Shopify Store for Australia: GST, Afterpay & Privacy Act

The short version

1. Pick Shopify if your team is not technical and your catalogue is conventional.
2. Register for GST if you need to, and show GST-inclusive prices everywhere.
3. Offer cards, wallets and at least one buy-now-pay-later option.
4. Be upfront about shipping costs, delivery times and returns.
5. Check whether the Privacy Act covers you, and follow the Spam Act for email either way.
6. Keep the store fast. Every unused app costs speed.

Shopify, or something else?

Shopify suits owners who are not developers and products that are fairly standard: adding a product takes minutes, hosting and security are handled, and nobody has to update plugins. WooCommerce makes sense when product options are unusual enough that each one would otherwise become a paid Shopify app. A custom-coded store is for when checkout speed and catalogue logic directly drive revenue.

We've written a longer comparison of WooCommerce and Shopify. It is written for Indian brands, but the reasoning about who runs the store and how unusual the catalogue is applies in Australia too. If you later need a Hydrogen or headless front end, see our note on when to go headless on Shopify.

GST: register, show inclusive prices, issue proper invoices

Registration. Under the ATO's rules for registering for GST, you must register once your GST turnover reaches A$75,000 a year (A$150,000 for non-profit organisations). Below that it is optional, unless you fall into another category the ATO lists (for example taxi or ride-sourcing). Your accountant will tell you which side of the line you are on.

Show one total price. The ACCC's guidance on price displays says businesses must display the total price of a product or service as a single figure: the minimum total cost, including taxes, duties and unavoidable or pre-selected extra fees. If you also show a partial price, the total must be at least as prominent. In practice, set Shopify's tax settings so product prices include tax, and keep theme, collection and any B2B price lists consistent. Prices shown only to other businesses need not include GST in the total, according to the same ACCC page.

Tax invoices. Shopify's order confirmation email is not automatically a compliant tax invoice. If you sell to other GST-registered businesses, plan an invoicing app or a customised order template that can show your ABN, the GST amount and the other details your accountant requires when a customer asks for one.

Selling overseas too? Decide early whether international orders use GST-free prices, whether you show duties at checkout, and which currencies you display. It is much easier to set this at launch than to retrofit it.

Payments: cards, wallets and buy-now-pay-later

Start merchant applications early. Approvals need your ABN and business details, and they are the step most likely to delay a launch. Shopify's own plan and app fees are paid by you directly to Shopify; see Shopify's Australian pricing page for current figures.

Shipping and returns Australians expect

Australia is large and delivery costs vary between metro and regional areas, so shipping needs its own decisions:

• Rates. Choose flat rates, free shipping over a threshold, or live carrier rates (depending on your Shopify plan and carrier app). Set zones for metro, regional and remote areas if your costs differ.
• Carriers. Australia Post, Sendle and other couriers have Shopify apps. Connect one so labels and tracking come from the order instead of being typed by hand.
• Be upfront. Show shipping costs and delivery estimates before checkout. Hidden delivery fees are a common reason carts are abandoned.
• Returns. Write a clear returns policy, but do not word it in a way that excludes the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. "No refunds" wording is a known ACCC red flag.

If you sell internationally as well, configure international shipping from the start.

The Privacy Act, spam rules and accessibility

Is your store covered by the Privacy Act?

According to the OAIC's small business guidance, most small businesses with an annual turnover of A$3 million or less are not covered by the Privacy Act 1988, but some are, regardless of turnover. That includes health service providers, businesses that trade in personal information, Commonwealth contractors, and several other categories on the OAIC checklist. If you are covered, you must comply with the Australian Privacy Principles, including publishing a clear privacy policy.

What to put in place anyway

Even if you are exempt, an online store collects names, addresses, phone numbers and order history. Payment providers and ad platforms expect a privacy policy, and shoppers look for one. As a minimum:

• publish a plain-English privacy policy covering what you collect, why, which apps and services receive it, and how to contact you;
• only install apps you actually use, since each one may receive customer data;
• limit staff and developer access to what each person needs.

Email marketing: the Spam Act

The Spam Act 2003 applies to businesses of any size. Commercial emails need consent, must clearly identify your business, and must include a working unsubscribe. Set your Shopify newsletter sign-up and checkout marketing checkbox so consent is actively given, not pre-ticked.

Accessibility

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 applies to goods and services provided online. WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA is a sensible target. Check colour contrast, alt text on product images, keyboard navigation through the menu and checkout, and properly labelled form fields.

Keep it fast

Most slow Shopify stores we see got that way through apps, not the platform: each review widget, pop-up and upsell tool adds scripts to every page. Before launch, compress and correctly size product images, remove apps you are not using (and the code they leave in the theme), and test key pages on a phone over mobile data. Our Shopify speed optimisation guide covers the order we use on slow stores.

What goes into the scope

We do not publish a rate card. Each store gets a written scope and a fixed quote, sent privately by message. What moves the scope:

• Catalogue size and structure: how many products, variants and collections, and whether product data and photos are ready.
• Theme vs custom design: a well-chosen theme with your branding, or custom sections and layouts.
• Payments and apps: Afterpay, Zip, a shipping or carrier app, an invoicing app for tax invoices, reviews and so on.
• Shipping rules: flat rates, zones for metro and regional areas, or international shipping.
• Custom code: if the catalogue logic is unusual enough that a custom-coded or headless store makes more sense.

We quote and invoice in INR. See our Shopify development services page for what a build includes.

Working with a team in India

We're based in Lucknow and Mumbai, with 100+ projects delivered since 2022, and we work with Australian clients remotely. India is between two and a half and five and a half hours behind Australia's mainland capitals, depending on the city and the season, so written feedback left in your afternoon is often done by the next morning. Our guide to hiring a web development team in India from Australia covers the time difference city by city, GST on imported services, and how we prefer to keep customer data off developer machines.

To be upfront: we have not published an Australian Shopify case study yet. We would rather say so than stretch one.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to show GST-inclusive prices on my Shopify store?

If you are selling to consumers in Australia, the ACCC expects a single total price that includes taxes and other unavoidable or pre-selected charges. Set Shopify's tax settings to include tax in prices, and keep any GST-exclusive figures less prominent than the total.

Can I add Afterpay to Shopify?

Yes. Afterpay is available for Australian merchants through Shopify's payment and app ecosystem. Complete merchant onboarding early (you will need your ABN), then activate it as a payment method and show its messaging on product pages so shoppers see it before checkout. Zip works the same way.

Does the Privacy Act apply to my small online store?

Most businesses with annual turnover of A$3 million or less are exempt, but some are covered regardless, such as health service providers and businesses that trade in personal information. The Spam Act applies to everyone. Check the OAIC small-business checklist or ask a lawyer.

How do you work across the time difference?

India is behind Australia by between about two and a half and five and a half hours, depending on the city and daylight saving. We use written feedback on a staging store, so changes are often ready by your next morning. See our Australia hiring guide for the city-by-city table.

What if I already have a US or UK Shopify store?

Treat Australia as its own market setup: AUD and tax settings, GST-inclusive displays, local shipping zones, Afterpay or Zip, and privacy and spam wording that match Australian rules. Cloning a US theme without those checks is a common launch delay.