Hiring a freelance Shopify or WordPress developer from Australia
To be clear upfront: Samverse is not based in Australia. I work remotely from Pune, India. Many Australian store owners and agencies work this way because one developer handles the build, the store settings and later fixes, with a written scope and fixed quote before anything starts, and the store, domain and payment accounts registered in your business name.
Compared with hiring local WordPress developers, the main differences are the time zone and that all contact is remote, by calls, email and WhatsApp.
Shopify expert or freelance developer?
Australian store owners often search for a Shopify expert when they need theme customisation, a faster store, app clean-up or a migration from WooCommerce. That is the work I do: theme edits on a duplicate theme, apps reviewed and removed where they slow the store, and changes published only after you approve them. I am not in the Shopify Partner directory, so the trade-off is a direct relationship with one developer rather than an agency listing.
Australian store setup checklist
- GST: prices including 10% GST, tax settings matching your registration, ABN on tax invoices.
- Payments: Shopify Payments or Stripe, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Afterpay, Zip or PayPal once approved.
- Shipping: Australia Post, Sendle or courier rates by postcode or zone, with click and collect if you have a shop.
- Accessibility and privacy: WCAG 2.1 AA checks on templates and checkout, and a privacy policy and cookie notice you have reviewed.
Working hours across Australian time zones
India is 4.5 hours behind AEST and 5.5 hours behind AEDT, 3.5 to 4 hours behind Brisbane and Adelaide, and 2.5 hours behind Perth. In practice, calls work best in your afternoon, which is my morning, and the rest runs by email, Loom videos and WhatsApp.
Proof of work
There is no Australian case study yet. You can check live work for Southern Flavours in the UK and Third Eye Social, and for store work see Shopify development and WooCommerce development.
Also selling to the US? See the USA page.
