Best Forex Brokers in Australia with High Leverage
If you're an Australian trader seeking higher gearing across Forex, crypto and precious metals, you'll have to look beyond ASIC-regulated brokers. Here's your updated guide to the best high-leverage brokers that welcome Australian residents.
Brokers we recommend
- Min. deposit: $100
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView, cTrader, Copy trading
- Regulators: Australia, Cyprus (EU), Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Headquartered in Sydney and trusted by local traders for nearly two decades, FP Markets offers leverage up to 1:500 through its offshore entity. Fund in AUD via bank transfer, cards, or POLi, and trade on MT4, MT5, cTrader, or TradingView.
- Min. deposit: $50
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, Copy trading
- Regulators: Cook Islands
4XC, created by traders, provides flexible leverage up to 1:500 across 49+ currency pairs, plus metals and indices. Aussie clients can open USD accounts, deposit with local cards, and withdraw via crypto for same-day settlement. Its raw-spread option will appeal to scalpers.
- Min. deposit: $100
- Platforms: MT4, MT5, Copy trading
- Regulators: Australia, BVI, Cyprus (EU), Ireland, Israel, Japan, South Africa, UAE
AvaTrade's British Virgin Islands arm delivers up to 1:400 leverage. To qualify, select its offshore entity in the registration form when opening a trading account. You can also open and fund an account in AUD.
- Min. deposit: $0
- Platforms: MT4
- Regulators: Cyprus (EU), Union of Comoros
FXCC is an award-winning broker offering 1:500 leverage on MT4 from the Comoros. Australians can claim a 100 % deposit bonus (up to US$ 2,000) on their first deposit and enjoy free VPS hosting (terms apply).
Comparison table
We rate brokers across 5 categories and 18 criteria, following a standardised methodology. Here are our overall and category-specific ratings:
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.0 |
| Markets | 5.0 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Trading environment | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Deposits and withdrawals | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.4 |
| Investor protection | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 3.8 |
| Customer service | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 3.8 |
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forex (CFD) | ||||
| Cryptos (CFD)* | ||||
| Stocks (CFD) | ||||
| Indices (CFD) | ||||
| ETFs (CFD) | ||||
| Metals (CFD) | ||||
| Energy (CFD) | ||||
| Commodities (CFD) | ||||
| Bonds (CFD) |
* Availability is subject to local laws and regulations.
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MT4 | ||||
| MT5 | ||||
| Copy trading | ||||
| TradingView | ||||
| cTrader |
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | ||||
| Credit card | ||||
| Debit card | ||||
| NETELLER * | ||||
| Skrill * | ||||
| BTC (Bitcoin) | ||||
| USDT (Tether) | ||||
| Broker to broker transfer |
* Availability is subject to local laws and regulations.
| FP Markets | 4XC | AvaTrade | FXCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | ||||
| BVI | ||||
| Cook Islands | ||||
| Cyprus (EU) | ||||
| Ireland | ||||
| Israel | ||||
| Japan | ||||
| Kenya | ||||
| Mauritius | ||||
| South Africa | ||||
| St. Vincent & the Grenadines | ||||
| UAE | ||||
| Union of Comoros |
Investor protections in Australia
Australia's CFD market is tightly regulated by ASIC, which enforces:
- Leverage Limits: 1:30 on majors and 1:20 on other FX pairs, indices, and gold; 1:10 on commodities; 1:5 on shares; 1:2 on crypto since March 2021.
- Segregated Client Money Rules: Retail funds must be held in trust accounts at authorised banks, segregated from broker capital. This makes it less likely that you could lose money should your broker become insolvent or go bankrupt.
- Negative Balance Protection: Your account can't slip below zero even if you trade on leverage. In other words, you have the assurance that you'll never loose more money than you've invested.
- AFCA Dispute Resolution: The Australian Financial Complaints Authority offers free, independent mediation should problems arise.
Note that Australia doesn't yet offer a government-backed compensation scheme similar to the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Your protection comes from segregation and ASIC enforcement.
Why choose an offshore broker
ASIC's safeguards have driven thousands of Aussie traders offshore, in search of:
- Higher Leverage: FPMarkets.com and FXCC.com provide up to 1:500 leverage, and negative balance protection. Open larger positions with less margin, knowing that you'll never owe your broker more money than you've deposited.
- Lower Trading Fees: Offshore entities often feature raw spreads as low as 0 pips and commissions from just US$3 per lot because they face lighter regulatory overheads.
On the flip side, offshore brokers sit outside ASIC's reach, and you lose access to AFCA mediation. Vet each firm's reputation, and review their segregated-funds policy before depositing funds.
How to pick the right offshore broker
First, check where your preferred broker is regulated and how long it has held its licence for. You may be surprised to learn that some international brokers with offshore entities, like FP Markets and AvaTrade, are overseen by tier-1 regulators like ASIC or CySEC in their home markets. This should provide peace of mind, and the assurance that your funds are safe.
Next, compare pricing by adding spread and commissions together across the instruments you plan to trade. Raw accounts with ultra-tight spreads could ultimately cost more if the commission is high. Specifically, we recommend FP Markets' Raw Account with spreads from 0 pips and a low US$3 /lot commission per side.
Make sure that your preferred broker offers a platform you genuinely enjoy using - whether that's MT4 for its vast library of indicators, MT5 for its speed, cTrader for its depth-of-market tools, or TradingView for its community and charting tools.
Whenever possible, open a trading account in AUD with the likes of FPMarkets.com, AvaTrade.com or FxPro.com to avoid unnecessary currency conversion fees on deposits and withdrawals.
Last but not least, test customer service via live chat before funding your account. Fast, and genuinely helpful answers will make a difference to your experience.
Risk-management best practices
As leverage magnifies both profits and losses, it's advisable to use little to no leverage until you are confident in your skills. Keep exposure to 1–2 % of equity per trade, and always place stop-loss orders. Consider running MetaTrader from a VPS to ensure that your account and stops run on a 24/7 basis.
Conclusion
ASIC's 1:30 cap sends many Australian traders offshore. FP Markets (Mauritius), FXCC.com (Comoros), 4xc.com (Cook Islands), AvaTrade.com (BVI), and FxPro.com (Bahamas) all accept Australians and offer up to 1:500 leverage. Conduct thorough due diligence, understand the additional risks, and if satisfied, open a demo account, or dive straight into a live high-leverage account today.
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About the author
I'm Stefan, a trader and an entrepreneur. My mission with TrustedBrokers is to help you find the right broker for you, whether you're a beginner or a pro. I've personally used and tested the brokers mentioned in this article. I started my career in investment banking in London as an FCA-approved person.