Programme Setup
Building an affiliate programme for an Australian business
Plan an Australian affiliate programme around a clear objective, supportable products, publisher terms, tracking checks and order review.
Build an affiliate programme around a clear customer outcome, products that can fund commission and rules publishers can understand. Before inviting partners, decide what earns commission, how orders are tracked and who reviews them.
Decide what the channel should achieve
Choose one primary outcome for the first review period: approved orders from first-time customers, sales of a selected range, or contribution after channel costs. Set a baseline and review date. Gross attributed sales are useful context. A credited order may later be returned, earn little contribution, or have happened without the programme.
Consider the publisher’s role in the customer’s decision. A specialist guide may help someone compare unfamiliar products; a voucher placement may reach someone already at checkout. Recruit partners whose audiences and placements fit the outcome you chose.
Plan the objective in writing
A written marketing plan can define your target market and why they need your product, the messages, channels and activities you will use, goals and time frames, a marketing budget, and how you will judge whether the activity worked. business.gov.au provides a template and an online planning tool for this.
Examples business.gov.au gives of marketing goals include increasing sales or revenue, attracting customers in a new market segment, launching a profitable new product, building brand awareness, ranking higher in search engine results and increasing trust. Choose the one the affiliate channel will be measured against.
Start with a supportable offer
Select products with reliable availability, accurate landing pages and enough room in their economics for a publisher payment. Compare revenue and costs using a consistent GST basis. Include fulfilment, payment fees, discounts and an allowance for cancellations or returns. Exclude ranges that cannot support the proposed payment, or give them different terms.
Give publishers current product facts, material limitations, delivery coverage and a contact for corrections. The ACCC says it can require businesses to back up claims they make about their products or services. Let publishers form their own assessments; requests to correct factual errors should explain the evidence.
You do not have to set all your products live at the start. Awin advises getting the programme running smoothly before expanding the offering.
Supportable vs Unsuitable Products for Affiliate Commissions
- Supportable ProductHigh-demand physical goods with stable margins, full GST inclusion, and low return rates (e.g., branded apparel).
- Not SupportableLow-margin digital services, high-return items, or products with inconsistent pricing and delivery coverage.
- Recommended ApproachStart with a limited, high-performing range; expand only after programme stability.
Choose how to run the relationships
A private programme may suit a business that knows suitable publishers and can manage invitations, queries and payments. A network may provide publisher discovery and shared workflows. Either way, the business needs an owner for approvals, product updates, disputed orders and partner communication. Compare a proposed provider’s contract and available features before committing; directory access does not mean publishers will promote the offer.
Put the offer in writing before recruitment:
- the event that earns commission and the products or customers it covers;
- the payment, its calculation basis and exclusions;
- the referral window and rule for competing claims;
- permitted promotional methods and product claims;
- order review, reasons a payment may be declined, and payment timing; and
- how publishers can query a missing sale or payment.
Make the terms available before a publisher joins. For public promotional content, consider whether readers can recognise the commercial relationship. The ACCC has raised concerns about sponsored social media posts presented as independent endorsements; assess each placement in its actual format.
Awin says standard terms are pre-selected for most new advertisers; read them and update anything that does not reflect your programme.
Private vs Network-Based Affiliate Programmes
- Pros – Private ProgrammeGreater control over partner selection, tailored communication, and custom terms. Suitable for businesses with known, trusted publishers.
- Cons – Private ProgrammeHigher administrative effort in recruitment, onboarding, and management. Limited access to broader publisher networks.
- Pros – Network Programme (e.g., Awin)Access to global publisher discovery, shared tools, automated workflows, and established compliance frameworks.
- Cons – Network ProgrammeLess control over partner quality; directory access does not guarantee promotion. May involve platform fees.
Know the disclosure and claims rules
The ACCC uses reports about possible misleading or false claims to inform its work, and may investigate and take compliance or enforcement action if a business misleads. It does not resolve individual disputes about misleading claims and it does not provide legal advice.
On 24 March 2026 the ACCC said Tomsem Consolidated Pty Ltd, trading as PhotobookShop, had paid $39,600 in penalties after two infringement notices for alleged misleading influencer reviews posted on Instagram. The ACCC alleged the business instructed influencers on 107 occasions between August 2024 and September 2025 not to disclose that they had been given a free product, valued at around $50 to $400, for the review.
ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said: “Businesses must not mislead consumers by posting misleading reviews or failing to disclose when an influencer has been paid to create social media content, whether that payment is free gifted products or services, or money.” She added that the Australian Consumer Law applies as much to the digital world as it does to bricks and mortar retailers.
Pre-Launch Compliance Checklist for Australian Affiliate Programmes
- Disclose commercial relationships clearlyEnsure all influencer or publisher content includes clear disclosure (e.g., #ad, #sponsored) where paid or gifted products are involved.
- Avoid misleading claims about productsBack up all product claims with evidence; do not instruct influencers to omit disclosures about free gifts.
- Review sponsored content formatAssess whether social media posts appear as independent endorsements when they are actually commercial promotions.
- Maintain records of communicationsKeep documentation of any instructions given to publishers to ensure compliance with Australian Consumer Law.
Key Compliance Risks & Outcomes from ACCC Enforcement
- Case Example
- PhotobookShop (Tomsem Consolidated Pty Ltd)
- Penalty Amount
- $39,600
- Infringement Period
- August 2024 – September 2025
- Number of Violations
- 107 instances of undisclosed influencer reviews
- ACCC Guidance
- All paid or gifted content must be disclosed under Australian Consumer Law.
Check the journey before launch
Check a publisher click through the landing page, checkout and order confirmation, then match the affiliate record to the store order. Include an eligible purchase, an excluded item, a discount, a cancellation and, where relevant, a mixed basket. Confirm the commission calculation and what each party can see.
Assign someone to review pending orders against refunds and programme terms. Keep the order and decision records so payment queries can receive a specific answer. Tracking shows credit under a configured rule; it does not establish which sales the programme created.
Awin advises confirming tracking is fully functional before the programme goes live, because accurate reporting and fair commission payments depend on it.
Launch and review
Invite a manageable first group whose audiences fit the offer. Provide product facts, destinations, terms and a named contact. At the agreed review date, examine approved orders, customer mix, contribution after channel costs and partner feedback. Investigate unclear results before changing rates or adding partners.
Key Steps to Launch an Australian Affiliate Programme
- Define your primary objectiveChoose one outcome: e.g., first-time customer sales, targeted product range sales, or post-channel-cost contribution.
- Write your marketing planUse the business.gov.au template to outline goals, target market, messaging, budget, and success metrics.
- Select supportable productsEnsure products have reliable availability, accurate landing pages, and room for commission after GST, fulfilment, fees, and returns.
- Finalise partner termsDocument commission triggers, payment timing, tracking window, exclusions, and permitted promotional methods.
- Verify tracking and journeyTest end-to-end: click-through, checkout, order confirmation, and commission matching with real scenarios including cancellations and discounts.
- Launch with a pilot groupInvite a small, relevant set of publishers; provide clear product info, terms, and contact details.
- Review performance at agreed dateAssess approved orders, customer mix, contribution after costs, and publisher feedback before scaling.
In this guide
- Choosing products that can support an affiliate commissionScreen products for affiliate promotion using order contribution, discounts, fulfilment costs, availability and verifiable product facts.
- Publisher affiliate programmes versus referral schemesCompare publisher affiliate programmes with customer referral schemes by participant, reward, rules and operating work.
- Setting an affiliate programme objective beyond gross salesSet an affiliate objective around approved customers, product contribution or another defined outcome, with a baseline and review decision.
