You've decided to sell on Amazon Australia — or you're already listed and realise you haven't thought through the legal side. Either way, the platform does not absorb your legal obligations. Amazon provides the marketplace; you remain responsible for complying with Australian law. Getting that right from the start is considerably cheaper than fixing it after a dispute, an account suspension, or a regulator inquiry.
Whether you need an ABN — and when GST registration kicks in
An Australian Business Number (ABN) is not legally mandatory for every seller, but if you are selling regularly with an intention to make a profit you are carrying on a business rather than pursuing a hobby, and you are entitled — and expected — to hold one. The ATO's guidance on business registration sets out the factors it uses: whether you source your own customers, issue invoices, set prices, and hold separate business finances. Amazon sellers who are sourcing stock, pricing independently, and aiming to grow almost always meet these criteria.
The hobby-versus-business line matters because it affects income tax treatment, access to trade accounts, and the ability to issue tax invoices. If you are carrying on a business, apply for your ABN through the Australian Business Register before you start generating sales.
When GST registration is compulsory
Once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 in a rolling 12-month period — measured across current and projected turnover — you must register for GST. You have 21 days from the date your turnover crosses that threshold to register; missing that window can mean the ATO treats you as registered from the crossing date and requires you to remit GST on sales made before you registered, plus potential penalties.
Amazon provides tax calculation tools inside Seller Central, but those tools do not file your Business Activity Statement or manage your GST obligations. That remains your responsibility. Speak with a registered tax agent or accountant for BAS lodgement, income tax planning, and timing.
Choosing a business structure that fits your risk
Your structure affects personal liability, tax, and your ability to bring on co-founders or investors later. For Amazon sellers, the practical choice is usually between three options.
Sole trader — simplest and cheapest to establish. You hold the ABN in your own name, report business income on your personal return, and have full control. The limitation is that your personal assets are exposed to business debts and claims. Suitable if you are testing the market with low inventory risk.
Partnership — two or more people operating together under a shared ABN. Partners are jointly and severally liable for the partnership's obligations. If you go this route, a written partnership agreement is essential before a dollar of stock is purchased; verbal arrangements become extremely difficult to untangle once revenue is flowing.
Company (Pty Ltd) — a separate legal entity that can limit personal liability. It carries higher setup and compliance costs (ASIC annual review fees, a company constitution, maintaining proper records), but provides a meaningful layer of protection once you are holding significant inventory, employing people, or building a brand you intend to sell. Many sellers start as a sole trader and incorporate when they have validated the product and are ready to scale.
The right choice depends on your personal circumstances, existing assets, and growth plans — it is worth getting specific advice before committing to a structure you will need to change later.
What Australian law applies to your Amazon listings
Australian Consumer Law
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL), found in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), applies to every consumer sale you make through Amazon regardless of Amazon's own policies or your store's stated return terms.
Two obligations are central for online sellers.
First, the prohibition on misleading or deceptive conduct in s 18 of the ACL covers every representation you make — product titles, descriptions, images, bullet points, "before and after" comparisons, and any sustainability or efficacy claims. The test is objective: whether the conduct is likely to mislead a reasonable consumer, not whether you intended to mislead. Inaccurate size charts, inflated "was" prices, or unsubstantiated claims ("clinically proven", "100% natural") are common sources of ACL exposure for Amazon sellers.
Second, consumer guarantees give buyers automatic rights to a remedy when goods are not of acceptable quality, not fit for purpose, or do not match their description. For a major failure, the consumer can choose between a replacement and a full refund — you cannot override this with an "all sales final" policy or by pointing them to your supplier. For a minor failure, you can elect to repair rather than replace. These rights sit alongside any express warranty you choose to offer and cannot be excluded by contract.
Amazon's default return window settings may not precisely align with your ACL obligations. Review your Seller Central returns configuration against the ACL, and make sure your listing copy, packaging, and any inserts are consistent with one another.
Product safety and mandatory standards
The ACCC administers mandatory safety standards for certain product categories. Where a mandatory standard exists, you must comply with it before you can lawfully supply that product in Australia — the standard is not optional and Amazon's platform does not check compliance on your behalf.
Categories commonly subject to mandatory standards include children's products, electrical goods, personal protective equipment, and cosmetics, among others. Before listing any product in a regulated category, check the ACCC's product safety database for applicable standards and bans. Keep test reports, supplier certifications, labelling proofs, and batch records in a dedicated compliance file for each product. If Amazon or a regulator requests documentation, you need to be able to produce it promptly.
If a product you sell poses a safety risk, you may be required to recall it and notify the responsible Commonwealth Minister within two days. Having supplier contracts that clearly allocate liability and require certifications reduces your exposure when something goes wrong upstream.
Intellectual property and trade marks
If you are building a private-label brand — your own product under your own name — you should register that name as a trade mark with IP Australia. A registered trade mark gives you enforceable rights against counterfeiters and copycats, and it is a prerequisite for Amazon Brand Registry in Australia. Amazon Brand Registry requires a registered (not pending) Australian trade mark; a pending application does not qualify. Filing timelines with IP Australia can extend to many months, so plan registrations well in advance of your intended brand launch rather than after the fact.
If you are reselling rather than private-labelling, check whether the brand you are sourcing imposes distribution or online channel restrictions. Selling in breach of a manufacturer's authorised-channel policy can expose you to account suspension and, depending on the terms, legal action.
On the other side of the coin: before you list, conduct basic trade mark clearance searches to confirm you are not infringing someone else's registered mark through your product name, packaging, or promotional copy.
Privacy obligations
If you collect personal information outside Amazon's platform — through a landing page, an email marketing list, a competition entry, or an off-platform customer support channel — the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles may apply to you.
Most businesses with annual turnover of $3 million or less are exempt from the Privacy Act as small businesses, under the exemption set out in the Act. However, that exemption does not apply if you provide health-related services, trade in personal information for a benefit, or are contracted to a government agency. Even within the exemption, publishing a clear, accurate privacy policy is increasingly expected by customers and by other platforms you may use. If you are building an email list and sending promotional messages, you must also comply with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), which requires consent before sending commercial electronic messages, accurate sender identification in every message, and a functional unsubscribe mechanism that remains active for at least 30 days after the message is sent.
Contracts and documents that protect your business
The paperwork you put in place matters more than most sellers assume, and the gap is usually discovered too late — when a supplier delivers non-compliant goods, a co-founder leaves, or a customer raises a product liability claim.
Supplier or manufacturer agreement — if you are importing or private-labelling, your supplier agreement needs to cover quality specifications, labelling and certification requirements, product liability allocation, IP ownership in any custom designs, and what happens when product is non-conforming. A generic purchase order does not achieve this. The agreement should also deal with audit rights and the consequences of a mandatory recall.
Warranties against defects — if you offer an express warranty, the ACL prescribes mandatory wording that must accompany it. Using non-compliant warranty language, or an express warranty that purports to limit ACL rights, creates additional exposure rather than reducing it.
Partnership or shareholder agreement — if you are operating with another person, whether as partners or as co-directors and shareholders in a company, a written governance document prevents the disputes that arise when the business becomes valuable and expectations diverge. Deal with decision-making rights, profit distribution, what happens if someone wants to exit, and what restrictions apply after departure.
Non-disclosure agreement — when you are in early conversations with potential suppliers, co-packers, distributors, or investors, an NDA protects your product concepts, pricing, and strategy before any formal agreement is in place.
Privacy policy and terms — if you operate a website alongside your Amazon store, you will need terms and conditions that cover ordering, pricing, shipping, returns, and acceptable use, as well as a privacy policy if you collect personal information. These documents should reflect your actual operations and comply with the ACL.
Employment and contractor agreements — if you engage anyone to pack, photograph, manage customer service, or handle logistics, use agreements that address classification (employee versus contractor), confidentiality, IP assignment, and termination. Misclassification and underpayment expose you to Fair Work liability; absent confidentiality provisions mean your supplier relationships and pricing are unprotected.
How Artificer Legal can assist you
The decisions involved in setting up and running an Amazon business are not purely administrative. Choosing a business structure involves personal risk factors an article cannot assess. Drafting a supplier agreement that allocates product liability correctly requires understanding what mandatory standards apply to your category. Registering a trade mark and planning the filing timeline around your launch date requires IP expertise. And if something goes wrong — an account suspension, a consumer complaint, a customs hold, a supplier dispute — you need representation that understands both the platform context and the underlying law.
Artificer Legal works with Australian SMEs at every stage of this process: advising on structure at the outset, drafting and reviewing supplier, partnership, and distribution agreements, supporting trade mark applications, and helping businesses respond to regulatory inquiries and disputes. We can also review your existing Amazon setup and identify the gaps before they become problems.
The single decision that shapes everything else
If there is one thing that determines whether your Amazon business is set up to last, it is getting your supplier agreement right before you commit to inventory. By the time stock arrives in a fulfilment centre and customers start buying, your leverage over your supplier has largely evaporated. A well-drafted agreement — covering quality specifications, certifications, liability allocation, and recall obligations — is your primary protection against the product liability, compliance, and financial risks that flow from the product category you have chosen to sell.
The legal framework for selling on Amazon Australia is not especially complex for a compliant business. The key points: apply for an ABN if you are carrying on a business; register for GST within 21 days of your GST turnover reaching $75,000; comply with consumer guarantees and the prohibition on misleading conduct under the ACL, which cannot be contracted out of; check whether your products are subject to mandatory safety standards before you list; register your trade mark early if you are building a private label; understand your Privacy Act and Spam Act obligations if you are marketing off-platform; and get the core contracts in place before, not after, problems arise.