Resources
Written for people new to the ASX. Skim the list, jump to what you need, come back when you’re stuck.
01
No US-style Pattern Day Trader rule from ASIC.
On the ASX you can buy and sell the same share on the same day. ASIC does not run a US-style “3 day trades in 5 days” frequency rule for retail share trading.
Your broker can still set its own limits in its terms. Always check those before you trade size or frequency.
Sources: ASIC Market Integrity Rules (legislation) · ASX cash market trading hours
02
Orders build from 7:00am. Around 9:59am one auction sets every stock's open price, then continuous trading starts.
From 7:00am Sydney the market is in pre-open. You (via your broker) can enter, amend or cancel orders. Nothing matches yet - the book just fills up.
Around 9:59am the Opening Single Price Auction (OSPA) runs. Overlapping buys and sells are matched at one single price chosen to maximise matched volume. That price is the stock's open for the day.
During the auction itself you cannot enter or amend orders. You can cancel existing ones. Permitted trade reports can still be lodged. After a short buffer, continuous matching starts (earliest about 9:59:45am).
The two thin striped bands are random 15-second windows. ASX picks the exact switch time inside each window so nobody can game the millisecond the auction or the open begins.
Since 23 June 2025 this applies to all ASX cash equities together - the old A-Z staggered open (roughly 10:00 to 10:09) is gone. Times are Sydney. The close has its own auction later - see closing auction.
Pre-open
07:00:00
Enter, amend or cancel. No matching.
Random 15s
09:59:00
To OSPA
OSPA
~09:59:15
Opening Single Price Auction
Random 15s
09:59:45
To open
Open
10:00:00
Continuous matching
During OSPA
Sources: ASX cash market trading hours (OSPA) · ASX: single open change (23 June 2025)
03
The ASX clock is Sydney time. Other cities shift with the time zones and daylight saving.
Normal trading is about 9:59:45am–4:00pm Sydney. Pre-open starts 7:00am Sydney. During daylight saving (roughly early Oct–early Apr), Sydney/Melbourne/Hobart move one hour ahead of Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth stay offset.
| City | Normal trading (local) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney / Melbourne / Hobart | ≈9:59am–4:00pm | Same clock as ASX |
| Brisbane | ≈8:59am–3:00pm* | No daylight saving |
| Adelaide | ≈9:29am–3:30pm* | 30 min behind Sydney in DST |
| Perth | ≈6:59am–1:00pm* | 2–3 hrs behind Sydney |
| Darwin | ≈8:29am–2:30pm* | No daylight saving |
*Approximate local clocks while Sydney is on daylight saving. Offsets flip when Sydney is on standard time. Always confirm on ASX.
Public holidays and a few ETFs can differ - use the ASX page as the source of truth.
Sources: ASX cash market trading hours
04
The ATO looks at how you actually trade - not what you call yourself.
Investors usually deal with capital gains tax. Traders may be treated as a business (ordinary income and deductions). Volume, regularity, and a business-like setup all matter. This is general info only - not tax advice.
05
Pick on criteria - not a brand list.
We don't rank brokers here. Compare those points yourself.
Sources: ASX Settlement / CHESS overview
06
Many ASX day traders use share CFD platforms such as FP Markets.
These are share CFDs, not owning the shares - so no CHESS HIN. You can usually go long or short. ASIC's product intervention order caps retail leverage on share CFDs at 5:1 (20% initial margin). Eligible wholesale / sophisticated clients (Corporations Act tests that include s708(8) and s761G) can access higher leverage - FP Markets lists share CFDs at up to 1:20 for pro accounts.
CFDs are leveraged and high risk. ASIC reported that in 2023-24, 68% of retail clients who traded CFDs made a net loss. Check the provider's disclosure before you open anything.
Sources: ASIC: Read this before trading CFDs (5:1 on shares) · ASIC CS 64 (retail CFD loss data 2023-24) · MoneySmart: CFDs · FP Markets: Professional account (share leverage table) · FP Markets: ASX share CFD margin table
07
Mottai is a purpose-built ASX day-trading platform offered through FP Markets.
Mottai is aimed at fast order entry, Level 2 depth, and DMA share CFDs on the ASX. FP Markets offers it alongside other platforms such as Iress for ASX CFD trading. Mottai's own FP Markets page is the place to check features and costs.
Sources: FP Markets Australia: Mottai · FP Markets Australia: legal documents (lists Mottai & Iress)
08
Yes - buying and selling ASX shares the same day is legal.
There is no ban on retail day trading of ASX shares. You still need a broker account, and you must follow your broker’s terms and the market rules. Losing money is common for beginners - legality isn’t the same as being easy.
New to the ASX? The beginners course covers the foundations.
Sources: ASX cash market · MoneySmart: shares
09
A chat of 2,500+ Australian traders. Joined via Patreon. Not a signals service.
People share what they’re watching. It isn’t stock picks or a tip line.
10
Enough that fees and one bad day don’t wipe you - and only money you can afford to lose.
Brokerage on small trades eats returns. So does oversizing. There’s no magic number and no promised outcome. Start small, learn the exchange, and treat the first months as tuition you might never get back.
If you can't make money on a $5,000 account, then you can't make money on a $50,000 account. So don't rush trying to be profitable. Work on finding where your edge in the market lies.
11
Level 1 shows the best buy and sell. Level 2 shows the queue behind them.
“Market depth” is that queue of bids and asks at each price. Day traders often want it for thin stocks. You don’t need it on day one - many beginners start on Level 1 and add depth later.
The ladder below is a made-up example, not a live stock.
12
Continuous trading stops at 4:00pm. A short auction sets the official close.
Exact windows are on the ASX trading-hours page for the close and the opening auction.
Sources: ASX cash market trading hours
13
Shorting real ASX shares is limited for most retail accounts. CFDs are a different product.
ASX rules allow short sales of approved products by market participants, with reporting. Many retail share brokers simply don’t offer shorting of shares. CFDs can go short, but MoneySmart treats them as high-risk leveraged products. FP Markets is one of the most commonly used brokers by ASX day traders.
Sources: MoneySmart: short selling (glossary) · MoneySmart: CFDs
14
CHESS-sponsored usually means the shares sit in your name under a HIN.
CHESS-sponsored
You + HIN
Shares registered in your name. Portable between brokers.
Custodial
Custodian holds them
You have a beneficial interest. Check the broker’s model.
Sources: ASX Settlement / CHESS
15
Trades settle two business days later. You can often trade again sooner - settled cash is different.
ASX equity trades settle on T+2 (trade day + two business days): shares and money change hands then. Brokers may still let you buy or sell before settlement settles - but “settled funds” for withdrawal or some sells can wait until T+2. Ask your broker how their cash works.
Trade day (T)
You buy or sell
Order fills
T+1
Next business day
Still settling
T+2
Settlement
Shares ↔ cash
You can often place another trade before T+2. Settled cash for withdrawal is usually after settlement - confirm with your broker.
Sources: ASX Settlement (T+2) · ASX 2026 T+2 settlement calendar (PDF)
16
A halt freezes trading for a bit. Your orders usually stay queued - a suspension is heavier.
When news hits, expect the stock to reopen jumpy. Check the announcement before you re-enter.
Sources: ASX Guidance Note 16 - Trading Halts
17
Same exchange. Different clock.
Neither is a shortcut. The beginners course covers foundations for both.
18
A limit sets your price. A market order aims to trade now at the going price.
Thin stocks and fast markets can fill at a worse price than you glanced at. Your broker's labels can differ - check their order ticket help.
Sources: ASX: order controls (limit & market-to-limit) · MoneySmart: how to buy and sell shares
19
There is no US-style retail after-hours session on the ASX cash market.
Normal continuous trading on ASX cash equities runs through the day session (from the open until 4:00pm Sydney), then the closing auction. After that, later session states are for closing administration - not a liquid retail night market like in the US.
Many brokers still let you enter limit orders outside hours. Those sit until the next pre-open / trading day. Market-style orders are usually only accepted in normal trading.
Always check your broker's rules for out-of-hours order entry.
Sources: ASX cash market trading hours
20
The gap between the best buy price and the best sell price.
The bid is the best price buyers are willing to pay. The ask (offer) is the best price sellers will take. The difference is the spread.
If you buy at the ask and later sell at the bid, you have crossed the spread both ways - that cost sits on top of brokerage. Busy large stocks usually show tighter spreads than quiet small ones.
Sources: MoneySmart glossary: bid-ask spread · ASX: how to buy and sell shares
21
Your orders go to the exchange through a broker's automated systems - not keyed by a person each time.
On the ASX, direct market access (DMA) means a market participant gives clients a way to submit orders that pass through the participant's internal systems and risk controls, then onto the trading platform - without a desk person re-typing every order.
ASIC describes the same idea under automated client order processing (also called direct electronic access). Filters and controls still sit with the participant. DMA is about how orders reach the market, not a recommendation of any broker or platform.
Some ASX day-trading platforms advertise DMA-style access for share CFDs or cash equities - that is separate from whether DMA suits you. See the earlier broker / platform questions.
Sources: ASX glossary: direct market access (DMA) · ASIC RG 241 Electronic trading (PDF)
22
Possible in limited cases - but the ATO sole purpose test and advice still come first.
SMSFs can invest in listed shares, but every investment decision must meet the sole purpose test: the fund is maintained to provide retirement (or death) benefits - not present-day personal benefits.
High-turnover day trading can look like carrying on a business inside the fund. That is not automatically banned, but it must be allowed by the trust deed, fit the documented investment strategy, and still satisfy the sole purpose test. The ATO pays close attention when activity looks like a hobby, pays related parties, or delivers personal benefits.
This is general education only - not tax or SMSF advice. Speak with a licensed adviser before you trade inside an SMSF.
Sources: ATO: SMSF investment restrictions / running a business · ATO: SMSF investment requirements (sole purpose) · ATO SMSFR 2008/2 sole purpose test
23
The cash market closes on listed national public holidays - check the ASX trading calendar.
The ASX cash market does not trade on weekends or on the public holidays published in the ASX trading calendar. Settlement calendars can differ slightly from trading days, and some early closes apply around year-end.
Holiday dates change each year. Use the official calendar rather than a copied list that can go stale.
Sources: ASX trading calendar · ASX cash market trading hours
The beginners guide is 3.5 hours on Whop. Free videos live on the YouTube channel.
General education only. Not financial product advice, not tax advice, and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Rules, hours and fees change - always check the official links above and your broker. Consider a licensed adviser for personal advice.