When trading in the highly competitive forex market, choosing the right broker can significantly impact your success. Australia is home to several top-tier forex brokers that offer robust trading platforms, regulatory oversight and diverse financial instruments. With the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) providing strict regulatory guidelines, traders can feel confident in the security and transparency of their brokers.
This guide highlights the best forex brokers in Australia, focusing on key factors such as fees, trading platforms, customer support and satisfaction, advanced trading tools and available features.
Quick Look: Best Forex Brokers in the AU
- Best for Active Traders: City Index
- Best for CFD Trading: Vantage Markets
- Best for Fast Execution Speed: BlackBull Markets
- Best for Low Fees: Axi
- Best for Copy Trading: eToro
Top Rated Australian Forex Brokers
All the brokers listed here have low fees, tight spreads, user-friendly platforms, impressive additional features to meet different trading styles, and are regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Here are reviews of the top Australian forex brokers.
1. Best for Active Traders: City Index
- Best For:CFD and Forex TradersVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through City Index Australia's website
City Index is an excellent choice for Australian forex traders due to its local presence and regulation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), ensuring a secure trading environment. Traders benefit from access to over 6,300 global markets, including 84+ forex pairs with competitive spreads.
Why We Love It: The platform offers advanced charting tools, a user-friendly mobile app, and integration with MetaTrader 4, catering to various trading preferences. With 40 years of experience and over a million account holders, City Index has established itself as a trusted and reliable broker.
2. Best for CFD Trading: Vantage Markets
- Best For:CFD TradersVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through Vantage Markets's website
Vantage Markets is a dynamic online broker that provides access to over 1,000 CFD trading products. It supports popular platforms like MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, and the Vantage App, offering traders a range of user-friendly tools for web and mobile trading. Through its Vantage Academy, the platform also delivers educational resources, including webinars, eBooks, and courses to help traders expand their market knowledge. Additionally, Vantage offers promotional perks, like deposit bonuses and loyalty rewards, to enrich the trading experience.
Why We Love It: Vantage Markets excels with its copy trading feature, enabling users to follow and mirror the strategies of experienced traders. With a strong 15-year reputation for reliability and service, it attracts a global audience looking for flexible trading options. Its diverse range of financial instruments and educational resources make it an appealing choice for both beginners and experienced traders.
3. Best for Low Fees: Axi
Axi provides a variety of trading instruments such as forex, CFDs, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies, enabling you to diversify your portfolios and capitalize on various market opportunities. They provide competitive spreads, low commissions and offer a secure and reliable trading platform that is user-friendly.
Why We Love It: Axi offers educational resources, market analysis tools and expert insights to assist you in your trades. The broker also provides customer support with a team available 24/5 to address any questions or issues. Axi is overseen by reputable financial authorities such as the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
4. Best for Fast Execution Speed: BlackBull Market
- Best For:Lightning Fast Execution SpeedVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through BlackBull Markets's website
BlackBull Markets is a leading forex broker founded in 2014 with its headquarters located in New Zealand. Its global expansion and strong reputation has established it as a trusted and reliable choice in the trading industry. However, it's important to note that while BlackBull Markets is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Seychelles and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) in New Zealand, it is not regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Why We Love It: BlackBull Markets is a favorable choice for its comprehensive range of trading instruments, including over 26,000 assets and 72 forex pairs with competitive spreads starting from 0.0 pips. The broker offers high leverage up to 1:500 and provides access to multiple trading platforms such as MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView.
5. Best for Copy Trading: eToro
eToro pioneered innovative and popular social copy trading, allowing users to mimic trades of successful traders step-by-step. The Israeli-based broker, though initially focused on forex and crypto trading, also offer a vast range of other investment products, such as stocks and ETFs.
Why We Love It: eToro's trading account is customizable to match trading style and account type. The platform provides an online community where investors can connect and share strategies through a social media-like interface.
Understanding Forex in AU
Forex traders gain or lose money depending on the difference in price movements within a currency pair. A currency pair in forex trading is made up of two currencies that are exchanged in a trade. The pair includes the base currency, which is always listed first, and the quote currency.
The exchange rate is the cost of one currency relative to another, which might go up or down in value. These price changes are influenced by supply and demand, fiscal policies and politics. Forex trading goes on around the clock globally.
How to Choose the Best AU Forex Brokers
There are a lot of great Australian forex brokers for foreign currency traders in Australia. We had to choose a handful to highlight and each has its unique advantages. We looked at some key areas, including the trading platform, account type and execution speed.
Spreads
In most cases, forex brokers earn their money by using a spread between the bid price and ask price. A broker with tighter spreads generally takes less profit from the trader, although other fees or expenses may apply to some trades.
ASIC Regulation
Brokers that apply for ASIC regulation must have minimum capital holdings of $1 million AUD and keep investor funds segregated from broker funds to provide an extra layer of safety for investors.
Cash Management
Brokers that provide multiple ways to fund your account make trading easier and allow traders more options to capitalize on new trading opportunities. Moving money out should also be hassle-free.
Trader Tools
From charts to news feeds to historical data to demo accounts that allow traders to test strategies without risking real capital, the quality of trading tools available from a broker can be the differentiating factor if all other factors are relatively equal.
Customer Support
With many forex brokers offering 24-hour support, customers have come to expect that brokers will have one or more ways to reach out if they have questions or to report problems with their account or the platform.
How to Trade Forex in Australia
If you are a resident of Australia and considering forex trading, here is how to get started:
Find a Broker
Most of the forex trading is carried out by institutional investors such as banks. However, as an individual, you can get into the forex market through a broker.
Several brokers are available to Australian investors. To research the right broker to sign up with in Australia you must note the following:
- ASIC Regulation: The broker must be registered with ASIC. ASIC requires a minimum capital of AUD $1 million from brokers and ensures that they separate investors' funds from broker funds. These compliance measures establish the reputation of your broker and ensure the safety of your funds.
- Trading platform: The broker you finally choose connects you to the markets through a trading platform. Choose a broker that supports a platform with solid technical and fundamental analysis tools, an intuitive interface and comprehensive educational content.
- Platform features: The best broker for you should offer a great trading experience through features such as low commissions and spreads, high maximum leverage and margin, low initial deposits and ease of usage.
- Customer support: You should be able to get 24/7 support since the forex markets never sleep.
- Currency pairs: Your broker of choice should have a vast variety of currency pairs on offer. But most importantly, they should have the particular pairs you are interested in trading.
Setup a Trading Account
After selecting the ideal broker, you must open an account and deposit funds with them to start your trading journey. You can fund your account via debit cards, wire transfers, PayPal and several other available options.
Learn and Practice
The forex trading space can be intimidating for a beginner. Take the time to learn the market’s intricacies using resources offered by most brokers. You can combine the learning stage with practice using a demo account which most brokers offer. With virtual accounts, you can get your hands dirty without risking any real money.
Research the Forex Market
Only proceed to trade with real money when you understand the market and currency pairs. Each currency pair may be impacted by ongoing news events and other factors you’ll need to research. You can try starting with less volatile currency pairs between developed market currencies before you move on to emerging or frontier market currencies.
Trade Forex Confidently in Australia
Forex trading can be risky, but you’ll have better tools to trade and hopefully fewer fees when you sign up with a suitable broker. To get the list of the top Australia forex brokers featured above, Benzinga analyzed brokers along the parameters of trading platforms, currency pair availability, educational resources and trading tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best platform to trade forex in Australia?
Some top options for Australian residents include IG Markets, City Index and eToro.
What is the minimum deposit for forex brokers in Australia?
The minimum deposit can vary among brokers. However, many forex brokers operating in Australia have a $100 minimum deposit.
Is forex taxed in Australia?
Yes, forex is taxed in Australia. Investors are subject to a capital gains tax equal to 50% of their marginal tax rate. Forex traders classified as business owners profits and losses are considered business income, not capital gains. This means that 100% of their profits are taxed at their current tax rate.
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About Anna Yen
Anna Yen, CFA is an investment writer with over two decades of professional finance and writing experience in roles within JPMorgan and UBS derivatives, asset management, crypto, and Family Money Map. She specializes in writing about investment topics ranging from traditional asset classes and derivatives to alternatives like cryptocurrency and real estate. Her work has been published on sites like Quicken and the crypto exchange Bybit.