- Australia is a supported Stripe country
- Stripe's Australian rates are not the US rates
- Australian dollars on the price tag
- The in-app purchase gap
- How soon payouts reach an Australian account
- A short checklist before you charge
- Where the ATO draws the GST line
- Other income routes for Australian creators
- Frequently asked questions
Yes, Australian writers can charge for a Substack. Stripe's global page lists Australia as a supported country, and Stripe's Australian card rates differ from the US example Substack quotes. In-app purchases aren't listed for Australia, and GST is worth checking.
Australian writers tend to ask me two things about Substack: can I charge for it from here, and is the Stripe cut any different? The first answer is yes. The second is where Australia gets interesting, because Stripe's Australian card rates read quite differently from the ones Substack quotes. Here's what the official pages say.
Australia is a supported Stripe country
Substack says paid subscriptions run through Stripe, which it calls its payments provider, and that you can view the list of countries Stripe supports. Stripe's global page lists Australia with no Extended network or Preview label. Substack's list of exceptions names India, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia and Thailand, and Australia isn't among them.
That makes Australia a straightforward market for switching on paid subscriptions. If you want to see how Substack stacks up against other tools first, which newsletter platform suits a small business compares them.
Stripe's Australian rates are not the US rates
Substack's fee page quotes a US example of 2.9% + 30 cents on US cards, with Stripe Billing at 0.7%. Stripe's Australian pricing page tells a different story, so use this table instead of the example.
| What I checked | What Stripe says for Australia |
|---|---|
| Domestic cards | 1.65% + 30 Australian cents |
| International cards | 3.5% + 30 Australian cents |
| Currency conversion | Extra 2% when required |
| Standard payouts | Free |
| Instant Payouts | 1.5% of volume, minimum fee of 50 Australian cents |
Substack's own 10% of paid subscription revenue sits on top of all of that. Because the domestic rate is lower than the international one, an Australian newsletter with mostly local readers will usually pay less per card payment than one whose readers are overseas. Stripe's dashboard shows Substack's fee and the processing fee on each payment.
It's worth pausing on why this matters. The example on Substack's own fee page is a US one, and it's easy to read it as the rate everyone pays. For an Australian publisher, Stripe's local page is the document to work from, and the lower domestic row is good news if most of your readers are in the same country as you.
Australian dollars on the price tag
Substack's localized pricing list includes the Australian dollar, so readers can be shown a plan priced in their own currency. Prices are converted at Substack's exchange rates and rounded up, and Stripe charges between 1% and 2% for currency conversion. The feature is on by default and prices are updated roughly every three months. You can turn it off under Settings and then Payments if you prefer a single price.
The in-app purchase gap
Substack says in-app purchases are available for publications whose Stripe accounts are based in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and most of the European Union. Australia isn't named. That doesn't stop an Australian publication taking payments on the web, but it means the iOS in-app route isn't on offer the way those countries get it.
There's an upside. Substack says Apple takes a 30% commission in the first year of an in-app subscription, falling to 15% from the second year, and that in-app earnings stay Held until they reach 100 US dollars. An Australian publication on web payments avoids both.
One more thing the pages don't spell out is how an Australian reader's card gets classed. Stripe's domestic row applies to cards issued in the same country as your Stripe account, so a reader using an Australian card falls under the lower rate, while a reader using a card from elsewhere falls under the international row. You can see which applied on each payment in your dashboard.
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How soon payouts reach an Australian account
Substack says payments usually arrive in your bank account within 48 hours of each transaction. Stripe shows the estimated date for each payout. Stripe's Australian page says standard payouts are free, so the timing is the main thing to plan around.
A short checklist before you charge
- Connect Stripe and read the payout details it shows for your Australian account.
- Decide whether to keep localized pricing on or show one price to everyone.
- Work out what a typical payment from a local reader and an overseas reader leaves you with, using the rows above.
- Check whether your total income is heading towards the GST line below.
- Ask an Australian accountant what the newsletter income means for your tax return.
None of that needs special software. It's an hour with a notepad and your Stripe dashboard, and it saves you from setting a price that doesn't work once the fees are taken out.
Where the ATO draws the GST line
The Australian Taxation Office says a business with GST turnover of 75,000 dollars or more must register. It measures that as the current month plus the previous 11 months, and says the figure is 150,000 dollars for non-profit organisations. Substack's fee page says writers may add sales tax or VAT to their prices, so a call to an Australian accountant before you launch is worth the time.
Other income routes for Australian creators
A newsletter isn't the only way to be paid for your work. how Patreon works for Australian creators covers the membership model, how Amazon KDP pays authors in Australia covers books, and how Payoneer works in Australia explains one way people receive client payments from abroad.
Frequently asked questions
Can I charge for a Substack in Australia?
Yes. Stripe's global page lists Australia with no Extended network or Preview label, and Substack's exceptions list doesn't name Australia.
What does Stripe charge on Australian cards?
Stripe's Australian pricing page lists domestic cards at 1.65% + 30 Australian cents and international cards at 3.5% + 30 Australian cents, with 2% extra when currency conversion is required.
Does Substack support Australian dollars?
Substack's localized pricing list includes the Australian dollar. It's on by default, and you can switch it off under Settings and then Payments.
Are in-app purchases available for Australian publications?
Substack lists the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and most of the European Union for in-app purchases. Australia isn't named.
When do I need to register for GST on newsletter income?
The Australian Taxation Office says a business with GST turnover of 75,000 dollars or more must register. Ask an Australian accountant how it applies to your situation.
