Its range of CFDs is also relatively limited, and the recent discontinuation of its exchange-traded securities offering was disappointing. Plus, the effective spreads for Forex and CFD trading, with commissions factored in, are slightly above the industry average. Founded in 1974, IG Markets has solidified its position in the Forex trading domain, offering access to an impressive array of over 16,000 markets, spanning Majors and Minors to Emerging and Exotic markets. The platform holds regulatory approval from esteemed financial authorities such as ASIC, FCA, and CFTC, ensuring a secure trading environment.

Traders can take advantage of those on the efficient and feature-rich MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platform. Additionally, Eightap supports the intuitive TradingView, which is not only the biggest social trading community in the world but also an exceptionally efficient platform in itself. The two platforms support the most essential technical tools and are quite easy to navigate. At ForexBrokers.com, our reviews of online forex brokers and their products and services are based on our collected data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research on the top forex brokers and monitor dozens of international regulator agencies (read more about how we calculate Trust Score here).

All content on ForexBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Generative AI tools are not a part of our content creation or product testing processes. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the forex industry. A forex broker that holds an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license with ASIC must hold adequate insurance.

Do I have to pay taxes on forex trading in Australia?

Profits from forex trading are considered part of a trader’s assessable income and are subject to taxation, as per the guidelines provided by the Australian Taxation Office. Trading forex and trading CFDs, whether with your own funding or on margin, is an inherently high-risk activity that may lead to significant losses. Always consider your exposure and take full advantage of the risk management and educational resources provided by your brokerage to ensure that your positions align with your goals and overall risk appetite. Traders can verify a broker’s ASIC authorisation, which confirms that the broker is legitimately regulated and operates under the oversight of ASIC. This verification process adds an extra layer of security for traders, giving them peace of mind. IC Markets has the best spreads across both its Standard and Raw Spread Forex Account, based on our testing.

Best Trading Tools

Australian traders will particularly appreciate FP Markets extensive range of physical shares, as well as FP Markets’ fast execution speeds and low trading costs. FP Markets is our top choice for scalpers as the broker offers unrestricted trading on MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView. Having unrestricted trading allows you to use technical analysis using EAs (expert advisors) to trade over short holding periods. We found that TradingView offers the largest choice of trading indicators (110+) by default, almost three times the amount of MT4 (30). This makes it easier to set up your indicators without downloading any external indicators. TradingView also has 10+ chart types and custom time frames that go as low as tick charts, which is useful for day traders and scalpers.

1. Each currency pair may be impacted by ongoing news events and other factors you’ll need to research.
2. Established in 2010, Melbourne-based Pepperstone has a significant niche in the Australian forex market.
3. It also presents its proprietary ‘At Pro’ platform and ‘Advantage Web’ solution for a browser-based experience.
4. In most cases, forex brokers earn their money by using a spread between the bid price and ask price.
5. The Active Trader program also offers incentives with its rebate system tied to trading volumes.

For platform performance, we believe Saxo Bank continues to raise the bar with platforms like the SaxoTraderGo app and SaxoTraderPro desktop software. With rising interest in forex trading, alongside strong regulatory oversight by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Aussies now have hundreds of online brokers to choose from. All you need to do is settle for one Forex broker, with the five outlined in this article an excellent starting point, make a deposit, and you are ready to trade.

All our top-rated forex platforms provide access to a range of currency pairs (at least 30), ensuring diverse trading opportunities. “AvaTrade offers the full package for short-term traders. There is powerful charting software, reliable execution, transparent fees, and fast account opening with a low minimum deposit.” FXTM offers an excellent educational division for Australian beginner traders to consider. Pepperstone and FXTM have $0 and $10 minimum deposit requirements, respectively, making them ideal for portfolio building and training purposes in live accounts. EToro was founded in the early days of the online retail Forex era, in 2007 – this broker occupies a unique space as the king of social and copy trading. EToro is regulated in Cyprus, the U.K., Australia, and the United States although its U.S. offering is firmly differentiated from its offering to the rest of the world.

For investment offerings, the broker has over 12,000 CFDs available, a multitude of forex pairs, and access to international equity markets. They also quote 158 currency pairs both ways, effectively doubling the total number of available pairs. Though cryptocurrency trading is only available through CFDs, it adds another dimension to their diverse range of offerings.

Best value forex broker: Capital.com

Important tools to look for include a market news feed, an economic calendar, price alerts, and watchlists. You may also want to look for a market sentiment gauge, which shows whether other traders are buying or selling a specific currency pair. Forex signals and customisable technical studies are also critical for advanced forex traders who want to dive into market analysis. The spread is the difference between the buy and sell prices for each currency pair. Look for a trading platform that offers tight spreads to minimise the costs involved. For this guide, we strictly chose those regulated by the Australian Services and Investments Commission (ASIC), ensuring high transparency and adherence to stringent regulatory standards.

Brokers like Libertex, AvaTrade, and VantageFX each offer their own platforms as well as integrations for MetaTrader 4 and 5. Having a social trading platform – like the ones that eToro and AvaTrade provide – can also be important, particularly for newer forex traders. These platforms enable you to share ideas and strategies with other traders and can help you learn the ropes of fx trading. AvaTrade also has a social trading and copy trading platform, called AvaSocial. With this platform, you can chat with other traders, follow like-minded forex traders, and even automate your portfolio to mimic the moves of more experienced and active traders. AvaSocial is only available as a mobile app and it’s separate from the main AvaTrade platform, but it’s easy to switch back and forth between the platforms.

Its proprietary web-based platform is a user-friendly interface loaded with features, including integrated research tools and trading signals. Our top-rated Australian forex trading platforms offer competitive pricing, especially for day traders. What makes AvaTrade great for options trading is that it offers a custom web, ctrader and mobile trading platform specifically built for options analysis. The AvaOptions platform lets you quickly build multi-leg options strategies, analyse profit and loss, and even check your probability of lmfx review profit based on historical volatility.

We focused exclusively on brokers that are headquartered in Australia, reinforcing local expertise and compliance with national trading regulations. Additionally, we prioritized brokers that support deposits and withdrawals in AUD  to let Australian traders avoid high commission or conversion fees. Other account types, in contrast, may have such fixed costs but also afford raw spreads starting from 0.0 pips. These are better suited for high-volume trading involving the execution of much larger orders less frequently. The former accommodates swap-free trading, whereas the latter provides a simulated version of the real trading environment, allowing traders to test a broker’s service and hone their skills. The broker offers a variety of platforms suitable for traders of different experience levels and styles.

With its agency execution model, Pepperstone presents competitive pricing on the Razor account when paired with the Active Trader program. And although the Standard account features higher spreads, it proves more cost-effective when considering the all-in cost of the Razor account. The Active Trader program also offers incentives with its rebate system tied to trading volumes. Established in 2010, Melbourne-based Pepperstone has a significant niche in the Australian forex market. Its dual offering of MetaTrader and cTrader makes it an ideal fit for those keen on algorithmic or copy trading. Their range of platform add-ons considerably enriches the MetaTrader experience, and their research offerings exceed industry norms.

Our incisive, detailed reviews for each of these forex brokers can help make an informed, well-thought-out decision. Best overall broker with a $50 minimum deposit, free standard bank transfers, and over 16,000 tradable instruments with an average AUD/USD spread of 0.7%. Ultimately, Aussies will be best protected by signing up with an ASIC-regulated forex broker, though trading remains inherently risky, so only invest what you can afford to lose.

What is the best Forex broker for Australian beginner traders?

Best trading platform with innovative technology, a $0 minimum deposit, an average AUD/USD spread of 0.7 (5% margin rate), and 12,000+ tradable instruments. Or perhaps you’re an experienced investor looking to expand your horizons. Regardless of where you fall, one thing is clear—you’re searching for the best forex mercatox review brokers in Australia to navigate the currents of the Australian market. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) does not provide much clarity on the applicable tax, which differs on numerous criteria. An overly complicated tax code makes it challenging for any retail traders to understand the payable tax to the government, and it is best to consult a certified accountant. The primary distinction is between investors, buying and selling infrequently and not motivated by short-term profits, and traders, who aim to generate daily, weekly, and monthly income.