Two things can shape the real margin of an Australian Shopify store more than the headline price. One is GST, which sits inside a GST-inclusive price. The other is shipping, which a free shipping offer quietly moves from the customer's side of the order to yours. Both are easy to miss in a revenue report and both are simple to measure once you look.
This guide covers the GST arithmetic, puts a number on free shipping with a worked example, notes the low value import rules, and then explains the Founding 10,000 offer of 12 months of ORVX Core, free, for eligible Shopify stores.
Every example and amount on this page is illustrative. It shows the method and is not a benchmark, a quote or advice.
GST: the one-eleventh rule
GST is a tax of 10% on most goods, services and other items sold or consumed in Australia. The GST registration threshold is set on turnover: a business has to register once its GST turnover is $75,000 or more, and must do so within 21 days of knowing it will go over the threshold (Source: business.gov.au (Australian Government)).
Because GST is 10% added to the net price, the GST inside a GST-inclusive price is one-eleventh of it. Registered businesses collect that portion for the tax office; the other ten-elevenths is revenue. A store that reads revenue from the GST-inclusive total overstates it by a tenth (Source: business.gov.au (Australian Government)).
GST on low value imported goods
Low value imported goods are goods with a customs value of A$1,000 or less. GST applies to most retail sales of these goods to Australian consumers. If you compete with overseas sellers, they are generally charging GST too; if you import stock yourself, your landed cost should include whatever duty and tax you pay at the border, taken from your own import paperwork.
Worked example: what free shipping really costs
As an illustration only, suppose a registered store sells a basket at A$88 including GST. The GST is A$88 / 11 = A$8, so net revenue is A$80. The products cost A$30, the carrier charges the store A$12.50 to send the parcel, card fees are 1.75% of the total charged plus A$0.30, and the ad cost per order is A$15.
Compare two policies. In the first, the customer pays A$11 for shipping, including A$1 of GST. In the second, the store offers free shipping on this basket.
| Line | Customer pays shipping | Free shipping |
|---|---|---|
| Total charged, including GST | A$99.00 | A$88.00 |
| GST (one-eleventh) | -A$9.00 | -A$8.00 |
| Net revenue | A$90.00 | A$80.00 |
| Product cost | -A$30.00 | -A$30.00 |
| Carrier cost | -A$12.50 | -A$12.50 |
| Card fees | -A$2.03 | -A$1.84 |
| Ad cost per order | -A$15.00 | -A$15.00 |
| Profit per order | A$30.47 | A$20.66 |
In this example free shipping costs the store A$9.81 per order: the A$10 of net shipping revenue it gives up, less A$0.19 of card fees it no longer pays. That is about a third of the order's profit. Free shipping can still be worth it if it lifts conversion or basket size enough, but the decision should be made with this number in front of you, not with the A$88 headline.
The same table shows what a free shipping threshold has to do: it asks customers to add enough to cover the shipping the store absorbs. The Profit Margin Calculator runs this check for any basket. Enter the net price, without GST.
What Australian stores should check
- Make sure revenue in your reports is net of GST.
- Measure shipping revenue and carrier cost separately, by order, so the true cost of free shipping is visible.
- Recalculate your break-even ROAS with shipping included. The Break-Even ROAS Calculator has a shipping field for this.
- If you are under the registration threshold, track your GST turnover monthly so you can register in time.
- Check that product pages state shipping clearly. The Landing Page Conversion Auditor flags pages with no shipping or returns information.
GST has rules for particular goods and situations that are outside this article. Use the tax office's guidance and your accountant for your own business.
About the Founding 10,000
Numbers like the cost of free shipping are what ORVX Core is built to show, order by order, without a spreadsheet. The Founding 10,000, ORVX's $1.9M Commerce Initiative, makes Core free for a year to eligible Shopify stores: 12 months at $0, and no credit card. It is capped at 10,000 stores in total, allocated in the order they activate, with Australian stores in the same queue as everyone else.
Behind the name is simple multiplication: 10,000 stores x $190 standard annual Core price = $1,900,000. It is the top value of what is on offer if every place is taken at the standard price. It is not cash, funding, a grant or revenue, and it is not handed out.
Once the free year is over, keeping Core means approving the standard price yourself: $19 per month or $190 per year, charged in US dollars. The Intelligence plan is outside the offer and keeps its price of $39 per month or $390 per year. The initiative is ORVX's alone, with no government program or Shopify funding behind it.
What Core gives an Australian store
- Profit you can trace: for each order, product and collection, from sales and product costs to gross profit, expenses and the net result.
- A live copy of your Shopify orders, products, refunds and fulfilment.
- Date-range reports in Australian dollars and your local time zone, when those are your store's settings.
- Customer records showing what each buyer has ordered and is worth.
- Stock levels, and the money sitting in them.
- Meta and Google spend inside net profit, beside MER and AOV.
- Connections that read and never write, and alerts for figures worth checking.
Ask ORVX, NOVA's recommendations and forecasting belong to Intelligence, not Core, and BAS lodgement stays with you.
Claiming your place
Install ORVX through the Shopify App Store, or connect the store to an account at orvx.ai. ORVX then checks three things: that the store is trading, that it has never had a Founding place, and that places remain. Development and test stores are not eligible, and an existing paid plan is left exactly as it is. When you activate Core, the year starts; the app shows the end date immediately and reminds you a month, a week and a day before. Nothing is billed when it ends unless you choose it.
The live count of open places, and the full terms, are on the Founding 10,000 page. Regular plans are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Can Australian stores take part in the Founding 10,000?
Yes. Eligible Shopify stores in Australia can claim a place from the same 10,000 places that stores in every other country share.
Will my reports be in Australian dollars?
Yes. ORVX reports use your store's currency and time zone. Only ORVX's own subscription price after the free year is in US dollars.
Does ORVX lodge my BAS or handle GST?
No. ORVX reports on the data in your store. GST registration and lodgement stay with you and your accountant.
Is a credit card needed?
No. Activating Founding Core needs no card and no checkout. Nothing is charged during the 12 months.
Is this an Australian government or Shopify initiative?
No. It is ORVX's own offer. It is not a government program and Shopify does not fund it.
What is the $1.9M?
It is 10,000 stores x the $190 standard annual Core price: the maximum value of the subscriptions offered. It is not money paid to stores.
Sources
- The $1.9M Commerce Initiative: terms and FAQ (ORVX, checked 26 October 2026)
- Register for goods and services tax (GST) (business.gov.au (Australian Government), checked 26 October 2026)
- International tax (business.gov.au (Australian Government), checked 2 November 2026)
General information only: tax, duty and import rules change and depend on your situation, so check with an accountant or the official source before acting.