EZOZHow to set up and run shipping on an Australian Shopify store: how rates work, which plan you need for live Australia Post rates, MyPost Business versus eParcel, the daily label routine, international parcels and returns, with a setup checklist at the end.
How shipping works in Shopify
Every shipping option your customer sees at checkout comes from your Shopify shipping settings, and its price comes from one of two places:
- Rates you set yourself: free shipping, a flat rate, or a rate that steps up with the order's weight or price. Shopify applies your rules and no carrier is asked.
- Calculated rates: a carrier or an app works out a price for each cart, live, at checkout. Shopify calls these "carrier or app calculated" rates (you'll also see "third-party carrier-calculated shipping").
Shipping zones, and the move to Markets
On the older setup, rates live in Settings > Shipping and delivery, grouped into shipping zones: for example, one zone for Australia and one for overseas. Calculated rates for local customers go inside a zone that includes Australia.
Shopify is moving shipping settings into Markets, which it calls shipping options by market (or market-driven shipping). On a store that has moved, you manage rates inside each market, such as an Australia market and an international market. Calculated rates are added under Markets > (your market) > Shipping > Add shipping option > Carrier or app calculated.
Product weights drive the price
Weight-based and calculated rates both rely on the weights saved on your products. A product with no weight is treated as weighing nothing, so a cart full of them is quoted too little postage and you pay the difference. Before you set up any weight-driven rate, find the products with no weight and fill them in.
Rate types and when each one fits
The right mix depends on how similar your products are in size and weight, where your customers are, and how much postage you're willing to absorb.
| Rate type | How it works | Fits when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free shipping | You pay the postage, often only above an order value. | Your margins can absorb postage, or you want a simple offer. | Heavy or bulky orders cost you the most. |
| Flat rate | One price per option, whatever is in the cart. | Your products are similar in size and weight, or most go in prepaid satchels. | Large orders undercharge and small orders overcharge. |
| By weight | The price steps up in weight brackets you define. | Your range covers both light and heavy items. | Needs accurate product weights. |
| By order price | The price steps with the order value. | You want free shipping over a threshold and a fee below it. | Ignores weight, so a cheap heavy item can cost more to post than you charge. |
| Calculated (live) | A carrier or app quotes each cart at checkout. | Your sizes, weights and destinations vary a lot. | Needs a qualifying Shopify plan and accurate weights. |
With rates you set yourself, the risk is the gap between what you charge and what you pay. Work out your real postage cost across a typical week of orders before you pick a number, base each weight bracket on its heavy end, and revisit your rates when your carrier's prices change. Calculated rates follow your real costs more closely, which matters most when your parcels vary in size or go all over the country.
The plan you need for live rates
An app's live rates at checkout aren't available on every Shopify plan. As of October 2026, Shopify's developer documentation says the store must be on one of these:
- the Advanced plan or higher (Advanced, Plus); or
- the Grow plan (formerly called the "Shopify" plan) with yearly billing, or with the feature added for a monthly fee, which you ask Shopify Support about.
It's not available on Basic or Starter. Development stores that aren't on Basic can use it. If a store changes plan and no longer qualifies, the app's checkout rates are switched off, so check before you downgrade or change your billing.
Which Shopify plan are you on?
With a live rate, the customer can pay your carrier price plus a markup for packing and handling. As an example only: say your contract price for a parcel is $9.20 and you add 10% plus $1.00, so the customer sees $11.12. EZOZ, the app behind this site, works this way for Australia Post eParcel: it quotes Parcel Post, Express Post (with or without signature) and international services from your own contract, adds your markup as a percentage, a fixed amount or both, and keeps quoting from a price table, marked "estimated", if Australia Post is slow to answer. The full setup is in our guide to showing live Australia Post rates at Shopify checkout.
On Basic you can still get close by building weight-based rates from what Australia Post actually charges you. Our guide to saving on shipping with Shopify in Australia has more ways to close the gap.
Choosing a carrier in Australia
Many Australian stores already ship with Australia Post, and it's the focus of this guide. Other carriers operating in Australia include StarTrack, Sendle, CouriersPlease, Aramex and DHL. Compare them on quotes for your usual parcels, and check how each one connects to Shopify before you commit.
MyPost Business or eParcel Contract
If you send with Australia Post as a business, you'll usually be on one of two accounts.
| MyPost Business | eParcel Contract | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Smaller senders | Businesses sending more than 2,000 domestic parcels a year (Australia Post's guidance) |
| Cost to join and minimum volume | Free, with no minimum volume | A contract account, aimed at senders above the 2,000-parcel line |
| Pricing | Discounts in savings bands based on what you spend | Negotiated rates, reviewed periodically |
| How you get it | Open a free account | Apply through Australia Post or your account manager; needs approval |
| Connecting your software | Check with the app you plan to use | Australia Post's Shipping and Tracking API: an API key and password from the Australia Post Developer Centre, plus your eParcel account number |
The 2,000-parcel line works out to roughly 40 parcels a week. If you're near it or growing towards it, ask Australia Post about eParcel, and keep a record of your volumes for when your rates are reviewed.
Our guide to shipping with Australia Post eParcel on Shopify walks through applying, getting your API credentials and connecting them to your store.
Prepaid satchels
Prepaid satchels are bought ahead in set sizes and cost the same to send anywhere in Australia. They take items up to 5 kg that fit in the satchel, and each one carries its own tracking barcode.
Because the price doesn't change with distance, satchels pair naturally with a flat rate at checkout. Anything over 5 kg, or too big for the satchel, has to go as a regular parcel, so you may end up using both. Our comparison of prepaid satchels vs eParcel helps you decide which orders go which way.
The daily routine: labels, printing, manifests and tracking
Once your rates are live, the daily routine looks much the same whichever tools you use:
- Check weight and box size, especially for orders with several items.
- Create the label. One per parcel; a large order may need more than one parcel.
- Print it on A4 sheets or a thermal label printer.
- Lodge a manifest. At the end of the day, a manifest lodges all the labelled parcels with Australia Post (in Australia Post's API it's called an "order"). You print its summary for the driver or the counter.
- Fulfil the order with its tracking number. That lets Shopify send the customer its shipping confirmation email with the tracking link.
The order lands in To label with the service the customer paid for, its weight and its box size.
A4 or thermal printing
A4 works with the printer you already have, so it's the cheapest way to start. A thermal label printer is an extra purchase, but it prints one label at a time straight onto self-adhesive labels, which is quicker when you're packing a lot of orders.
Tracking emails
Let Shopify send the tracking link: fulfil each order with its tracking number. If you create labels outside Shopify, copy each tracking number back into the order when you fulfil it. Prepaid satchels work the same way, with the satchel's tracking barcode as the tracking number.
If you're on eParcel, EZOZ keeps this routine inside the Shopify admin. You check the weight and box size, press Label (or select all and label in bulk), and print on A4, four labels to a page, or on a thermal printer. Each order is fulfilled with its tracking number, the day's manifest is one click, and orders going to the same address can be merged into one parcel. If you're comparing tools, our guide to choosing the best shipping app for Shopify in Australia lists what to check.
Signature on delivery or Authority to Leave
On eParcel, Parcel Post and Express Post can each be sent with or without signature on delivery. Without a signature, the parcel can be left safely under Authority to Leave.
- Authority to Leave is the convenient choice for the customer, because nobody needs to be home. It suits everyday, lower-value orders.
- Signature on delivery gives you a record that someone received the parcel, which matters most on expensive orders. The trade-off is that someone has to be there to sign.
A sensible middle path is Authority to Leave by default and a signature above an order value you choose. How signature is priced depends on your account, so check your contract or ask Australia Post before you decide where the line sits. EZOZ can apply this rule for you, requiring a signature automatically on orders above the value you set.
International shipping from Australia
Selling overseas adds a market (or a shipping zone) for the countries you'll send to, and some paperwork for every parcel. Overseas postage depends heavily on destination and weight, so flat rates are harder to get right than at home. If you use flat or weight-based rates, set them per region and test them against the heaviest orders you're likely to see.
Customs details
Each item in an international parcel needs:
- a customs description that says plainly what the item is (not a marketing name);
- its HS tariff code, the code that classifies that type of goods;
- its country of origin, where it was made.
Record these against each product once rather than typing them on every label.
Export declarations over A$2,000
If the goods in one consignment are worth more than A$2,000, you need to lodge an export declaration with the Australian Border Force before you send it. The declaration gives you an export declaration number (EDN), which goes on the consignment. Build this into your routine for large overseas orders: declaration first, then the label.
Returns
A clear returns policy saves you a lot of emails. Decide these points and publish them on your store:
- how long customers have to return something, and in what condition;
- who pays return postage: you, the customer, or you only for faulty items;
- how customers start a return, for example by email or a contact form.
On your Australia Post account you can create a return label and give it to the customer, so they don't have to work out postage or address the parcel themselves. Record the return in Shopify too, and if you pay for return postage, count it in your shipping margins.
Setup checklist
Here's how to set up shipping on Shopify in Australia, in order:
- Check your Shopify plan if you want live rates at checkout (see the plan list above).
- Fill in every product weight, starting with the products that have none.
- Find your shipping settings: under Markets, or under Settings > Shipping and delivery on the older setup.
- Choose your Australia Post account: MyPost Business, or apply for eParcel.
- On eParcel, get your API credentials: an API key and password from the Australia Post Developer Centre, plus your eParcel account number.
- Pick your domestic rate strategy: free over a threshold, flat, by weight, by order price, calculated, or a mix.
- Add the rates to your Australia zone or market. For live rates, use Add shipping option > Carrier or app calculated.
- Set your signature policy: Authority to Leave by default, signature above an order value you choose.
- Decide where prepaid satchels fit: which products go in them (up to 5 kg, if they fit) and which sizes to keep in stock.
- Set up international shipping: an international market or zone, an HS code and country of origin on each product, and a plan for consignments over A$2,000.
- Write your returns policy and decide how you'll get return labels to customers.
- Run a test order: check checkout rates for a few postcodes, create a label, fulfil the order and confirm the tracking email arrives.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify work with Australia Post?
Yes. You can set your own flat, weight-based or price-based rates from what Australia Post charges you, or show live Australia Post rates at checkout through an app connected to your account, on a plan that allows app-calculated rates. eParcel customers connect apps through Australia Post's Shipping and Tracking API.
Can I show Australia Post rates at checkout on the Basic plan?
Not as live rates from an app. As of October 2026, app-calculated checkout rates aren't available on Basic or Starter; you need Advanced or Plus, or Grow with yearly billing (or with the feature added for a monthly fee through Shopify Support). On Basic you can still use flat, weight-based or price-based rates built from your Australia Post costs.
What's the difference between MyPost Business and eParcel?
MyPost Business is free, has no minimum volume and gives discounts in savings bands based on what you spend, so it suits smaller senders. eParcel Contract is a contract account with negotiated rates that needs Australia Post's approval, and Australia Post says it's for businesses sending more than 2,000 domestic parcels a year.
Do I need a shipping app on Shopify in Australia?
Not always. At low volumes you can set rates in Shopify, create labels outside it and type the tracking numbers in when you fulfil each order. An app earns its place when you want live contract rates at checkout, or when copying orders and tracking numbers between systems eats into every day.
Can I use Australia Post prepaid satchels with Shopify?
Yes. A satchel costs the same to send anywhere in Australia, so a flat rate at checkout matches it well, and satchels take items up to 5 kg that fit inside. When you send one, fulfil the order with the satchel's tracking barcode so Shopify emails the customer the tracking link.