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Practical, ATO-verified guidance in plain English. No fear campaigns — just what the rules actually say and what to do about them.
Is an ABN the Same as a GST Number in Australia? What Amazon Asks For (2026)
27 October 2026
No — and Australia has no separate GST number at all. The ABN is the identifier; GST registration is a status switched on against it, and th…
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Do I Need an ABN to Sell on Etsy in Australia? (2026)
26 October 2026
Not to open the shop — Etsy doesn't ask for one and no Australian law makes an ABN a condition of listing. The ATO decides, on whether you'r…
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GST Refunds for Overseas Businesses in Australia: What's Claimable and What Isn't (2026)
25 October 2026
Australia has no GST refund form for foreign businesses. A refund is a BAS in which credits at label 1B exceed the GST on sales at 1A, and o…
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Importing from the US to Australia: Duty, GST and the AUSFTA Saving (2026)
25 October 2026
Shipping from the US to Australia: nothing is charged at the border on a consignment of A$1,000 or less, and everything is charged over it —…
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Withholding Tax for Non-Residents in Australia: Dividends, Interest, Royalties and Contractors (2026)
25 October 2026
Australia withholds a final tax from three streams paid overseas: 30% on unfranked dividends and royalties, 10% on interest, nothing on fran…
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GST on eBay Fees in Australia: Which Fees Carry It, the Exemption, and Who Claims It Back (2026)
20 October 2026
Do eBay fees have GST? Yes, 10% inside every fee for an Australia-registered seller: the 13.4% final value fee is really 12.18% plus GST. A …
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ABN Application Status: How Long It Takes and How to Check (2026)
20 October 2026
Submit an ABN application and one of three things appears on screen: an 11-digit ABN, a reference number or a refusal number. What each mean…
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Does Etsy Collect Australian GST for Overseas Sellers? (2026)
20 October 2026
Yes, on three conditions Etsy publishes itself: your shop is outside Australia, the package ships to an Australian buyer, and the package to…
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Sole Trader or Company? The Non-Resident Seller's Version (2026)
15 October 2026
Yes, a non-resident individual can hold an ABN. The ABN and GST tests are identical for a sole trader and a company, a tax treaty's business…
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Tax Invoices for Australian Customers When You Sell From Overseas (2026)
14 October 2026
Does Amazon give your Australian customer a GST invoice? Only for goods it ships from overseas at A$1,000 or less; for FBA stock the seller …
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Deferred GST Application: Eligibility, the Form and the BAS Label (2026)
14 October 2026
How to get into Australia's deferred GST scheme. The ATO's form (NAT 75136) runs eleven eligibility questions before it lets you apply: ABN,…
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How Much Does an ABN Cost? Nothing — Here's What Does (2026)
12 October 2026
An ABN is free: the Australian Business Register charges nothing to apply, review, reapply or renew, for residents and non-residents alike. …
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Who Is the Seller of Record in Australia, and Why the ATO Cares (2026)
9 October 2026
'Seller of record' is a marketplace term the ATO never uses. For GST the question is who the supplier is, and the law gives four roles: merc…
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Late GST Registration in Australia: Penalties, Interest and How Far Back the ATO Goes (2026)
8 October 2026
There is no late-registration fine. The ATO can charge GST on every sale since the date you were required to register, even if you never add…
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Selling From NZ to Australia: GST on Both Sides of the Tasman (2026)
7 October 2026
NZ GST and Australian GST look identical and are completely separate. A NZ seller zero-rates the export and, once sales connected with Austr…
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Carrying On Business in Australia: What the ATO Actually Tests (2026)
6 October 2026
'Carrying on business in Australia' is four legal tests, not one: the GST law (s 9-27), ASIC (s 21), corporate residency (TR 2018/5) and the…
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Permanent Establishment in Australia: The Rules, Plainly (2026)
5 October 2026
A permanent establishment is a place at or through which you carry on business in Australia — with geographic and temporal permanence, guide…
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Do Foreign Companies Pay Tax in Australia? Income Tax, GST and the Difference (2026)
2 October 2026
Yes on Australian-source income — but a treaty-country company pays income tax here only through a permanent establishment, at the ordinary …
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Do I Need an ABN for Dropshipping in Australia? (2026)
1 October 2026
Not to start — but the ATO names dropshipping by name, and a dropshipper sits on both ends of the same parcel. GST lands on exactly one leg,…
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The UK–Australia Tax Treaty for Sellers: What It Protects, What It Doesn't (2026)
30 September 2026
The 2003 Convention caps Australian royalty withholding at 5% against a 30% domestic rate and shields a UK seller's trading profit without a…
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Do I Need an ABN for a Shopify Store? (2026)
29 September 2026
Not to open one — but Shopify isn't a marketplace, so nothing is collected on your behalf. Every sale is yours, all of it counts toward your…
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The US–Australia Tax Treaty for Sellers: What It Protects, What It Doesn't (2026)
28 September 2026
The Convention caps Australian royalty withholding at 5% against a 30% domestic rate, and Article 7 keeps your trading profit out of Austral…
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Do I Need an ABN to Sell on eBay Australia? (2026)
25 September 2026
Not to list — no Australian law makes an ABN a condition of selling on a marketplace. The ATO decides, on whether you are carrying on an ent…
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Importing from China to Australia: Duty, GST and the ChAFTA Saving (2026)
24 September 2026
Australian tariffs on Chinese-origin goods have been fully eliminated since 1 January 2019 — but zero duty is claimed, not given, and it rid…
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No-ABN Withholding: Why 47% Vanished From Your Australian Customer's Payment (2026)
23 September 2026
Where an Australian business pays more than A$75 excluding GST for a supply and the supplier hasn't quoted an ABN, the payer must withhold 4…
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GST on Low Value Imported Goods: How the A$1,000 Rule Works for Sellers (2026)
22 September 2026
Since 1 July 2018, goods with a customs value of A$1,000 or less sold to Australian consumers carry GST at the checkout — collected by the s…
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Import Duty in Australia: Rates, Thresholds and the Calculator (2026)
21 September 2026
Import duty in Australia is a percentage of the customs value — commonly 5%, and 0% for goods originating in China, the US or the UK with th…
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Non-Resident Tax Rates in Australia: Companies and Individuals (2026–27)
18 September 2026
Foreign residents pay 30% from the first dollar to $135,000, then 37% and 45% — with no tax-free threshold and no Medicare levy. Foreign com…
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Why Was My ABN Application Refused? The Reasons, and the Fix (2026)
17 September 2026
An ABN application is refused when the Registrar isn't satisfied you're entitled to an ABN, or that your identity is established. The common…
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Does Shopify Collect GST for Australian Orders? No — Here's Who Does (2026)
16 September 2026
Does Shopify charge GST in Australia? No. Shopify is the software, not the seller, so the marketplace rule that makes Amazon and eBay collec…
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GST on Shopify Fees and Subscriptions in Australia: What Carries It, What Doesn't (2026)
16 September 2026
Shopify charges 10% GST on the subscription unless your ABN is on file, and 10% is inside every Shopify Payments fee regardless. Which fees …
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Can a Non-Resident Be a Director of an Australian Company? (2026)
14 September 2026
Yes - there is no citizenship or residency test to be a director. But a Pty Ltd company must have at least one director who ordinarily resid…
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Import GST in Australia: How It's Calculated and Who Pays It (2026)
11 September 2026
Import GST is 10% of customs value plus duty, freight and insurance. Who pays it at the border, the A$1,000 rule, other charges, and how to …
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Non-Resident ABN Application: The Certified Identity Documents, Exactly (2026)
10 September 2026
Exactly which certified identity documents a non-resident ABN application needs, who is allowed to certify them, what goes on the NAT 75272 …
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Your First BAS as an Overseas Seller: What Goes in Each Box (2026)
10 September 2026
What goes in G1, 1A and 1B on an overseas seller's first BAS, how to lodge and pay it from outside Australia, and when each quarter falls du…
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Does eBay Collect GST on My Australian Sales? The A$1,000 Rule, and the Warehouse That Changes It (2026)
8 September 2026
Does eBay charge GST in Australia? On goods shipped from overseas at A$1,000 or less, eBay collects and remits it — and the ATO takes those …
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GST on Amazon Seller Fees in Australia: Which Ones Carry It, and Who Gets It Back (2026)
7 September 2026
Is there GST on Amazon seller fees? For a non-resident, referral, subscription and advertising fees are GST-free — but FBA storage, pick & p…
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ABN, ACN, ARBN, TFN: the four Australian numbers, and which ones a foreign business actually needs (2026)
28 August 2026
Four acronyms, two regulators, one that nearly every overseas seller needs. What an ABN, ACN, ARBN and TFN each do, who issues them, and whi…
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Do I need an ABN to sell on Amazon Australia? (2026)
28 August 2026
Not to list — but for the standard FBA pattern, yes. The deciding fact is where your stock sits when it sells, and the reason is GST, not Am…
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Do you need an Australian resident director? When the rule applies — and when it doesn't (2026)
28 August 2026
The resident-director rule applies to companies incorporated in Australia. Register your overseas company for an ABN and GST and you incorpo…
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Does a foreign company need an Australian TFN? (2026)
28 August 2026
Often not. A TFN is the income-tax identifier — separate from the ABN and from GST. Whether a foreign company needs one follows the income t…
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Selling into Australia from a US company: ABN, GST and the treaty (2026)
28 August 2026
Your US company can register for an Australian ABN and GST directly — no Australian entity needed. Where the treaty helps, what FBA stock do…
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Selling into Australia from a UK company: ABN, GST and the treaty (2026)
28 August 2026
A UK Ltd can register for an Australian ABN and GST in its own name — no Australian company needed. Where the treaty helps, what GST does no…
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ABN registration for foreign companies: the three routes into Australia — and which one is yours (2026)
27 August 2026
A foreign company can hold an ABN with no Australian entity, director or address. Entitlement, the three market-entry routes compared, what …
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The Amazon Australia seller tax checklist: first shipment to first BAS
27 August 2026
Every Australian obligation for a non-resident seller, in the order it actually arises — plus the expensively-sold extras the standard patte…
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Registered late for GST in Australia? How backdating actually works
27 August 2026
The ATO can backdate your registration, creating liability on past sales — but backdating opens past credits too, including border GST. The …
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Do overseas sellers need ASIC registration (an ARBN) in Australia?
27 August 2026
Generally not — the Corporations Act's own exclusion list is the proof. Selling through an independent contractor and accepting orders offsh…
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What is the deferred GST scheme? How importers stop paying at the wharf
27 August 2026
Approved importers stop paying 10% at the border. The GST moves onto the monthly BAS, where the credit offsets it in the same statement — ca…
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Selling to Australia through a Hong Kong company: the tax difference nobody mentions
27 August 2026
Hong Kong has no tax treaty with Australia. A mainland company gets a permanent establishment threshold; a Hong Kong company gets a source-o…
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Who gets the import GST back? The importer of record, explained
27 August 2026
The GST credit for the 10% paid at the border follows the customs entry, not the invoice. If it names someone else as importer, the credit q…
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Does a foreign company selling into Australia need a resident public officer?
26 August 2026
Generally not. Section 252 is triggered by carrying on business in Australia — not by holding an ABN or registering for GST. This is the mos…
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Do non-resident Amazon sellers lodge an Australian income tax return?
25 August 2026
Usually not. A treaty-country company with no permanent establishment has no assessable Australian income and no return to lodge — but ‘no r…
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Does Amazon FBA stock create a permanent establishment in Australia?
24 August 2026
Generally no — but the strongest reason is not the storage exemption everyone quotes. It is that an Amazon fulfilment centre was never at yo…
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How do you get an ABN as a non-resident? Documents, deadlines and why applications fail
21 August 2026
The entitlement is easy — the hard part is a 43-day identity deadline with no tolerance for mismatched documents. The full document set, the…
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Does Amazon collect GST for me on Australian sales?
20 August 2026
Only on low value goods shipped from overseas. Sales from stock in an Australian fulfilment centre are your own — self-assessed and invisibl…
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Do I need an Australian company to sell on Amazon Australia?
19 August 2026
No. Your foreign company can hold an ABN and standard GST registration in its own name — no Australian entity, address or director. Here is …
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GST registration for foreign companies and non-residents in Australia: simplified vs standard, and the GST you can actually get back
7 August 2026
Selling into Australia from overseas? The registration you choose decides whether the 10% you pay at the border is recoverable or gone. Simp…
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Tax residency tests — am I an Australian tax resident, and how much does the answer cost?
4 August 2026
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Debt recycling & interest deductibility: the ATO use test explained (FY2026-27)
4 August 2026
Home-loan interest isn't deductible — but the tax law only cares what borrowed money is USED for, not what secures the loan. How debt recycl…
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Medicare levy exemption: how to get the 2% back (FY2025-26)
4 August 2026
The Medicare levy is 2% of your taxable income — and if you weren't entitled to Medicare, none of it was ever yours to pay. Who qualifies, h…
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Medicare levy surcharge vs private health insurance: pay the tax or buy the cover? (FY2026-27)
4 August 2026
Earn over $105,000 with no hospital cover and you may pay an extra 1-1.5% of your whole income for nothing. The FY2026-27 thresholds, what i…
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Should I set up a company? The 8 questions every growing business owner asks (2025-26)
4 August 2026
A plain-English answer to when a company is worth it in Australia — what you save per $10,000 you leave in the business, how to pay yourself…
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Working holiday vs student tax in Australia: same job, thousands apart (FY2026-27)
4 August 2026
A working holiday maker pays 15% from the first dollar; an international student may pay nothing until ~$22,800. The FY2026-27 rates for bot…
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ABN vs TFN: the same $70,000, and the $8,400 of super you may be owed (2025-26)
30 July 2026
How ABN work and TFN work are really taxed in Australia — same rates, same tax-free threshold, but no withholding, no super and no paid leav…
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Rental deductions under the microscope: claim everything you're owed, safely (2025-26)
29 July 2026
The ATO says 9 in 10 rental returns have an error. Here's the full list of what you can claim, repairs vs improvements, the loan-interest an…
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Self-education expenses: the rule that makes the same $2,000 course worth $640 to one person and $0 to another (2025-26)
29 July 2026
When course fees, certifications and even an MBA are tax deductible in Australia — the current-job golden rule, the career-change trap, the …
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Car and travel deductions: the $4,400 claim, the commute myth, and the record the ATO now wants (2025-26)
29 July 2026
Work-related car expenses are an ATO headline focus this tax time. Here's the commute rule and the exceptions that beat it, cents per km vs …
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The GST Margin Scheme: How to Pay GST on the Margin, Not the Whole Price
17 July 2026
Australian property developers, subdividers and business sellers — FY2026–27. General information, not personal advice. Confirm the figures …
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PAYG Instalments, Explained: It's Not Extra Tax — It's Your Tax, Paid Early
15 July 2026
If a letter from the ATO has just told you that you're now in 'PAYG instalments,' take a breath. This is one of the most misread parts of th…
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GST for Non-Resident Amazon Australia Sellers: The Complete Guide (2026)
14 July 2026
Non-resident sellers with stock in an Australian fulfilment centre are often both overpaying and worrying about the wrong risks. The 10% GST…
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Display Homes and Tax Deductions: A Win for Builders on Marketing Costs
25 March 2026
If you’re a residential builder or construction group using display homes to generate sales, a recent tribunal decision could significantly …
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Simplifying Property Tax for Australian Investors: 18 Essential Insights
17 November 2023
Welcome to the comprehensive guide on property investment in Australia! Delving into real estate down under isn't just about finding the...
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