Most "best fundraising platform" guides are written for a US audience. Australia runs a bit differently.
Most fundraising platform reviews are American. The pricing examples are in USD, the case studies are US churches and PTAs, and the payment culture assumes donors are comfortable being asked to tip. None of that translates cleanly to an Australian charity, school P&F, or sports club.
This guide looks at what actually matters if you're fundraising in Australia: AUD payouts, state raffle rules, GST, and a donor base that generally prefers a clear price over a tip prompt at checkout.
What Australian fundraisers should check before picking a platform
Where does the money land? Some platforms route funds through an overseas holding account before paying out. Ask directly whether funds go straight to your Australian bank account in AUD, and how long that takes.
Does it handle state raffle rules? Raffle regulation in Australia sits with each state and territory, not the federal government. A platform built for the US market often has no concept of this. At minimum, look for a platform that links you to the right regulator for your state rather than leaving you to work it out.
How does the pricing model interact with GST? If your organisation is GST-registered, you need clean, exportable transaction records. A platform with confusing tip-based revenue can make BAS time harder than it needs to be.
Is the checkout built around tipping? This is the biggest structural difference. In the US, an optional "tip the platform" prompt at checkout is familiar and generally well received. Australian donors tend to respond less warmly to it. The instinct here is closer to "tell me the price and I'll pay it" than "let me decide what to add on top." A tip-funded free platform can still work well for a small, tight-knit donor base, but it's worth going in with eyes open rather than assuming it behaves the same way it does for a US nonprofit.
Is support available in your time zone? A platform with support staffed out of the US can mean a multi-hour wait if something goes wrong the night of your gala.
How the main options compare for Australian fundraisers
Pricing and features change often. Always confirm current numbers directly with the vendor before you commit.
Zeffy in Australia: what to check before you switch
Zeffy has launched an Australian offering, with the same zero-platform-fee model it runs in the US, UK and Canada: donations, ticketing, peer-to-peer, raffles and auctions, funded entirely by optional donor tips at checkout.
The model itself is proven. The open question for an Australian organisation is how your specific donor base responds to a tip prompt. If your supporters are used to an all-in price, a checkout that asks for an extra contribution on top can feel unfamiliar, and a small share of donors may hesitate or drop off. For a school raffle with 40 tightly connected families, that's unlikely to matter. For a large gala with a broader, less captive audience, it's worth testing rather than assuming. For a fuller breakdown of how GalaBid and Zeffy differ beyond the Australian market specifically, see our GalaBid vs Zeffy vs Givebutter comparison.
What about Givergy?
Givergy has historically had a strong presence in the Australian gala and auction market. Following an acquisition, current and former Givergy staff have indicated that the local Australian team has been wound back, with support for Australian clients now handled by offshore and third-party teams rather than a dedicated local office.
We can't independently verify staffing changes inside another company, so treat this as a prompt rather than a fact: if you're evaluating Givergy for an upcoming event, ask directly in your sales conversation whether you'll have a named Australian-based contact and what support looks like on the actual night, not just during setup.
Worth checking too: like GalaBid, Givergy doesn't publish a fixed rate card, their pricing is set case by case by their sales team. Where the two differ is payment processing. When you process through Stripe on GalaBid, GalaBid doesn't mark up the fee, you pay exactly what Stripe charges. Independent comparison sites have put Givergy's processing rate above standard Stripe pricing, which suggests a markup sits on top of whatever platform fee you negotiate. Ask for the processing rate in writing, separate from the platform fee, before you sign.
Where GalaBid fits for Australian organisations
GalaBid started as an Australian business and still runs local offices in Australia and New Zealand, alongside the UK, US, Canada and Singapore. GalaBid supports around 1,000 events a year across Australia and New Zealand, run by a dedicated local team, not routed through an overseas call centre.
The main practical differences for an AU fundraiser:
Pricing is tailored to your organisation, not forced into one mould. Instead of picking one fixed plan off a website, Australian clients work with a GalaBid account manager to build a pricing mix that suits how you fundraise. That might mean the free tip-funded model, items on consignment (no upfront cost, GalaBid takes a share only when a consignment item sells), a percentage fee, a fixed fee for larger or higher-volume campaigns, or a blend of these. See the full pricing options or get a quote specific to your organisation. The point is the checkout experience and cost structure gets shaped around your donors, not the other way around.
Funds go directly to your Stripe account, in AUD, if you use Stripe. No holding period, no platform float, no delay while a US-based system reconciles currency. Read more about how GalaBid handles payments and funds safety. And Stripe isn't compulsory: you can also collect via your own card terminal, Square, or cash and record it in the platform, useful for gala nights where not every payment happens through an online checkout.
Raffle guidance by state is built into the platform, linking directly to the relevant regulator for NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, NT and TAS, so you're not left guessing whether you need a permit. See the full GalaBid raffle platform for details.
A dedicated Australian consignment catalogue. Beyond the general no-risk consignment items available to all GalaBid clients, Australian organisations get access to an extensive AU-specific catalogue, managed by consignment managers based locally, not run out of an overseas team unfamiliar with what sells at an Australian gala.
On-site support for your event, if you need it. For galas and larger events, GalaBid can provide on-site support in Australia, someone physically at your event rather than a help desk in a different time zone if something goes wrong mid-auction. It's backed by GalaBid's wider real human support team.
One platform for raffles, silent and live auctions, ticketing and donations, so a school running a trivia night with a raffle and a silent auction isn't stitching together three separate tools.
Raffle rules by state: quick reference
Raffle regulation in Australia is set at the state and territory level. Before you launch:
- NSW: Liquor & Gaming NSW
- VIC: Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC)
- QLD: Queensland Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (note: a Category 3 gaming licence in QLD requires a different process)
- SA: Consumer and Business Services SA
- WA: Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
- NT: NT Racing, Gaming and Licensing
- TAS: Tasmanian Government Treasury
- NZ: Department of Internal Affairs
Requirements vary by ticket value, prize value, and whether you're a registered charity. Always check directly with your state regulator before launching.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free fundraising platform for Australian nonprofits?Yes. GalaBid, Zeffy and several others offer free, donor-tip-funded plans for Australian organisations. The difference is what happens if you'd rather not rely on tips alone: some platforms only offer the tip model, while others, including GalaBid, will tailor a mix of tipping, items on consignment, percentage fees, and fixed fees to suit your organisation. See GalaBid's pricing for the full menu.
Does GalaBid have fixed pricing or is it negotiated?In Australia, GalaBid pricing is tailored rather than fixed to a single public rate card. An account manager works with you to build a mix from the free tip-funded model, items on consignment, a percentage fee, a fixed fee, or a combination, based on your event size, audience, and how often you fundraise. Get in touch for a quote specific to your organisation.
Do I need a licence to run a raffle in Australia?Usually yes, though requirements vary significantly by state and by the value of tickets and prizes. Check with your state's gambling or fair trading regulator before launching.
Can Australian charities receive funds in AUD without delay?With a platform connected directly to your own Stripe account, yes, funds are typically available on your normal Stripe payout schedule with no separate holding period. See GalaBid's payments and funds safety page for how this works.
Is Zeffy available in Australia?Yes, Zeffy launched an Australian offering supporting AUD. It uses the same donor-tip funding model it runs elsewhere.
Do Australian donors mind being asked to tip at checkout?There's no large-scale published data on this specifically, so treat it as a risk to test rather than a settled fact. It's also worth knowing this isn't just a Zeffy question, Raisely defaults to the same donor-tip model, and Givergy offers it too. The cultural argument is real: Australia scores close to the US on individualism but has a much weaker tipping norm, and the local instinct tends to be "tell me the price and I'll pay it." What that costs you in practice is hard to see, because donors who are put off by a tip prompt usually just quietly don't complete the purchase rather than leaving a complaint. If you're testing a tip-funded platform, it's worth watching your checkout completion rate closely rather than assuming it behaves the same way it does for a US audience.
Do I have to use Stripe with GalaBid?No. Stripe is the default for online payments, but you can also collect via your own card terminal, Square, or cash and record those payments in the platform. Useful for events where guests pay in person rather than online.
Can I get someone on-site for my gala, not just online support?Yes. For larger Australian events, GalaBid can provide on-site support at the event itself, rather than relying solely on live chat or a help desk. Worth raising with your account manager early if your event is high-stakes or you don't have a tech-confident volunteer on hand.
What's the difference between a raffle-only platform and an all-in-one platform?A raffle-only tool like RaffleTix is fine if raffles are the only thing you run. Most schools and charities eventually also want a silent auction, ticketing, or a straight donation option, and an all-in-one platform means you're not managing three logins and three sets of reports.
The bottom line
If your organisation is US-based with a US donor list, a pure donor-tip platform is well matched to that audience. If you're an Australian charity, school, or club, the two things worth checking before you commit are whether the checkout experience suits your donors, and whether the platform actually understands state-based raffle compliance rather than treating Australia as an afterthought.
Ready to run a fundraiser built for Australian donors? Get a tailored quote from the GalaBid team.
