Dropshipping adds import GST complexity most standard guides skip. Here’s how the A$75,000 threshold and Australia’s low value goods rules interact.
Last updated: June 2026
Dropshipping doesn’t get a special GST threshold — you register once your GST turnover exceeds A$75,000 in any rolling 12-month period, exactly like any other retail business. Your GST turnover is based on the price your customer pays you, not your profit margin. A dropshipper selling A$100,000 of goods at a 20% margin has A$100,000 of GST turnover, not A$20,000.
Since July 2018, Australia requires GST to be collected at the point of sale on imported goods valued at A$1,000 or less sold to Australian consumers, rather than at the border like higher-value imports. If you’re an Australian-based dropshipper selling goods that ship directly from an overseas supplier to your Australian customer, and the consignment is A$1,000 or less, you are generally responsible for registering and charging GST as the supplier — the same A$75,000 threshold applies to determine if you must register.
For goods over A$1,000, normal import GST rules apply at the border instead, typically collected by the customs broker or courier before release to the customer.
If you sell through a marketplace that meets the ATO’s definition of an "electronic distribution platform" for low value imported goods, the platform itself may be treated as the supplier responsible for GST, rather than you — this shifts the compliance burden but doesn’t change whether GST is ultimately charged to the customer. Check whether your specific selling channel qualifies as such a platform.
The sale price — the full amount your customer pays. Your margin is irrelevant to the A$75,000 GST registration threshold, which is based on turnover, not profit.
Generally yes, if the consignment is A$1,000 or less and you’re the supplier responsible under the low value imported goods rules, once you’re GST-registered.
These follow standard import GST rules applied at the border, typically collected by the courier or customs broker before the parcel reaches the customer, rather than being charged by you at point of sale.
Generally no, if you’re simply purchasing from a foreign supplier and reselling — you’re their customer, not conducting a taxable activity in their jurisdiction.
Yes, if it meets the ATO’s definition of an electronic distribution platform for low value imported goods, in which case it may be the one responsible for charging and remitting GST rather than you.
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