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This calculator was last updated on July 26th, 2026.
First, as you may already be aware, there’re 3 players here. Suppliers, the host agency, and the agents.
Suppliers (like airlines, hotels, tour operators, etc.) are those who provide travel services. The host agency is an umbrella organization for many agents or sub-agents. Finally, the agents or sub-agents are travel advisory working under the host agency.
Yes, it’s very much possible for an independent agent to work directly with suppliers.
But this calculator will work both for agents working under host agencies and for independent agents. With independent agents, there’s no concept of a share or host agency, so 100% commission belongs to the agent.
So, what happens is the supplier pays commission to the host agency, and then the host agency distributes the commission to the agent or sub-agent after keeping its share. For example, a host agency may distribute 85% of the commission to a sub-agent after keeping its share of 15%.
Now, let’s understand each variable of this calculator.
Domestic Sales ($): The sales value of domestic travel services provided by suppliers to travellers. This includes GST. By domestic travel, we mean travel within Australia or travel services used within Australia.
Examples of domestic sales include a hotel booking in Sydney, a Melbourne tour, and a Qantas flight from Sydney to Melbourne.
International Sales ($): The sales value of international travel services provided by suppliers to travellers. When services are used outside of Australia, they are classified as service exports and are exempt from Australian GST. Therefore, international sales amounts exclude GST.
Examples of international sales include a Qantas flight from Sydney to Los Angeles, a hotel booking in Singapore, and a tour in Europe.
Commission Rate (%): Percentage of sales applied as commission. This is the total commission that the host agency or an independent agent will receive from the supplier.
Agent Share (%): Share of commission allocated to the agent. Where there’s no host agency involved (independent agents working directly with suppliers), enter 100 in the agent share input field.
Agent Commission Payout (if agent is GST registered): The final commission payout that the GST-registered agent will receive from the host agency or the supplier. This amount will include GST, which the agent will remit to the ATO.
Agent Commission Payout (if agent is not GST registered): The final commission payout that the agent (not registered under GST) will receive from the host agency or the supplier. This amount will not include GST (since the agent is not registered under GST, it cannot remit the GST to the ATO).
First, we need to deduct GST from the domestic sales amount (which already includes GST) to calculate the base domestic sales amount on which commission will be calculated.
Note: Presently, the GST rate in Australia is 10%
Net domestic sales = Gross domestic sales / (1 + GST rate / 100)
Net domestic sales = 9600 / (1 + 10/100) = 8727.27
Now, we need the total base sales amount on which commission will be calculated.
Total base sales amount = Net domestic sales + International sales
Total base sales amount = 8727.27 + 5000 = 13727.27
Total commission = Total base sales amount x (commission rate / 100)
Total commission = 13727.27 x (10 / 100) = 1372.72
Agent share (when agent is not GST registered) = Total commission x agent share
Agent share (when agent is not GST registered) = 1372.72 x (85 / 100) = $1166.82
If the agent is not GST registered, they will receive $1166.82 as payout.
Now, what if the agent is GST registered? This is where things get interesting. Since international sales are exempt from GST, commission generated from such sales is also exempt.
Agent share (when agent is GST registered) = [(Net domestic sales x commission rate x agent share) x 1.10] + (international sales x commission rate x agent share)
Agent share (when agent is GST registered) = [(8727.27 x 0.10 x 0.85) x 1.10] + (5000 x 0.10 x 0.85) = $1241