The main terms at an Australian company come from the regulator, and the broker can’t change them. Most private traders fall into the standard category of retail client, where leverage on major currency pairs is at most 30:1. Leverage lets you open a trade bigger than the money you put down. This cap stems from a product intervention order issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (product intervention order). That kind of order uses the regulator’s power to limit or ban a financial product. The companies differ in what else they publish, and the tables show that.
Key points
- ASIC’s order binds companies licensed in Australia, so every Australian company here offers 30:1 on major currency pairs to retail clients (product intervention order). The leverage column is the same for all of them, so it doesn’t separate one from another.
- Negative balance protection keeps your balance from dropping below zero. The protection stops your account from leaving you owing the firm. This protection is a retail right at all four companies here. ASIC’s order makes it compulsory for every retail client of a company licensed in Australia (product intervention order).
- Funding, platforms and crypto deposits here are each Australian company’s own, so Eightcap takes no crypto deposits here, even though its global company does. PayID and BPAY are the local rails brokers name (payment rails).
- Leverage magnifies both a loss and a gain from the same price movement (leverage and margin).
Leverage at the Australian company
Leverage for a retail client at any Australian company is capped at 30:1 on major currency pairs by the regulator’s order, and it’s lower on other assets (product intervention order). The bigger figures advertised for these brands belong to their companies outside Australia, and the hub explains why none of them appears on this site. Where these Australian companies differ is whether each one tells you how its leverage will work before you make a deposit (maximum leverage).
Key NP not published by the provider
| Provider | Highest retail leverage | Tier table | Tiers apply across | Notice before a change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 CMC Markets | 30:1 | Published, with figures | Each position | Three business days where possible |
 Eightcap | 30:1 | No exposure tiers | NP | None promised |
 IG | 30:1 | Published, with figures | Each instrument | None promised |
 Pepperstone | 30:1 | Applied, not published | The whole account | None promised |
These figures come straight from each broker’s published information, with no check date noted. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Platforms
Most brokers give you the most popular trading platforms, including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingView. You can check them easily because each broker lists its platforms plainly (trading platforms, MetaTrader 4 and 5).
Key NP not published by the provider
| Provider | MT4 | MT5 | TradingView |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMC Markets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Eightcap | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IG | Yes | NP | Yes |
| Pepperstone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
These figures come straight from each broker’s published information, with no check date noted. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Local payment rails
Local payment rails are the systems people in Australia normally use to pay online, such as PayID for instant transfers and BPAY for paying a biller from online banking. The payment rails page defines the list, and this table shows which brokers name each rail on their own pages. "Not named" means the broker’s pages don’t mention the rail, and that isn’t the same as refusing it.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Rail | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayID | Yes | NP | Yes | Yes |
| BPAY | Not named | Yes | Yes | Yes |
These figures were checked between 27 September 2026 and 11 October 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Funding terms that do not change with the country
Some funding terms stay the same wherever a broker operates. This table covers card deposits, the minimum deposit, fees for paying in and taking out, withdrawal times and base currencies, each as the broker states it. Bank transfer, PayPal, Skrill and Neteller come from each broker’s own funding page. "Not named" means that page doesn’t mention the method, and that isn’t the same as a refusal. Because each broker can change these terms, including the minimum deposit, at its own discretion, always double-check the terms on the broker’s own website before you deposit.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Attribute | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card deposits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill | Not named | Yes | Not named | Yes |
| Neteller | Not named | Yes | Not named | Yes |
| Minimum deposit | None | $100 | A$100 by card, Apple Pay or PayPal, A$10 by BPAY | 10 in the account’s base currency |
| Deposit and withdrawal fees | No fee on debit or credit card deposits in AUD, USD or HKD, no charge for card withdrawals | No internal fees | Third-party fees on PayPal and credit card payments, A$15 for a same-day transfer | No deposit fees |
| Withdrawal time | Card about 3 to 5 business days, bank transfer near real-time | 1 to 5 business days depending on method, after a review of 1 to 2 business days | Card 3 to 5 working days, PayPal within 1 working day, bank transfer up to 3 working days | One to two business days by most methods, up to 7 by bank transfer |
| Base currencies | NP | AUD, USD, GBP, EUR, NZD, CAD, SGD | NP | USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, SGD, HKD |
These figures were checked between 27 September 2026 and 11 October 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
Crypto payments
Crypto deposits in this table are each Australian company’s own. A group can take them at its global company and turn them down at its Australian one, as Eightcap does. That’s why this table can differ from the one on the hub (offshore brokers). NP means the Australian company’s pages don’t say, or don’t name the coin.
Key NP not published by the provider
| Coin and network | CMC Markets | Eightcap | IG | Pepperstone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crypto deposits | NP | No | No | Yes |
These figures were checked between 10 September 2026 and 29 September 2026. Confirm them with the broker before you open an account.
What this comparison cannot tell you
A comparison like this one can’t tell you how well a broker fills your orders, because the reports that once let you check execution quality no longer exist. Brokers publish loss rates drawn from their own clients, and nobody audits them. None of the figures here predicts how you’ll do: each is a fact about what a broker discloses, how it’s set up or what it offers (choosing a provider).
Whether a group’s global company would sign you up instead depends on that company’s own terms. The offshore brokers page records what each company says. If a global company does take you on, its own leverage and protections apply, not those of ASIC’s order.
Australian broker questions people ask
Most Australian broker questions seek a single winner. The answers below say what the tables on this page show and name no winner.
Which is the best CFD broker in Australia?
No single CFD or forex broker in Australia gets named as the best on this site, because the comparison doesn’t rank brokers. The regulator’s product intervention order caps major currency pairs at 30:1 for every retail client of a company licensed in Australia, so leverage doesn’t separate them (product intervention order). The tables let you compare whether each company publishes its leverage tiers, which platforms it offers, whether it names PayID or BPAY and how long a withdrawal takes.
CMC Markets and IG publish a tier table with figures, while Pepperstone is the only company here that names crypto deposits. Each point is a fact from one table, and neither is a verdict. The checks that matter more than any single column are on the choosing a provider page.
Which Australian broker has the lowest spreads?
Spreads aren’t listed here, so this page can’t tell you which Australian broker offers the lowest one. The spread is the gap between the buy and sell price, and brokers often adjust theirs. Each broker’s profile page states whether the broker publishes an average spread, explains how that average was calculated and, where given, gives the spread for every main forex pair.
The profiles are CMC Markets, Eightcap, IG and Pepperstone. Some account types add a commission to the spread, so add the commission and the spread together before you compare (costs and fees).
Which Australian brokers are regulated by ASIC?
All the brokers in the tables on this page are listed under the company in its group that has an Australian financial services licence from ASIC: CMC Markets, Eightcap, IG and Pepperstone. The licence belongs to the company and not to the brand. Look up the name in your contract on the regulator’s register (how to check a licence).
Which Australian brokers offer MT4, MT5 or TradingView?
IG’s Australian company offers MT4 and TradingView. Its pages don’t say whether it offers MT5 (MetaTrader 4 and 5). The Australian companies of CMC Markets, Eightcap and Pepperstone all offer MT4, MT5 and TradingView.
Risk warning
Choosing carefully does not make the product safe
Worked arithmetic: the numbers follow from the formula given in this section.
Picking a broker with care lowers the chance you’ll be cheated. It doesn’t lower the risk that comes with the product itself. With an Australian company’s 30:1 cap, the margin, the deposit that keeps your trade open, is about 3.3 % of the trade’s size. A price move against you of a little over 3 % wipes it out. Over time, most retail accounts at licensed firms lose money (is trading safe).
Before you open any account, read the risk disclosure. The how to check a licence steps show you how to look a firm up on the regulator’s register.
Sources
The original documents this page cites, in the order they first appear.