Frequently Asked Questions

Individuals, Joint individuals, Companies and Trusts can open a trading account. Individuals must be over 18 years of age.

If you wish to open an account for a child/minor please see the next question 'Can I open a trading account for my child / minor?'

While minors cannot personally buy and sell shares, an adult may open a trading account in their name with the shares held in trust for the minor. Once the minor turns 18 the shares may be transferred into their name. 

To open a trading account in trust for a minor follow these steps:

• Go to the Westpac Share Trading page and click on the Join now button located at the top of the page
• Select the settlement account type of your new trading account
• Select the Trust/SMSF account application
• Select Minor from the list of trust types
• Enter the minor's name in the Account designation field
• Enter the adult's details as the trustee.

If you currently reside outside of Australia you may be able to trade with us if you have an Australian bank account linked for the settlement of your trades. There may be restrictions on applicants residing in certain jurisdictions depending on local regulations.

To apply with a non-Australian address please download the PDF version of our Share Trading Account Application Form.

Once your account is set up, there are a number of ways you are able to place a trade.

Online

To place a trade online, simply sign in and navigate to Trading > Share Orders > Place Order.

Westpac Share Trading app

You can place a trade on the go using the Westpac Share Trading app through your smartphone or tablet. Simply download the app from the App Store™ or Google Play™ store.

Phone

If you don't have access to the internet or a smartphone, you can call Westpac Share Trading on 13 13 31 and we can place a trade on your behalf.

Please note that brokerage rates may vary depending on your method of order placement.

The minimum order size of your initial purchase of a security is $500. This is known as the 'minimum marketable parcel of shares'. Once you own a minimum marketable parcel you can top up and may make further purchases in the same security of less than $500.

Yes. Simply sign into your Westpac Online Banking profile and click on the Online Investing (Equities) account tile to access your Westpac Share Trading account.

Your trading limit is the maximum value of a buy order that you can place. It is calculated using a number of components and will vary depending on your cash account (whether you settle your trades using a Westpac Cash Investment Account (CIA) or other Australian bank account), and your portfolio value. The trading limit applies to the total amount of open and/or unsettled buy trades on each trading account.

Trading account linked to a Westpac CIA

Trading account linked to any other Australian bank account

Trading account linked to a margin loan

Your trading limit will be dependent on your credit limit, funds available and the LVR of the stock to be purchased. Please refer to your margin lender for further details of your borrowing capacity.

¹ The value applied will be the value of your CHESS sponsored holdings where different stocks may attract varying collateral weights (ranging from 0%-100%), dependent upon market capitalisation, daily turnover, liquidity and price volatility among other factors. These stocks and their weightings will be reviewed periodically.

² This is the available funds in your linked Westpac Cash Investment Account. This figure will be your account balance less any amounts we have reserved to cover your open buy orders.

³ This is the amount reserved from your linked Westpac Cash Investment Account balance to cover your open buy orders.

⁴ This is the sum of all executed but unsettled buy and sell orders, as well as any amounts you have deposited directly into your trading account via BPAY or direct credit. Where the value is positive we owe you money and where the value is negative you owe us money.

⁵ This is the sum of all your open and unfilled buy orders in the market. This figure will be displayed as a negative value when you have open orders.

⁶ A default amount set by Westpac Share Trading that will allow you to place orders up to this value without any upfront cash deposit requirements.

The settlement of your share purchases will generally occur two business days after the trade date (T+2).

On the morning of settlement your linked bank account will be debited for the amount of the trade including brokerage. You can check your settlement amount and linked bank account details online. Simply log in to your Westpac Share Trading account, navigate to My Account > My Portfolio > Holdings & Accounts and click on the Account Details tab.

Please consider transfer and clearance timeframes when transferring funds to your linked settlement account. It's important you have sufficient funds in your linked account before settlement, as a failed settlement may attract a dishonour fee from your bank and an ASX fail fee that will be passed on to you by Westpac Share Trading.

There are various types of employee share schemes. Depending on your employer you may have received shares at no cost, purchased shares at a discount or acquired them some other way. The rules of each scheme may differ with some restricting the sale of the shares for a period of time or until an event occurs.

You can usually check if your employee shares are available to sell by logging into the employee share portal of your company's share registry website. Here you can check what portion of your shareholding is unvested (restricted from sale) and vested (available to sell). Your vested balance may be sold, however usually only once you have moved them from the employee share scheme holding to an Issuer Sponsored holding. This transfer can usually be completed within the same employee share portal. 

Once your holding is Issuer Sponsored you can sell them through your Westpac Share Trading account by simply quoting your Security-holder Reference Number (SRN) when placing your sell order. See 'How do I sell Issuer sponsored shares that are with a share registry?' below for more details.

Please note the sale of Issuer Sponsored holdings attract a $15 fee in addition to brokerage. Alternatively you can transfer your issuer sponsored holding to your CHESS sponsored Westpac Share Trading account prior to selling them. See 'How do I transfer Issuer Sponsored shares to my Westpac account?' below.

Issuer Sponsored shares can be sold online using your Westpac Share Trading account. When entering your sell order details choose 'Issuer Sponsored SRN' in the 'Settlement' section and enter your Shareholder Reference Number (SRN). You can usually locate your SRN on any holding or dividend statement, and it will usually begin with the letter 'I'. 

Please note the sale of Issuer Sponsored holdings attract a $15 fee in addition to brokerage. Alternatively you can transfer your issuer sponsored holding to your CHESS sponsored Westpac Share Trading account prior to selling them. See 'How do I transfer Issuer Sponsored shares to my Westpac account?' below.

If your shares are successfully sold, the proceeds will be deposited into your linked bank account overnight on the second business day after the sale (T+2).

You can submit an online  request to transfer Issuer Sponsored shares to a broker sponsored holding with Westpac Share Trading. Simply log in to your account and navigate to My Account > My Portfolio > Holdings & Accounts and click on the Transfers tab. You will need the Security-holder Reference Number (SRN) of the shares you wish to 'transfer in' to complete the transfer.

Before you complete the transfer request it is important you check your registered name and address with Westpac Share Trading exactly matches the registration details of the shares you wish to transfer. You can check this on a holding or dividend statement. Any differences should be corrected with the share registry or Westpac Share Trading before submitting the request. 

Upon receiving your request, the transfer will take up to two business days to complete.

To transfer shares from another broker to your Westpac Share Trading account please complete a Broker to Broker Transfer request.

Simply log in to your Share Trading account, navigate to Contact and Support > Forms & Brochures > Download Forms, and download the form under Share transfers to accounts in the same name. 

You will have the choice to nominate all your holdings or selected holdings only to be transferred to your Westpac Share Trading account. Upon receiving your request, the transfer will take up to three business days to complete. 

If you are transferring money from another Westpac account you can complete a funds transfer through Westpac Online Banking or by using the Westpac Mobile Banking App. You can also complete a transfer using telephone banking or by visiting a Westpac branch. 

If you are transferring funds from another financial institution please check your available transfer options with them. You will be required to provide the BSB and account number of your Westpac Cash Investment Account to complete the transfer. You can locate these details by simply logging in to Westpac Share Trading, navigating to My Account > My Portfolio > Holdings & Accounts and clicking on the Account Details tab.

Please consider transfer and clearance timeframes when moving funds to your Westpac Cash Investment Account. Failed settlements may attract additional fees and charges by Westpac Share Trading.

To trade international shares you'll need to establish a Westpac Global Markets trading account, but first you'll need to have a Westpac Share Trading account for Australian shares.

If you're already an existing Westpac Share Trading client simply sign in to your Westpac Share Trading account and visit Products & Services > Shares > International Shares.

If you're new to Westpac Share Trading you can apply for a Westpac Share Trading account on our share trading home page. 

You can invest in Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) the same way you invest in Australian shares using your Westpac Share Trading account.

You can find the various providers and available ETFs on the Australian sharemarket by signing in to your Westpac Share Trading account and navigating to Quotes & Research > Tools > ETF Screener.  Alternatively you can find information about the available ETFs by visiting each provider's website.

To learn more please visit our ETF information page. 

To trade Exchange Traded Options (ETO) you'll need to establish a Westpac Options Trading account, but first you'll need to have a Westpac Share Trading account for Australian shares.

If you're already an existing Westpac Share Trading client simply sign in to your Westpac Share Trading account and visit Products & Services > Derivatives > Options.

If you're new to Westpac Share Trading you can apply for a Westpac Share Trading account on our share trading home page. 

To trade warrants you must first have a Westpac Share Trading account for Australian shares. If you're new to Westpac Share Trading you can apply for a Westpac Share Trading account on our share trading home page. 

In addition it is also a requirement of the ASX and Cboe that you read the booklets Understanding Trading and Investment Warrants (ASX) and Investing in Warrants (Cboe).

You’ll then need to complete the Warrants Trading Agreement form.

To get started, sign in to your Westpac Share Trading account and visit Products & Services > Derivatives > Warrants. 

Yes. You can borrow money to invest by applying for a Westpac Online Investment Loan to settle your share purchases. To find out more please visit our Westpac Online Investment Loan page.

Your Westpac Share Trading account comes with complementary research providing the latest news and commentary at the market, sector and company level. You can access company information including key financials, advanced price charts, past and forecast earnings and dividends, announcements, peer analysis as well as Morningstar's quantitative and consensus recommendations.

In addition we offer tools to help you find your next investment. Use our Stock or ETF Screener to filter securities based on various pre-defined and specific parameters.

You'll also receive our Daily Share Tracker email which will display up to 15 of your shareholdings and provide you with Morningstar's latest valuation on each. Each day your email will include additional content such as Morningstar's Share of the Week, Best Stock Ideas, videos and consensus recommendations. 

We also offer a Morningstar premium research package by subscription. This package provides you full access to Morningstar’s qualitative research and recommendations on over 200 covered stocks beyond those in the S&P/ASX50. The recommendation for each company is expressed as Buy, Accumulate, Hold, Reduce or Sell. In addition to the stock recommendation, this package provides in-depth stock analysis by Morningstar’s analysts. The monthly cost of this package will be rebated if you settle two or more trades or pay $50 or more in brokerage during the relevant month.

To find out more about our available research and trading tools please visit our Trading Tools page.

IPO stands for Initial Public Offering and is a process whereby a company raises equity capital by offering shares to the public for the first time.

Investors can access shares in an IPO either directly or through a participating broker. Following an IPO, the company is ‘listed’ on the share market and its shares can be traded.

Westpac Share Trading clients from time to time may be offered shares or units in an IPO via its IPO Centre. You can access our IPO centre by signing in to your Westpac Share Trading account and navigating to Products & Services > Shares > IPOs.

You can download our mobile app by searching 'Westpac Share Trading' in the App Store or Google Play™ store.

To sign in, simply use your existing Westpac Share Trading username and password.

Yes. Once initially signed in you can setup your Westpac Share Trading app to unlock using Face ID/Face Recognition, Touch ID/Fingerprint or a PIN through the Settings menu.

Orders placed via the mobile app are considered internet orders. The amount of brokerage you will be charged will depend on  the value of the shares you are buying or selling and also the type of account you use to settle your trades.

Please visit our Rates and Fees page for our brokerage rates. 

I am a new Westpac Share Trading client

You will be automatically subscribed to the Dividend Direction Service if you have elected to open a new Westpac Cash Investment Account on your application.

I am an existing Westpac Share Trading client with a Westpac Cash Investment Account

• Log in to the Westpac Share Trading website
• Navigate to My Account > Holdings & Accounts
• Select the Account Details tab, scroll down to Dividend Direction and select 'Paid into settlement account electronically'.

While you will be automatically subscribed to Dividend Direction you may de-activate it once your trading account is set up. 

Simply follow these steps:

• Log in to the Westpac Share Trading website
• Navigate to My Account > Holdings & Accounts
• Select the Account Details tab, scroll down to Dividend Direction and select 'I will contact relevant share registry/ies' to change dividend payment instructions.

• Enjoy the convenience of not having to bank a cheque and wait for it to clear
• Save time, with dividends credited directly into your linked Westpac Cash Investment Account
• Earn interest (on interest bearing accounts) as soon as dividends are paid
• Have cash ready for your next investment opportunity
• Keep track of your dividends.

Limit Orders

A limit order is an instruction to place a limit on either the highest price you are willing to pay if buying, or the lowest price you will accept if selling. We will only complete an order at your entered price or better. A limit order can be placed when the market is closed, and it will be queued, ready for processing when the market opens.

If you enter a total dollar value for your buy or sell order, you will need to nominate a price limit as we cannot accept an 'At Market' order for this option.

Market Orders

A market order is an instruction to buy or sell shares at the best available market price, during market hours. You cannot select a dollar value for a market order, this means you can only enter the quantity of units you wish to buy or sell.

If your instruction is to buy, we will aim to buy the shares at the lowest available price and if your order is to sell, we will aim to sell your shares at the highest available price.

Share prices can move and fluctuate very quickly, so there is no guarantee that the quoted price will be achieved.

'At Market' orders can only be placed during market hours.

We provide a Straight Through Processing (STP) service when you place orders for listed securities online or when you call us.

Our order handling system uses a series of automated filters. Orders that pass all of these filters are sent straight to the market with no human intervention. Orders that do not pass all of the filters are manually reviewed by us as soon as possible and either placed on the market or rejected.