shipping costs visible early, ideally before checkout. Unexpected shipping cost at the final step is the most common abandonment reason
- Returns policy consistent with consumer guarantees
- Mobile first design. Most Australian ecommerce traffic is mobile
- Fast loading. See Core Web Vitals
Our ecommerce website launch checklist covers the full pre launch list, and how to increase ecommerce sales covers post launch work.
Step 7: Meet your legal obligations
Not legal advice, and worth confirming with an adviser.
Australian Consumer Law. Consumer guarantees apply automatically and cannot be excluded. Goods must be of acceptable quality, match their description and be fit for purpose. If they are not, the customer is entitled to a repair, replacement or refund depending on severity. A blanket “no refunds” policy is unlawful.
Pricing. Prices displayed to consumers must include GST and show a single total price where one can be calculated.
Privacy. If you collect customer details, publish a privacy policy. The small business exemption under the Privacy Act is being removed through reform legislation, bringing many previously exempt businesses into scope. Check the current position with the OAIC.
Spam Act 2003. Marketing emails need consent, sender identification and a working unsubscribe.
Importing. GST applies to imported goods including low value imports. If you import stock, understand your duty and GST obligations before ordering.
What it costs to launch
|
Item |
Realistic range |
|
ABN and business name registration |
Under $200 |
|
Domain |
$20 to $40 a year |
|
Platform subscription |
$500 to $700 a year |
|
Theme or design |
$0 to $500 for a template |
|
Professional store build |
$5,000 to $20,000 |
|
Product photography |
$500 to $3,000 |
|
Initial inventory |
Varies enormously |
|
Launch marketing |
$1,000 to $5,000 |
Self built on a template: roughly $2,000 to $5,000 including photography and initial marketing. Professionally built: roughly $10,000 to $30,000 including inventory.
Stock is usually the largest single cost, not the website. Our breakdown of ecommerce website development costs covers the build side in detail.
Step 8: Get your first customers
A store with no traffic sells nothing, and this is where most new Australian stores stall.
Search. Product and category pages built around what people actually search. Compounds over months rather than working immediately. See ecommerce SEO.
Paid social. Fastest route to first sales for visual products. Instagram and TikTok for consumer goods.
Google Shopping. High intent, effective once you have reviews and competitive pricing.
Marketplaces. eBay, Amazon AU and Catch give reach immediately at the cost of margin and customer ownership. Useful for validating demand.
Email. Collect addresses from day one. It becomes your cheapest channel by a wide margin.
Expect to fund acquisition for the first six to twelve months before organic channels contribute meaningfully.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an ABN for ecommerce in Australia?
Yes, if you are operating a business rather than selling occasional personal items. It is free through the Australian Business Register and also required for a .com.au domain.
Is ecommerce profitable in Australia?
It can be, but shipping distances and competition from large retailers compress margins. Differentiated products, genuine niches and repeat purchase models perform best. Reselling commodity goods on price rarely works.
When do I need to register for GST?
Once annual turnover reaches or is expected to reach $75,000. Below that it is optional.
How much does it cost to start an online store in Australia?
Roughly $2,000 to $5,000 doing most of it yourself on a template, or $10,000 to $30,000 for a professional build including inventory. Stock is usually the biggest cost.
What are the seven types of ecommerce?
B2C, B2B, C2C, C2B, D2C, B2G and C2G. Most new Australian stores are B2C or D2C.
What is the best ecommerce platform in Australia?
Shopify for most small to mid sized stores because of speed to launch and local payment support. WooCommerce where content and SEO are central and you want lower ongoing fees.
Do I need Afterpay or Zip?
Not required, but expected in categories like fashion and homewares, particularly for baskets over about $100. Weigh the higher merchant fee against conversion lift in your category.
Can I dropship in Australia?
Yes, but you carry consumer guarantee obligations regardless of who ships, and long overseas delivery times sit poorly with Australian expectations.
Where to start
Register the ABN, secure the domain, and decide the model before you touch a platform. Those three decisions constrain everything after them.
When you are ready to build, our ecommerce web design and development and Shopify development teams build online stores for Australian businesses, and our ecommerce SEO team works on getting them found. Get in touch for a straight assessment of what your store will need.
Fees, thresholds and legal obligations are indicative as at 2026 and change. Verify current requirements with the ABR, ATO, ASIC, ACCC and OAIC before relying on them.
