What an Australian Online Store Needs: A Practical Checklist

Start with the pages that sell

A store can launch with surprisingly few page types, but each needs to do its job well.

• Home page. What you sell, who it is for and where to start, in one screen on a phone
• Collection pages. Filters that match how people shop your range, with price and key details on each card
• Product pages. Photos, options, key facts, delivery estimate, returns summary and total price
• Cart. Line items, a delivery estimate and the total before the checkout starts
• Checkout. Hosted by your platform or payment provider, short and clear
• Help pages. Delivery, returns, contact details and a privacy notice, written plainly

The product pages service goes into detail on the most important template.

Prices that tell the whole story

The ACCC expects businesses to display a total price that includes taxes, duties and all unavoidable or pre-selected extra fees. Optional extras the customer has not chosen do not need to be included, and delivery fees do not need to be built into product prices if a free option such as free click and collect is available^[1]. If you show prices in parts, the single total must be at least as prominent as any part^[2].

Two recent changes affect every store:

• Card surcharges. From 1 October 2026, eftpos, Mastercard and Visa introduced rules preventing card surcharges. The RBA says American Express and UnionPay also removed surcharging, and PayPal's rule took effect on 5 October 2026^[3]. Any card fee added at checkout should be gone.
• Drip pricing law. The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026 passed on 2 July 2026. From 1 July 2027 it adds rules on drip pricing and subscriptions and a ban on unfair trading practices^[4][5].

The pricing and surcharges guide explains both.

GST settings that match your registration

Businesses must register for GST when current or projected GST turnover is $75,000 or more, and must do so within 21 days of being required to^[6]. If you are registered, shoppers should see GST-inclusive prices on product pages, in the cart and at checkout, and the three should agree. The GST guide covers settings and overseas sales.

Delivery and returns information

Australian Consumer Law gives consumers guarantees that a business cannot take away. Goods must be of acceptable quality, match their description and be fit for any purpose the business was told about. Displaying a "no refunds" sign is given by the ACCC as an example of misleading consumers about their rights^[7].

Your returns page should explain three different things clearly:

The ACL guide for online sellers covers these rules in more depth.

A checkout that keeps card data off your site

Use a hosted checkout or hosted payment fields so card numbers never touch your servers. The PCI Security Standards Council lists PCI DSS v4.0.1 as the latest version^[9], and the January 2025 revision of its SAQ A questionnaire asks merchants to confirm their site is not susceptible to attacks from scripts^[10]. Keep scripts on checkout pages to a short, reviewed list. The PCI DSS guide explains the options.

Privacy notice and data security

Many small businesses with annual turnover of $3 million or less are exempt from the Privacy Act, but some are covered regardless of size, including businesses that trade in personal information and health service providers^[11]. A clear privacy notice is good practice either way. If the Act applies to you, Australian Privacy Principle 11 requires reasonable steps to protect personal information, which since December 2024 expressly include technical and organisational measures^[12].

Marketing email and SMS with consent

Commercial emails and SMS need consent, clear identification of your business and an unsubscribe that is honoured within five working days^[13]. Add an unticked opt-in at checkout or signup and pass that choice to your email platform. The Spam Act guide has examples.

Reviews you can stand behind

The ACCC says it is against the law to create fake reviews or arrange for others to write them, that incentives must apply whether a review is positive or negative and be disclosed, and that suppressing genuine negative reviews can mislead consumers^[14]. Show all genuine reviews and the number behind any star rating.

Accessibility

The Australian Human Rights Commission's 2025 guidelines on equal access to digital goods and services are written to help businesses meet obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act^[15]. WCAG 2.2 Level AA is a practical target; it added criteria on target size, focus that is not hidden, redundant entry and accessible authentication^[16], all of which affect checkouts.

Speed

For a "good" rating, Google looks for three numbers at the 75th percentile of real visits, split by mobile and desktop: LCP no slower than 2.5 s, INP no slower than 200 ms and CLS no higher than 0.1^[17]. Sized images, few scripts and a lean app list do most of the work.

Search and shopping visibility

Product structured data and a Merchant Center feed work together; Google says providing both maximises eligibility for shopping features^[18]. Merchant Center free listings let products appear at no cost on surfaces such as Search, Images and YouTube^[19]. The structured data guide shows what to include.

A one-page launch checklist

• Prices show GST-inclusive totals with no card surcharge at checkout
• Delivery estimates appear before the checkout starts
• Returns page explains major problems, minor problems and change of mind
• Test orders placed with every payment and delivery option, and one refund processed
• Privacy notice, terms and contact details are linked in the footer and at checkout
• Marketing opt-in is unticked and flows to your email platform
• Product pages carry structured data that matches what is visible
• Pages tested on a phone, with a keyboard and with a screen reader