Best VPNs for Australia 2023 – Secure Your Online Privacy with These Top-rated VPNs
March 2023 is right around the corner, and with it comes the need for a reliable VPN if you are living in or visiting Australia. As a member of the 5-Eyes surveillance alliance, data retention law and government collecting your data from telecommunications companies, Australians must take extra steps to protect their privacy and security online. A robust VPN service can help by encrypting your data and keeping you anonymous while browsing, streaming, or downloading. Additionally, a great VPN can give you access to geo-restricted services like 10Play and 9Now when traveling abroad. To save you time on researching the best options available, we have compiled a list of the top VPNs for Australia in 2023. Each provider was chosen based on its security features, speed, price point, ability to unblock content (including streaming sites), customer service quality and its overall reputation. This list includes both free and paid options so that everyone can find something that suits their needs perfectly.
30-day money-back guarantee
$4.19/month
59% off with 24-mo plan
30-day money-back guarantee
$2.30/month
82% off with 24-mo plan
+2 free months
30-day money-back guarantee
$6.67/month
49% off with 12-mo plan
+3 free months
$2.19/month
24-mo plan
+2 free months
$2.29/month
79% off with 24-mo plan
+3 free months
$1.83/month
83% off with 36-mo plan
$2.19/month
24-mo plan
+2 free months
$2.19/month
83% off with 24-mo plan
+2 free months
30-day money-back guarantee
$5/month
199$ Lifetime
63% off with 12-mo plan
$119.99 for 3 years
90% off with 60-mo plan
$2.99/month
77% off with 36-mo plan
NordVPN
NordVPN is a popular choice for Australian users in 2023 due to its 200 servers across five major cities, such as Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. NordVPN uses AES-256 encryption and includes a kill switch for DNS leak protection. Even better, it operates a strict no logs policy and is independently audited to guarantee user privacy and security. Additionally, its proprietary NordLynx protocol provides super fast speeds with no lagging while streaming. The SmartPlay feature allows users to access geo-restricted content from any device that doesn’t support VPNs. Obfuscated servers ensure your activities remain anonymous even when using public Wi-Fi networks. With all these features and competitive pricing plans, NordVPN has earned its spot as one of the top VPNs for Australians this year.
Surfshark
Surfshark is a great choice for Australians looking for the best value-for-money VPN. With 70 servers across five major cities in Australia, Surfshark offers great coverage and fast speeds. It also provides 256-bit encryption and an independently audited zero-logs policy to keep your data safe from prying eyes. And with its WireGuard protocol, you can be sure of no lagging or buffering when streaming your favorite content. Added features like malware blocker and traffic obfuscation ensure that your online activities are kept private even on public Wi-Fi networks. All these features come at a competitive price, making it one of the cheapest VPNs in Australia this year.
IPVanish
IPVanish is a great Australian VPN that offers all-rounded protection to its users. With 50 servers in the major cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, IPVanish provides excellent coverage and speed. The provider also uses the strongest AES-265 encryption to keep your data safe from any third-party interference. Additionally, it has a kill switch feature that shuts off your internet connection if your VPN connection drops unexpectedly. Moreover, IPVanish also provides 500GB of encrypted storage and a free SOCKS5 proxy for hiding your IP address. And with its traffic obfuscation feature and split tunneling functionality, you can be sure that no one will know you’re using a VPN while still having full control over which apps use the VPN connection. Finally, IPVanish is great for streaming as it unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer and YouTube without any buffering or lagging.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is an excellent provider for Australians who want to access content from abroad while keeping their data safe. Featuring a proprietary Lightway protocol, ExpressVPN provides fast connection speeds and unlimited bandwidth. With servers in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, you can be sure that your connection won’t slow down even when streaming HD content. Furthermore, ExpressVPN uses the highest form of encryption – AES-265 – to keep your data secure from prying eyes. Additionally, it also has a strict no-logs policy that ensures none of your activities are tracked or stored by the service. Moreover, MediaStreamer lets you unblock media streaming sites on devices that don’t natively support VPNs and Threat Manager blocks app trackers for extra privacy protection. Finally, with its access to 9Now and 10Play along with Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Hulu, there’s plenty of content to stream without compromising on speed or security.
CyberGhost VPN
CyberGhost is a powerful VPN service provider that offers Australians the perfect combination of streaming, gaming and torrenting servers. It has an impressive 238 Australian servers to access local content, while you can also unblock international streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and BBC iPlayer with ease. Furthermore, CyberGhost offers top-notch security features such as AES-265 encryption and an independently audited no-logs policy to keep your data safe. Additionally, its WireGuard protocol ensures fast speeds without buffering or lagging issues when streaming HD content. And if that wasn’t enough, there are specialized servers for streaming which makes it easy to watch 10Play and 9Now with a high quality video stream. On top of all this, CyberGhost comes at an affordable price of $2.19/month making it one of the most cost-effective options for Australians looking for the best VPN in March 2023.
Is the use of a VPN legal in Australia?
Using a VPN in Australia is perfectly legal. That said, using a VPN to hide illegal activity or bypass region-locked services still fall under the law and can be punished accordingly. It should be noted that these are not laws, but rather terms of service for certain services which are generally not enforced with punitive action. However, this does not make you immune to the law and thus it is important to use a VPN responsibly. All in all, if you’re looking to protect your online privacy and access geo-blocked content then using a VPN is a good idea as long as it’s used within the boundaries of the law.
Can a VPN assist with the compliance of Australia’s data retention law?
The short answer is no, a VPN will not help you avoid Australia’s data retention law. This law requires ISPs to store metadata relating to their customers’ online activities for a two year period. This includes information such as who you communicate with, the time and duration of communications, how much data was sent and received, and where the communication took place. A VPN can encrypt your traffic so that it cannot be read by third-parties, but it cannot hide your online activity from your ISP or prevent them from collecting the required metadata. While it is possible to set up a VPN within Australia that routes all of your internet traffic via another country in order to avoid this law, this would be considered illegal in most cases. Ultimately then, if you want to stay compliant with Australian law then using a VPN won’t help you get around the data retention laws.
Is torrenting illegal in Australia?
Torrenting is generally illegal in Australia. Although there is no specific law against torrenting, it is usually considered to be a breach of copyright as it involves downloading or sharing copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. This can include movies, music, TV shows, software, and other digital media. As such, it is not uncommon for those who engage in torrenting to be pursued by copyright holders for damages through speculative invoicing. Moreover, the Australian government has attempted to crack down on torrenting by ordering ISPs to block BitTorrent tracker sites. Despite these measures, torrenting remains popular in Australia but users should proceed with caution as they may face legal repercussions if they are caught engaging in such activity.
Are VPNs allowed in Australia to access U.S. Netflix?
Yes, using a VPN to access US Netflix from Australia is legal. However, it should be noted that using a VPN to access another country’s streaming library may be in violation of Netflix’s terms of use. This means that if you use a VPN to watch US Netflix from Australia, you may be blocked and unable to stream content. Furthermore, it is not recommended to use a free VPN as these are often unreliable and can lead to your data being exposed or shared with third parties. To ensure safe and secure streaming, it is recommended to invest in a paid VPN service with servers located in the US that offer fast speeds and reliable connections. Ultimately, while accessing US Netflix via a VPN is legal in Australia, users should take precautions when doing so.
What is the best way to access American Netflix on a smart TV in Australia?
If you’re looking to access American Netflix on your smart TV in Australia, you may be disappointed to learn that most Smart TVs don’t support VPNs. However, there are still a few ways to get around this issue and watch US Netflix from down under.
The first option is to install the VPN onto your wi-fi router. This will allow any device that connects to the router to use the VPN for secure streaming. Alternatively, you can purchase a pre-configured VPN router which is designed specifically for streaming purposes. ExpressVPN is our top pick here as it offers custom firmware which should make installation easier.
Another option is to use a laptop or phone as a VPN-enabled wi-fi hotspot. Simply connect your Smart TV to this hotspot instead of your normal home network and it should be able to access US Netflix without issue. Whichever option you choose, always remember that using a free VPN service may put your data at risk, so we recommend investing in a paid subscription with reliable speeds and connections for safe streaming.
Is it possible to be traced if using a VPN in Australia?
Yes, you can be tracked if you use a VPN in Australia, just like any other country. When you connect to a VPN server, your internet traffic is encrypted, making it more difficult for anyone to trace or monitor your activity. However, this does not mean that you are completely anonymous or untraceable. You can still be identified by IP address and other methods such as DNS leaks or malware. To ensure the highest level of anonymity and security, we recommend investing in a quality paid VPN provider with advanced encryption protocols and robust privacy policies.