Costs

Australian Shares

Trade Execution Minimum Above Minimum (flat)
Share trades Internet Preferred1 $19.95 up to $10,000 transaction value $29.95 (up to $25,000)
0.12% (above $25,000)
Share trades over the Internet $29.95 up to $10,000 transaction value 0.31% (above $10,000)
Share trades over the phone including CommSec and Colonial Margin Lending trades $59.95 up to $10,000 transaction value 0.52% (up to $25,000)
0.49% (up to $1m)
0.11% (above $1m)
Phone Trader $29.95 up to $10,000 transaction value 0.31% (above $10,000)
Trades requiring settlement through a third party $99.95 up to $15,000 transaction value 0.66% (above $15,000)
One-off trades $66.00 up to $10,000 transaction value 0.66% (above $10,000)
Deceased estates $81.90 up to $15,000 transaction value 0.54% (above $15,000)

1 To be eligible for Internet Preferred trading, you must be CHESS sponsored by CommSec and settle your trades through a CommSec Cash Account, CDIA or a CommSec or Colonial Margin Loan.

Share Packs

CommSec Share Packs over the internet $66 per pack of 6 shares
CommSec Share Packs over the telephone $181.50 per pack of 6 shares

International Shares

Leading global exchanges
Region Markets Brokerage*
North America

New York Stock Exchange
NASDAQ
American Stock Exchange

Includes equities, foreign denominated bonds, managed funds and Options

USD$71.50 or 0.825%, whichever is greater 1

Additional brokerage of USD$1.20 per contract applies to US Option trades.

Canada Additional fee of CAD$0.0165 per share
Asia Japan  
Hong Kong  
United Kingdom 2 London Stock Exchange  
Other markets
Region Markets Brokerage*
Asia-Pacific Indonesia USD$143.00 or 1.10%, whichever is greater1
New Zealand
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Europe and
Middle East
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey

*All of the above brokerage rates and fees include GST.

1 For all limit and market orders which are not fully executed in the same trading day, normal brokerage will be charged for the total portion executed per day. Brokerage charges may be converted and applied in the local currency. This may result in variances in the US dollar equivalent brokerage being applied.

2 A stamp duty of 50 basis points may apply to buy trades executed on the London Stock Exchange. The provision of services in all markets is subject to prior approval by CommSec. The available markets may be varied at any time without notice.

Brokerage - Please note effective 1st March 2009

Confirmation Notes

For Australian GST purposes only the Confirmations issued with Commonwealth Securities Ltd (CommSec) letterhead must be interpreted as follows:

(a) The word "CONFIRMATION" printed in upper case at the top of the Confirmation is to be read as stating the words "TAX INVOICE" (herein referred to as "Tax Invoice")

(b) The total of the following items that appear on the Tax Invoice includes GST:

  1. "Interest"
  2. "Commission Comm Equiv"
  3. "Service Charge"
  4. "Trans. Fee"

(c) To calculate the total GST payable, add up all of the amounts shown on your Confirmation listed in (b) above and divide by 11

(d) The "Principal" amount shown on the Confirmation does not include GST and should not be included in the GST calculation detailed in paragraph (c)

(e) GST included in the fees and charges listed in (b) above and shown on the Confirmation are to be calculated in Australian Dollars at the exchange rate published by the RBA at 4pm Australian Eastern Standard Time on the business day prior to the settlement date


Fees*

Exchange fees and other regulatory fees also apply. Exchange fees may be different for each exchange you trade on.

Custody fee for inactive accounts 1 USD$75.00 per year
Outgoing account transfers to either another
custodian or direct registration to client.
USD$110.00 per transfer
Foreign Securities Custody Fee USD$2.20 per non-US holding of security per month, per account
Posted trade confirmation fee USD$2.00 per trade confirmation

*All of the above fees include GST.

1 Custody fees are assessed to accounts defined as inactive; that is, accounts holding a security position for a calendar year (1 January to 31 December) without generating a trade, or margin interest of USD$100 or more. Systematic reinvestment activity in mutual funds and/or exchange activity in mutual funds will be considered as a trade. However dividend reinvestment activity is not considered as a trade.

ASX Contracts for Difference (ASX CFDs)

ASX Australian Equity and Index CFDs
  Currency Minimum Percentage
Internet trades AUD 14.95 0.11
Telephone trades AUD 54.60 0.22
Internet trades AUD/S&P/ASX200 14.95 0.055
Telephone trades AUD/S&P/ASX200 54.60 0.11
ASX Index CFDs
  Index Currency Percentage
Internet trades Dow Jones Industrial Average USD 0.055
NASDAQ USD 0.055
FTSE UK GBP 0.055
DAX EUR 0.055
DJ Euro Stoxx EUR 0.055
Telephone trades Dow Jones Industrial Average USD 0.11
NASDAQ USD 0.11
FTSE UK GBP 0.11
DAX EUR 0.11
DJ Euro Stoxx EUR 0.11
ASX Commodity CFDs
  Commodities Currency Percentage
Internet trades Gold USD 0.055
Oil USD 0.055
Telephone trades Gold USD 0.11
Oil USD 0.11
ASX FX CFDs
  Currency pair Currency Percentage
Internet trades AUD/USD USD 0.055
AUD/NZD NZD 0.055
AUD/EUR EUR 0.055
NZD/JPY JPY 0.055
AUD/JPY JPY 0.055
EUR/USD USD 0.055
USD/JPY JPY 0.055
NZD/USD USD 0.055
Telephone trades AUD/USD USD 0.11
AUD/NZD NZD 0.11
AUD/EUR EUR 0.11
NZD/JPY JPY 0.11
AUD/JPY JPY 0.11
EUR/USD USD 0.11
USD/JPY JPY 0.11
NZD/USD USD 0.11
Volume discounts are available on request

Over-the-Counter Contracts for Difference (OTC CFDs)

AUD-denominated trades
Brokerage payable on opening and on closing an OTC CFD Example
Non-advised
Internet trades 0.125% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of AUD14.95. Where the Closing Value is AUD100,000 when you close your OTC CFD position, the brokerage payable on close will be AUD125.00.
Telephone trades 0.25% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of AUD54.60. Where you enter into an OTC CFD with an Open Contract Value of AUD 100,000, the brokerage payable when you enter into the OTC CFD will be AUD250.00.
Advised
  Not more than 0.35% of the Contract Value, subject to a minimum of AUD70. You agree with your advisor that the brokerage rate on your OTC CFD account will be 0.25% and you enter into an OTC CFD with an Open Contract Value of AUD100,000. The brokerage payable when you enter will be AUD250.00.
Non-AUD trades
Brokerage payable on opening and on closing an OTC CFD
Non-advised Internet Phone
Japan 0.14% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of JPY1500. 0.25% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of JPY3000.
Singapore 0.14% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of SGD19.95. 0.25% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of SGD39.90.
New Zealand 0.185% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of NZD19.95 0.25% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of NZD39.90.
Hong Kong 0.25% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of HKD90.00. 0.30% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of HKD120.00.
New markets

For new international markets that CommSec makes available, the rate at which brokerage is charged will be advised to you at the time of trading but will not be more than:

  • Internet trades: 1.00% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of USD100.00.
  • Telephone trades: 1.50% of the Contract Value of the OTC CFD, subject to a minimum of USD100.00.
Advised
  Not more than 2.00% of the Contract Value, subject to a minimum of USD100.00. Some international markets have trading charges. CommSec will pay local market trading charges on your behalf where they are applicable.
Volume discounts are available on request

International Markets

For international markets that you nominate to receive data on the following charges (including GST) will be incurred in the nominated currency, but charged against your account in AUD equivalent. These fees are payable even if you do not log on to the electronic trading platform during the month.

Exchange fees
Country Exchange Exchange fees Currency Period
Japan – Tokyo TSE 2310 JPY per month
Japan – Osaka OSE 1155 JPY per month
Hong Kong HKSE 231 HKD per month
Singapore SGSE 51.98 SGD per month
New Zealand NZX Access Fee 27.50 AUD per month
New Zealand NZX 82.50 NZD per month
Reuters charges
Number of exchanges Market data cost Currency Period
1-2 11.00 USD per month
3-5 16.50 USD per month
6-10 22.00 USD per month
Trading Platform
Software fee A royalty and software fee charged for clients who use our trading platform at a maximum of AUD$40.70 per month (inc. GST).
Platform data fee An ASX royalty fee charged at 2.53 cents per minute between 9.30 am and 5.00 pm on weekdays, up to a maximum of AUD$41.25 per month (inc. GST) for live ASX equity prices.

1 Only the software fee is charged if eight or more confirmations are generated for the month. No software fee or data fee is charged if 16 or more contracts are generated for the month. No fees are payable if you elect not to log on to the trading platform during the month.

Interest
Debit account balances You pay interest at the RBA Base Rate plus 3% pa
Credit account balances You receive interest at the RBA Base Rate minus 3% pa
Open long positions You pay interest at the RBA Base Rate plus 3% pa
Open short positions You receive interest at the RBA Base Rate 3% pa

Conditional Trading

Trade Execution Minimum Above Minimum (flat)
'Up front' Conditional Orders1 $9.95 up to $40,000 transaction value 0.099% (above $40,000)
'On execution' Conditional Orders1 $14.95 up to $40,000 transaction value 0.12% (above $40,000)

Upfront Conditional Orders will not be available to clients on the upgraded CommSec website.

Short Selling

Fee Amount When charged
Day Short Sell fee Trades up to $25,000: $9.95
Trades more than $25,000: 0.04%
Added to standard brokerage
Term Short Sell fee Trades up to $25,000: $14.95 Added to standard brokerage on partial execution of Term Short Open or CommSec-generated close
Trades more than $25,000 (minimum): 0.06% Added to standard brokerage on execution of Term Short Open or CommSec-generated close
Fail fee $54 per day or 0.1%, whichever is greater Charged for executed Open and Close orders that do not balance
Late settlement fee $54 per day Charged if the executed Open and Close orders do not settle on T+3
Dishonour fee $30 Charged if a cheque is dishonoured or a direct debit is rejected
Margin lending Transaction fee $10 Charged for each security transaction or withdrawal from loan account

Exchange Traded Options

Trade Execution Minimum Above Minimum (flat)
Exchange traded options1 over the phone (also charged upon exercise or assignment of the option) $54.60 up to $10,000 in premium 0.54% (above $10,000)
Exchange traded options1 over the Internet (also charged upon exercise or assignment of the option) $34.95 up to $10,000 in premium 0.35% (above $10,000)

1There is also an ASX Clear fee of $0.13 (GST exclusive) per share option contract (open or close) and $0.05 (GST exclusive) per share option contract (exercise and assignment). There is a fee of $0.35 (GST exclusive) per index option (open, close, exercise and assignment). These prices have been set out on a GST exclusive basis as the total GST may be rounded in accordance with the GST law.

Why choose CommSec?
  • Trade from $19.95 (conditions apply)
  • Benefit from free online research
  • 24 hour a day online or phone trading
  • Follow your favourite stocks
  • Access floats and new issues
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Share Packs

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Margin Lending
Borrowing to invest, or gearing, gives you a wider range of investment opportunities.