A practical guide to commodity investing in Australia: gold, iron ore, energy, physical bullion, miners and commodity ETFs. No hot tips or charting theatre — just the structures, costs and rules that shape what you actually keep.
It made an all-time high in January and lost nearly half of it by July. A real supply problem, a hydrogen promise that keeps slipping, and a stockpile number two respected houses disagree about by a factor of five.
Read the article →Official references: ASX index guide, ATO CGT guide and ASIC MoneySmart ETF guide.
A record high in January, down 47% by July. The supply problem is real; the scarcity headline is contested.
The numbers behind the 2026 spike and crash, what physical bullion really costs, GST and CGT, and how the Australian dollar changes your return.
How you hold it — physical bullion, an ETF, or resource shares — and whose name it sits in: personally, through a trust or inside super. Changing it later is a capital gains event.
A broad resources ETF or a small allocation to gold covers the sector cheaply. Single stocks, futures and leveraged products have to earn the extra cost and risk.
The CGT discount at twelve months, GST on bullion, storage and insurance costs, and how any distributions land on your return. The after-tax number is the only one that counts.
A commodity ETF is a managed fund bought and sold on an exchange that tracks a commodity or a basket of resources — such as gold, oil or a mining index. It gives exposure in a single trade without a futures account. Fees, tracking method, whether it holds physical metal or futures, and liquidity all still matter. See ASIC MoneySmart's ETF guide.
Eligible Australian resident individuals may generally reduce a qualifying capital gain by 50% after applying capital losses if the asset — for example gold bullion or resource shares — was held for at least 12 months. Different rules apply to companies, super funds and some non-residents, so check the current ATO CGT guide or obtain tax advice.
Investment-grade bullion — gold that is at least 99.5% pure, silver at least 99.9%, and in an investment form — is generally treated as GST-free, while collectible coins, jewellery and lower-purity metal can be taxable. Treatment depends on the exact product and form. The ATO explains precious-metal GST rules.
No. Commodity prices are volatile and pay no income while you hold them. Currency, storage and insurance, liquidity, futures roll, tracking and product-structure risks can all matter, and a single commodity is far less diversified than a broad market. Read the product disclosure statement and compare the investment with your time horizon and risk tolerance.
Worked examples with real Australian figures, tax and GST included, and no product spruiking. One email when something new goes live.