Australia guides

Business broker fees in Australia

Australian business brokers typically charge commission of roughly 5–15% of the sale price, with the rate falling as the price rises. Most also charge an upfront engagement or marketing fee of a few thousand dollars, and set a minimum commission — often $15,000–$30,000 — that can push the effective rate on a small sale well above the headline percentage. Everything — the rate, the minimum, and the type of agreement you sign — is negotiable before you commit.

By the bizflip team · Published 29 August 2026 · Facts checked 29 August 2026 · Sources listed below

How commission is usually structured

Most Australian business brokers work on success-based commission: a percentage of the final sale price, paid only if and when the business actually settles. The percentage usually falls as the sale price rises — a café selling for $150,000 typically pays a higher rate than a $6 million manufacturing business, even though the broker's work overlaps a lot between the two. There's no government-set rate for business broker commission. It's a commercial fee, set by the broker and negotiable before you sign anything.

These are industry-reported ranges, not fixed prices. Brokers quote different numbers depending on the sector, how much marketing the sale needs, and how motivated they are to take the listing. On larger deals, some brokers use a sliding scale sometimes called a "Lehman-style" formula — a higher percentage on the first slice of the sale price, a lower percentage on the rest, so the average rate compresses as the price climbs. Because the range is wide, it's worth getting quotes from more than one broker before you commit.

What else you might pay

Commission usually isn't the only fee in a broker engagement.

• Upfront engagement or marketing fee — commonly a few thousand dollars, charged when you sign. It typically covers preparing an information memorandum (the confidential sale document buyers see), photography, and listing the business on marketplaces and to the broker's buyer database. Ask whether this fee is refundable, and whether it's credited against the final commission if the business sells.
• Minimum commission — many agreements set a dollar floor, regardless of the headline percentage. If the minimum is, say, $25,000 and the business sells for $200,000, the effective rate is 12.5% — not whatever percentage was advertised. Ask for the minimum in dollars, not just the percentage.
• Retainer — on larger, mergers-and-acquisitions-style engagements, some advisers charge a monthly retainer on top of a reduced success fee, rather than an upfront lump sum.

Free listing options exist too — bizflip, for example, lists businesses for sale at no cost. A broker's fee is paying for their advisory work, active buyer outreach and negotiation, not simply for having the business visible online, so it's worth being clear on what the fee actually buys before you compare it to a free listing.

Exclusive, sole or open listing — the agreement you sign

Before a broker markets your business, you sign an agency or engagement agreement. The type of agreement decides who you owe a commission to, and in what circumstances.

• Exclusive agency — the broker is entitled to commission if the business sells during the term, no matter who found the buyer, including if you found the buyer yourself.
• Sole agency — similar, but you're free of the commission if you, the seller, are the one who found the buyer.
• Open listing — you can list with more than one broker, or sell it yourself; whichever party actually brings the buyer is the one who gets paid.

Exclusive agency is the most common arrangement for confidential business sales, because it gives one broker a reason to invest properly in marketing and buyer screening rather than racing competitors to a deal. The term is negotiable — agreements are commonly a few months in the first instance, sometimes longer for bigger or harder-to-sell businesses — and it's reasonable to ask for a shorter initial term with the option to renew if the broker is actually performing, rather than committing upfront to a long period. Check two things before you sign: whether the agreement auto-renews unless you cancel in writing, and whether there's a "protection period" after it ends, where you'd still owe commission if you later sell to a buyer the broker introduced.

Who's allowed to charge you a broker fee

In most states, brokering the sale of a business for a fee is a regulated activity, folded into the same licence as real estate. In NSW, buying and selling a business used to need a separate "business agent" licence; since 23 March 2020 that function sits inside the standard real estate agent licence, so the person signing you up needs to hold that licence (or be a registered assistant working under someone who does). Queensland works the same way: a real estate agent licence there covers negotiating the sale of a business, not just property, under the Property Occupations Act 2014. The rules exist, and the regulator's name, differ by state — NSW Fair Trading, Queensland's Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria and their equivalents elsewhere — so before signing anything, check the broker's name and licence number against the relevant state's public register.

Questions to ask before you sign

• What is the commission percentage, and does it step down as the price moves — what would a sliding scale mean at the price I actually expect?
• Is there a minimum commission in dollars? What does that work out to as a percentage on a realistic sale price?
• Is the upfront or marketing fee refundable, and is it credited against the final commission?
• Is the quoted fee inclusive or exclusive of GST?
• What type of agreement is this — exclusive, sole or open — and for how long?
• Does the agreement auto-renew, and what notice do I need to give to end it?
• Is there a protection period after the agreement ends, and how long does it run?
• What does the upfront fee actually pay for — which platforms will the business be listed on, and how many buyers will be contacted directly?
• Can I see the broker's current real estate/business agent licence number and check it on the state register?

The Australian Institute of Business Brokers (AIBB), the industry's main professional body, requires its members to be clear about fees, disclose any additional costs, and get written instructions from a client before starting work. That's a reasonable baseline to expect from any broker, whether or not they're a member.

Sources

Every load-bearing claim in this guide, and where it comes from:

• Business brokers typically charge commission of roughly 5–15% of the sale price, on a sliding scale that falls as deal size rises — businessforsale.com.au
• Minimum commission clauses are common, often in the $15,000–$30,000 range, which can push the effective rate on a small sale well above the quoted percentage — bsale.com.au
• Upfront engagement/marketing fees are commonly charged separately from commission, and whether they are credited against the final commission varies by broker — Scale Suite
• Larger deals often use a sliding, Lehman-style commission scale that compresses toward roughly 2–5% as deal size grows — emanda.app
• Exclusive agency agreements with business brokers are commonly a few months in length in the first instance and are negotiable in term — Business Brokers
• Exclusive agency entitles the agent to commission regardless of who finds the buyer; sole agency exempts the seller if they find the buyer themselves — NSW Government (Fair Trading)
• Since 23 March 2020, the NSW business agent licence function was consolidated into the standard real estate agent licence, so brokering a business sale requires that licence — NSW Government
• In Queensland, a real estate agent licence covers negotiating the sale, purchase or exchange of a business, not just property, under the Property Occupations Act 2014 — Queensland Government
• The AIBB Code of Conduct requires members to be clear about fees, disclose additional costs, and obtain written client instructions before starting work — Australian Institute of Business Brokers (AIBB)

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