Brokerage Fees in Australia: How Share Trading Costs Work

What is brokerage?

Brokerage is the transaction fee charged by a broker when an order to buy or sell shares is executed. Australian online brokers use different pricing structures, so two platforms can produce different costs for the same trade amount.

Moneysmart says online brokers commonly charge a flat fee for smaller trades and may switch to a percentage for larger amounts. Some use a single flat fee. The important comparison is therefore the pricing rule that applies to your scenario, not just the smallest number shown in an advertisement.

Common brokerage pricing rules

A flat fee stays the same across the trade sizes covered by that rule. A percentage fee rises with trade value. A minimum fee means a percentage calculation cannot fall below a stated floor. Some providers combine rules, for example charging the greater of a fixed minimum and a percentage.

• Flat: one stated amount for an eligible order.
• Percentage: trade value multiplied by the published rate.
• Greater-of/minimum: whichever is higher — the minimum charge or percentage calculation.
• Conditional: the price depends on factors such as order type, market, settlement method, trade side or promotional eligibility.

Why trade size matters

Fixed brokerage has a larger proportional effect on a small trade. A $10 fee on a $500 purchase is 2% of the purchase amount before considering any other cost; the same $10 on a $10,000 purchase is 0.1%. This is why Moneysmart specifically warns that fees can be a big share of a small trade.

This does not mean a larger trade is automatically preferable. It only shows why fee comparisons should include the trade amount rather than comparing fee labels in isolation.

Brokerage is not the whole cost

For overseas shares, foreign-exchange charges may apply when Australian dollars are converted into another currency. A platform may also disclose platform, inactivity, transfer, regulatory or pass-through charges. These costs should not be silently rolled into brokerage unless the provider's published rule actually does so.

Trading Guide therefore separates brokerage and FX calculations and only combines components when their currencies and calculation rules can be represented safely.

How to compare brokerage without false precision

Start with a hypothetical trade amount and market, then identify the exact published rule that applies. Check minimums, caps, GST treatment and conditions. Finally, inspect costs that sit outside brokerage, particularly FX for international investing.

If a provider publishes a variable or scenario-dependent fee that cannot be reduced to one defensible number, leaving it unresolved is more accurate than displaying $0.