Forex Currency Pairs Explained for Australian Traders (2026)

Summary

• Forex pairs split into three groups: majors (eight USD pairs), minors (cross pairs without USD), and exotics (a major paired with an emerging-market currency).
• AUD/USD is the home pair for Australian traders and counts as a major. Spreads are tight, liquidity is deep during Sydney/Tokyo and London/NY overlap.
• ASIC leverage caps are 30:1 on majors, 20:1 on minors and gold, 10:1 on other commodities, 5:1 on share CFDs, 2:1 on crypto.
• Common AUD crosses across our 30 ASIC-regulated brokers include AUD/USD, AUD/JPY, AUD/NZD, AUD/CAD, AUD/CHF, AUD/SGD, AUD/HKD.
• Pip values on AUD-quoted pairs differ from USD-quoted pairs. We work through the maths below.

How currency pairs work

A forex pair quotes one currency in terms of another. AUD/USD at 0.6500 means one Australian dollar buys 65 US cents. The first currency is the base. The second is the quote or counter currency. When you buy AUD/USD, you’re buying AUD and selling USD simultaneously.

Pairs are quoted to four decimal places (five for some pairs at most ASIC brokers). The smallest standard movement is one pip, which is the fourth decimal place on most pairs and the second decimal place on JPY-quoted pairs (USD/JPY, AUD/JPY). The fifth decimal is called a fractional pip or pipette.

Standard lot sizes:

• 1 standard lot = 100,000 units of the base currency
• 1 mini lot = 10,000 units
• 1 micro lot = 1,000 units
• 1 nano lot (some brokers) = 100 units

Most ASIC-regulated brokers in our shortlist let retail traders trade fractional lots from 0.01 standard lots upwards. IC Markets, Pepperstone and FP Markets all support 0.01 lots on every pair.

Major forex pairs

The majors are the seven (sometimes eight) most-traded forex pairs. All include the US dollar on one side. Combined, they account for roughly 75% of global forex turnover.

Some sources include EUR/GBP as a major. ASIC’s Product Intervention Order treats EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY as majors for leverage purposes (30:1 cap), even though strict definitions classify them as minors.

AUD/USD, the Aussie

AUD/USD is your home pair. It’s the most-traded AUD cross and one of the seven major pairs globally. Nicknamed “the Aussie” by traders, it correlates strongly with commodity prices (especially iron ore and gold), Chinese economic data, and the RBA cash rate.

Why AU traders gravitate to AUD/USD:

• AUD is the account currency for most ASIC-regulated brokers. No conversion cost on profits.
• Spreads are among the tightest on most accounts. RAW pricing typically 0.1 to 0.4 pips.
• High liquidity during Sydney session (7am to 4pm AEST), Tokyo session (10am to 7pm AEST) and London/NY overlap (11pm to 2am AEST).
• Strongly driven by AU-specific catalysts: RBA decisions, ABS labour data, commodities, China.

The downside of AUD/USD as a beginner pair is that it can be choppy. Australian dollar moves are sometimes driven by Chinese data released overnight or US data released during Sydney’s evening, which means the pair can gap on the open or move sharply at session changeovers.

Minor pairs (cross pairs)

Minor pairs, also called cross pairs, are pairs of major currencies that don’t include the US dollar. EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY, EUR/CHF, AUD/JPY all fall here. Liquidity is good but typically a tier below the seven majors. Spreads are wider on RAW accounts (often 0.5 to 1.5 pips on EUR/JPY, AUD/JPY).

Common minors AU traders use:

• AUD/JPY, sensitive to risk-on/risk-off flows. Carry trade favourite when interest rate differentials widen.
• AUD/NZD, RBA versus RBNZ trade. Tight range, slow-mover, popular with mean-reversion strategies.
• AUD/CAD, two commodity currencies. Often correlated to oil and iron ore.
• EUR/JPY, risk barometer for European versus Asian flows.
• GBP/JPY, high volatility minor, popular with swing traders.

Under ASIC’s Product Intervention Order, leverage on minor forex pairs is capped at 20:1 for retail clients. EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY are treated as majors for the 30:1 cap because they qualify under ASIC’s published list of “major forex pairs”. Always check the broker’s PDS for the exact classification.

Exotic pairs

Exotics combine a major currency with an emerging-market currency. USD/SGD, USD/HKD, USD/MXN, USD/ZAR, EUR/TRY are common examples. Liquidity is thinner. Spreads are wider, often 5 to 50 pips on the most exotic pairs. Slippage risk is higher.

For AU traders, exotic AUD pairs are the most relevant. AUD/SGD and AUD/HKD are offered by several ASIC brokers and are useful for traders with Asia-Pacific business or travel exposure. Most retail forex traders don’t trade exotics regularly because the cost of entry and exit eats most of the move.

ASIC leverage caps on exotic pairs typically default to the 20:1 minor pair cap. Some brokers apply tighter risk limits. Confirm with your broker’s published margin schedule.

AUD crosses available across our 30-broker shortlist

Not every broker offers every AUD cross. Here’s the rough availability across the 30 ASIC-regulated brokers we cover.

If you trade an unusual AUD cross, check the broker’s instrument list before opening. CMC Markets and IG Markets have the broadest AUD cross coverage in our 30-broker set.

Pip values explained

A pip is the standard unit of price movement. On a USD-quoted pair (EUR/USD, AUD/USD, GBP/USD), one pip is the fourth decimal place. On a JPY-quoted pair, it’s the second decimal place.

Pip value calculation: pip value = (one pip / exchange rate) × lot size, expressed in the quote currency.

For a standard lot (100,000 units) of EUR/USD:

• One pip is 0.0001
• Pip value = 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10 USD per pip
• For an AUD account at AUD/USD 0.65, that’s roughly AUD 15.40 per pip

For a standard lot of AUD/USD:

• One pip is 0.0001
• Pip value = 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10 USD per pip
• For an AUD account at AUD/USD 0.65, that’s roughly AUD 15.40 per pip

For a standard lot of AUD/JPY (assume rate of 100):

• One pip is 0.01 (JPY pair)
• Pip value = 0.01 × 100,000 / 100 = AUD 10 per pip
• AUD-quoted on the base side, so the conversion lands closer to AUD 10

For a mini lot (10,000 units), divide all pip values by 10. For a micro lot (1,000), divide by 100.

This is why broker platforms quote pip value live: the pip value of EUR/USD changes daily with the AUD/USD exchange rate if you trade on an AUD account. For EAs and strategy testers, build pip value as a dynamic input rather than a hard-coded number.

Spread expectations across pair types

RAW spreads quoted from typical averages at IC Markets, Pepperstone and FP Markets RAW/Razor accounts. Standard spreads from CMC, IG and Plus500 typical no-commission accounts. Both quoted during the London/NY overlap on a typical Tuesday or Wednesday.

For active traders, RAW + commission is almost always cheaper on majors. For casual traders trading once or twice a week, the convenience of a flat-spread Standard account often wins. Our lowest spreads guide breaks the maths down.

ASIC leverage caps by pair type

Australian retail traders are capped at 30:1 leverage on major forex pairs under ASIC’s Product Intervention Order. The full schedule:

Wholesale clients can request higher leverage at the broker’s discretion, typically up to 500:1, subject to the broker’s wholesale-client criteria under section 761G of the Corporations Act. Roughly: AUD 500k+ net financial assets, or AUD 250k+ income for two consecutive years, certified by an accountant.

ASIC’s official list of major forex pairs (for the 30:1 cap) is: AUD/USD, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY. Anything outside this list defaults to the 20:1 minor pair cap.

Why AUD/USD is called the Aussie

The “Aussie” nickname dates from the 1980s when AUD/USD was first floated. The Australian dollar was deregulated by the Hawke government in December 1983. Forex traders in Sydney and London needed shorthand for the new pair, and “Aussie” stuck. The same nickname now applies more loosely to the AUD itself (“the Aussie was up half a cent”), though traders typically mean AUD/USD specifically when they say “the Aussie”.

By contrast, NZD/USD is “the Kiwi”, USD/CAD is “the Loonie” (named after the loon on the Canadian dollar coin), and EUR/USD is sometimes called “the Fibre” (from the fibre-optic cables that carry forex data, distinguishing it from “the Cable” used for GBP/USD, named for the original transatlantic telegraph cable).

These nicknames matter because they appear in market commentary, broker research, and Reuters newswires. If your broker’s morning analysis says “the Aussie tested 0.6480 overnight”, that’s AUD/USD.