This editionSix pages, each written from ASIC, Moneysmart, ASX and the ATO.
Australian editionWednesday 7 October 2026General information, not advice
T+2A share trade settles two business days after the trade
X + 10The shape of a HIN: the letter X, then ten numbers
30:1Highest CFD leverage for retail clients, major currency pairs
2:1The cap for CFDs on crypto-assets
68%At least this share of retail investors lost money on CFDs in 2023–24, ASIC found
50%CGT discount for resident individuals after 12 months’ ownership, under current rules; the ATO notes changes announced in the 2026–27 Budget
The front page · How it works
A trading platform is a doorway to the market, not the market itself
Most people who buy shares use an online broker. This paper explains, from the regulators’ own pages, what that broker does, where your shares are recorded, what trading costs, how to check who you are dealing with, and what happens at tax time.
In Australia, most shares trade on the Australian Securities Exchange, the ASX. You generally buy and sell them through a broker: a licensed business that gives you access to the ASX and other markets so your trades can be placed. The website or app you log in to is how that broker takes your orders. It is a doorway. The market, and the record of who owns what, sit behind it.
Two kinds of broker
Moneysmart describes two. With an online broker, you open an account and make your own choices about what to buy and how much. Most charge a flat fee for smaller trades, often around $20 or less as Moneysmart put it in October 2026, and switch to a percentage of the trade for larger amounts. A full-service broker places trades for you and can give you advice; fees are higher, usually a percentage of each trade.
You choose the company, the number of shares and an order type. A market order buys at the next available price; a limit order sets the most you will pay, and only goes through if the market reaches it. Afterwards you get a confirmation showing the price, the number of shares and the fees, which Moneysmart suggests you keep for tax time. ASX settles equity trades two business days after they take place, known as T+2, moving the money and the ownership at the same moment.
Where your shares are written down
ASX keeps the record of who owns shares in its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, CHESS. Shares can sit on the CHESS subregister under your own Holder Identification Number, a HIN, or on the company’s issuer-sponsored subregister. Some platforms instead hold shares for you through a custodian, which can change your rights as a shareholder. How the three ways of holding differ.
Not every platform is a share broker
A contract for difference, or CFD, is a contract between you and the provider. In Australia CFDs trade over the counter, not on a licensed exchange, and you never own the underlying asset. And when Moneysmart says “investment platform”, it means something else again: an administrative system, such as a wrap account or master trust, that holds many investments in one place and is generally only available through a financial adviser.
Check before you hand over money
People and companies offering investments in Australia must hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence or be authorised by someone who does. A licence does not mean ASIC endorses them, and it does not make an investment safe. How to check a licence on ASIC’s register.
Terms of the trade
The words a platform uses, set out like the share tables.
Term
What it means
Read more
Broker
A licensed business that gives you access to the ASX and other markets so your trades can be placed.
Warnings the regulator has issued, in its own terms.
Notice
Limits on CFDs sold to retail clients
ASIC’s product intervention order on CFDs took effect on 29 March 2021. In April 2022 ASIC extended it for a further five years, to 23 May 2027. Under it, issuers must:
keep leverage for retail clients within limits from 30:1 down to 2:1, depending on the asset;
close out positions before losses pass set levels, and limit a retail client’s losses to the money in their CFD account;
not offer inducements such as trading credits, rebates or “free” gifts.
Moneysmart warns that some investment scams build a whole online world to look genuine: fake advertisements, fake reviews, fake comparison websites, fake news articles and fake investment platforms. According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, Australians reported losing more than $837 million to investment scams in 2025.
A professional website or good reviews do not make an investment genuine; Moneysmart’s advice is to check before you invest.
Moneysmart says reports of shares stolen through identity theft are on the rise, and that ASIC has warned investors to be on high alert for fraudsters who impersonate people to transfer or sell their shares without them knowing.
Your holding statements are one way to see a change you did not make: ASX issues a CHESS holding statement for each security at the end of any month in which the holding changed.
A platform’s screen shows prices and buttons. The provider’s documents tell you the rest: what you pay, how your investments are held, and what rights come with them. For CFDs, Moneysmart points to the product disclosure statement and the terms and conditions, because every issuer sets its own. For fractional share trading, it suggests reading the provider’s disclosure documents before you invest, since fees and ownership structures vary.
Moneysmart’s own questions are a good place to start. These are in its words:
Will I own the investments I buy, or will the provider own them?
Do I know what fees I’ll be paying?
Does the CFD provider have an Australian financial services (AFS) licence?
Am I willing and able to lose my entire investment?
