Best Forex Brokers in Australia

List of Best Forex Brokers in Australia

Trade Nation - Lowest Spread in Australia

Trade Nation Review

Pros	Cons
✅ $1 AUD minimum deposit	❌ High minimum withdrawal
✅ Variable spread from 0.3 pips	❌No MT5
✅ Free TradingView access	❌ No cent account
✅ Fixed spread from 0.4 pips
✅ No inactivity fees
✅ Legit -ASIC regulation

Trade Nation is legit because it is regulated by the ASIC, here in Australia.

Trade Nation's parent company also owns and operates another brokerage brand called TD365.

Trade Nation minimum deposit in Australia is $1 AUD, but the minimum withdrawal is $50 AUD.

Deposit & withdrawal is free, and impact time is instant.

Trade Nation has the lowest spread in Australia with average variable spread of 0.3 pips on the EUR/USD pair, when using their Standard & TN Account types.

Trade Nation also offers a fixed spread of 0.3 pips on their spread betting account, when you are betting on popular currency pairs.

Trading platforms are MT4/5, TN Mobile App, and TradingView which you can use for free without subscription.

Pepperstone - Best Research & Market Analysis Tools

Pepperstone Review

Pros	Cons
✅ No minimum deposit	❌ No cent account
✅ ASIC regulation
✅ No inactivity fees
✅ TradingView
✅ MetaTrader upgrade tools
✅ Great research & analysis tools

Pepperstone is an ASIC regulated forex broker & to open their standard, razor or cTrader account types there is no minimum deposit/withdrawal.

Supported payment methods include PayPal, Crypto, Bank Transfer etc. with instant impact time.

Spreads start from 1.0 pips on standard accounts but razor account spreads start from 0.0 pips & $3.5 per side commission.

Trading platforms include MT4/5 (with free upgrade EAs), cTrader & TradingView (for razor account users alone).

Trading platforms come with user manuals & guides plus demo accounts which as useful for beginners.

IG Australia - Best for Share Trading

IG Review

Pros	Cons
✅ No minimum deposit	❌ No MT5
✅ ASIC regulation	❌ No cent account
✅ TradingView
✅ Direct Market Access
✅ Low spreads from 0.6 pips
✅ Extensive offering of tradable symbols
✅ Good beginner education & support
✅ No inactivity fees

IG is an ASIC regulated broker with no minimum deposit and over 17,000 tradable symbols most of which are share CFDs.

Spreads start from 0.6 pips & commission is $3.5 per side for CFDs & $0.08 for Australian shares. Trading internation shares attracts no commission

Trading platforms include MT4, IG Mobile App & TradingView. There is also the L2 Dealer & Pro Real Time platforms which provide direct market access useful for share trading.

Eightcap - Best for API Trading

Eightcap Review

Pros	Cons
✅ ASIC regulated broker	❌$100 minimum deposit
✅ TradingView access	❌ Limited range of tradable markets
✅ API integration	❌ No cent account
✅ Flash trader tool	❌ Inactivity fees
✅No minimum withdrawal
✅No inactivity fee

Eightcap is legitimately regulated by the ASIC here in Australia and has a $100 AUD minimum deposit but has a $0 minimum withdrawal which is good.

The spreads are moderate- starting from 1.0 pips on the Standard account & from 0.17 pips on the Raw Account (plus $3.5 per side commission).

EIghtcap offers a limited number of around 800 tradable symbols with more emphasis on stock CFDs.

Platforms are okay with MT4/5, & TradingView available; plus a free expert advisor called "Flash Trader" tht sets stop loss & Take Profit automatically for you.

API trading is also available so you can seamlessly connect your trading robot to EIghtcap and extract data.

How To Choose A forex Broker in Australia

1. Check The Broker Regulation

The best Australian forex brokers are the ones regulated by the ASIC. Run a check to see if your forex broker is ASIC regulated as this takes just a few minutes but will save you a lot of trouble.

To check if a forex broker in Australia is regulated by the ASIC, visit the ASIC website at https://asic.gov.au/ then navigate to "Search Our Registers" then click on "Professional Registers"

On the ASIC Professional Register Page, you can choose to search by organizational name/broker name, or by the brokers AFSL number.

After entering your relevant search queries, click on search to display the results.

The brokers license status should always read current, which tells you the license has not been revoked or is not expired.

2. Check The Broker Spread

Charging a spread is the major way for a forex broker to make money off you. So, you must always pay special attention to spread & take everything with a pinch of salt.

Do not depend on the so called minimum spread as most times this is just an ambiguous statement; & the broker ends up charging way higher than what they state as their minimum spread.

Instead, look for what the broker calls their Average Spread or Typical Spread, as this more precise than the minimum spread .

For example, a broker can say their minimum spread starts from 0.6 pips but when you check their average/typical spread on different instruments, you discover it is way higher.

Also pay attention to the accounts that offer almost zero spread but turnaround and ask you to pay a commission every time you trade. It is technically the same thing especially if you are not trading high volumes to qualify you for rebates on commission.

3. Check The Available Account Base Currency

The broker should offer an account currency that matches the currency you intend to be funding your account in. This will prevent the broker from charging you currency conversion fees.

Most Australian forex brokers usually offer the AUD account base currency, so you should select AUD as your account base currency when opening your account.

4. Check The Trading Platforms

a) Is There MetaTrader Desktop Platform?

The trading platform refers to the trading software the broker offers. Serious forex trading is carried out on desktop & laptop computers, so pay attention the the available desktop trading platforms.

If you intend to trade currencies, then your preferred broker must offer the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5) desktop platform.

MetaTrader is the best forex trading platform in the world & has free risk management tools that help you reduce losses while trading.

b) Is There a Proprietary Trading Platform?

However, your preferred broker should not be overdependent on MetaTrader; you need to have another platform in case of an emergency when MetaTrader is unavailable.

You broker should also offer an alternative trading platform such as their homegrown/proprietary Web Trader platform. This will serve as a backup so that if MetaTrader is unavailable, you can use the brokers proprietary platform to trade.

c) Is There A Mobile App?

Mobile apps are useful when you are away from your desktop computer but still need to monitor an ongoing trade.

Your broker should offer a mobile app which could be MetaTrader mobile or the brokers proprietary movile app.

5. Check The Brokers Customer Support

Customer support needs to be handy when you need to resolve issues such as a pending withdrawal, pending deposit, account activation etc.

Check to see how fast the broker responds to live chat. You can chat them up and ask a few questions to measure their response time

You could also send them an email and see how soon you get a response. Also look out for toll-free telephone help lines or the request-a-call-back feature; as these help ypu save on telephone bills.

Lastly you should check if the broker assigns Personal Account Managers to their regular clients (and not just VIP clients), as having an account manager means you can reach them anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Forex Legal in Australia?

Yes, forex trading is legal in Australia because the Australian government regulates it. The Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) is the government body tasked with the responsibility of overseeing forex trading in Australia.

Who is a Forex Broker?

A forex broker is a registered company that connects traders to the online forex market using electronic platforms & servers.

The forex brokers own all the instruments such as currency pairs & they allow you to speculate on their price movement without owning them.

As their compensation, the forex brokers will charge you a spread (and sometimes commissions) every time you trade.

Because forex brokers hold public deposits, they have to be strictly regulated by government bodies.

What is the difference between a Broker & an Agent?

A broker is regulated by the government & is authorized to collect & hold customer funds, while an agent is a contractor that works for the broker & can neither collect nor hold customer funds.

What Does It Mean to be a Regulated Forex Broker?

Being a regulated forex broker means that all activities & operations carried out by the broker, are overseen by a government body.

Forex regulation basically tells you whose rules your broker is playing by. Some regulators set strict rules, while some set weak rules.

Tier 1 regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) UK, & Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) are the best regulators in the forex industry.

Forex brokers have a lot of influence over your trades, and there could easily be conflict of interest or fraud if they are left unchecked. This is why forex brokers need to be regulated.

Not every country regulates forex trading so if there's no regulation where you live, ensure your forex broker is regulated overseas.

Who Regulates Forex Brokers in Australia?

Forex brokers are regulated by government financial market regulators. The strongest forex regulators are those from countries with a high average daily FX turnover.

It is ideal to only trade with a forex broker that is regulated by the ASIC so you get protection from local Australian laws, & you can complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) if something goes wrong.

🌎 Country	💰 Avg. Daily FX Turnover	⚖ Regulatory Body	🛡️ Quality of Regulation
United Kingdom	$3.755 Trillion	Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) UK	Tier-1
United States	$1.912 Trillion	National Futures Association (NFA)	Tier-1
Singapore	$929 Billion	Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)	Tier-1
Germany	$184 Billion	Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (aka BaFin)	Tier-1
Canada	$172 Billion	Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO)	Tier-1
Australia	$150 Billion	Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC)	Tier-1

Which Broker is Best for Forex?

ASIC regulated brokers like Pepperstone, IC Markets, FP Markets, PLus500 & XM are all best brokers for forex trading in Australia.

This is because they are safe to deal with & offer trading conditions that suit Australian traders of different experience levels.

Who is the Lowest Spread Forex Broker in Australia?

Trade Nation has the lowest spread in Australia, with spreads on the popular EUR/USD pair averaging at 0.3 pips.

Who is the Best Australian Forex Broker?

There is no best forex broker, you need to choose one based on your needs. Trade Nation has the lowest spreads, but their execution speed is not all that. IC Markets has moderate spreads, but their execution speed is better. So, you just need to choose based on your circumstance.

What is the Minimum Deposit to Open an Account with a Forex Broker in Australia?

$0 AUD is the minimum deposit you need to open an account as brokers like IG, Trade Nation & Pepperstone allow you start with any amount you have.