Some products cost more in Australia than the exact same product in the United States — a little more for some, a lot more for others. That gap is nicknamed the “Australia Tax”. This page tracks it honestly, using our own verified Australian street prices and the brands’ official US store prices, converted the way an Australian shopper would actually experience them.
We publish the numbers whichever way they fall. Plenty of products are fairly priced here, and some work out cheaper in Australia once you convert properly and add the GST that isn’t included in US shelf prices. Those get an “Australia wins” badge, not a tax.
Every figure below shows its workings: the US price with a link to the brand’s US store page, the exchange rate we used (a real retail card rate, never the interbank rate you see quoted on Google), the retailer we checked the Australian price at, and the date we checked it.
How we calculate
- Australian price: our own verified street price — the Price Checked figure for each launch, taken from named Australian retailers on the date shown in the table. We never compare a US store price against an Australian RRP; street price versus store price is the fair fight.
- US price: the brand’s official US online store price for the same model, linked in the table. No marketplace listings, no rumoured prices.
- GST: US prices exclude sales tax; Australian shelf prices include 10% GST. To compare like with like, we convert the US price to Australian dollars and then add 10% GST. Skip that step — as most “Australia Tax” headlines do — and the gap looks roughly 10% bigger than it really is.
- Exchange rate: we use a published retail card rate — the kind of rate a card scheme actually converts at — not the interbank or mid-market rate. The exact rate, its source and its date are printed above the table. If you imported the product yourself, your bank would typically add a 2–3% foreign transaction fee on top, which would narrow the real-world gap slightly; we leave that fee out of the headline percentage and tell you about it here instead of burying it in the maths.
- Like-for-like only: same model, same variant, same specs. If the version sold overseas differs materially from the Australian one, we leave the product off this page rather than force a comparison.
- Warranty and consumer law: Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply when you buy from an Australian seller. Products bought from overseas stores (parallel imports) may not come with local manufacturer support or an Australian warranty, and your consumer-law rights run against the overseas seller. A small gap is rarely worth giving that up — which is why we show the tax as a plain percentage and let you judge.
Current comparisons
Rate used: 1 USD = A$1.4349 (retail card rate — Visa card exchange rate (AUD: US$0.6969 per A$1), 21 Oct 2026) · rate source · Note: this rate is more than 7 days old, so treat the figures below as indicative until we refresh it.
| Product | US store price | US price in A$ (incl. GST) | AU street price | Australia Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mova V70 Ultra Complete Australia: $3,299 Price & Verdict Same model and spec in both markets (42,000Pa suction, bagless dock). Price as listed on Mova's official US store. | US$1,159.00 | $1,829 | $3,299 at Harvey Norman, Mova AU store — checked 20 Oct 2026 | Australia Tax: +80% |
| Sony WF-1000XM6 Australia: $499.95 Price, Release Date & Verdict Same model WF-1000XM6 in both markets. | US$329.99 | $521 | $448 at The Good Guys — checked 7 Oct 2026 | Australia wins: 14% cheaper |
Spotted a price that has moved, or a product sold both here and in the US that we should track? Each launch page carries a member “Report price changed” link — flag it and we will re-check the numbers.