Are you looking for a VPN in Australia? VPN usage is prevalent both inside Australia and among Australians who go overseas. Whether you want to watch Australian television or safeguard your internet privacy while using public wifi, a VPN can assist.
We’ve got you covered whether you’re looking to conceal your online activity from your ISP and hackers, or if you’re looking for the best VPN for watching prohibited content overseas.
A VPN, or virtual private network, encrypts internet data on a device and passes it via an intermediate server in the user’s chosen location. This enables Australians to view geo-restricted content inside their own nation. Additionally, it may be used to create a private tunnel for P2P filesharing programs.
Additionally, the VPN we suggested features servers with Australian IP addresses, allowing you to connect to your favorite Australian television while traveling, as well as access geo-restricted content (such as US Netflix or BBC) from inside Australia.
Criteria for choosing the best VPN for Australia
With so many alternatives accessible, you may find it difficult to choose a VPN. Not all, though, are worthy of your time and money. To help you make an informed selection, we looked for a VPN that met the following criteria:
- Servers located across the globe (including Australia).
- Fast, unrestricted connections for lag-free streaming.
- Secures your internet traffic using the latest encryption technology.
- By not maintaining any identifying records, it safeguards privacy.
- Support is provided through live chat and email. 365 days a year.
- Allows for a minimum of five concurrent connections.
Best VPN for Australia
NordVPN
NordVPN is one of the fastest VPN services available, with servers in several countries and different locations around Asia-Pacific. That means you have a plethora of options for Australian servers. This VPN is exceptional at unblocking geo-restricted services and can circumvent both US and Australian Netflix proxy firewalls. It maintains no records of any type and is situated in Panama, which has no data retention rules. With AES 256-bit encryption and safe VPN servers, NordVPN prioritizes user privacy.
Additionally, NordVPN provides dedicated servers for privacy and high-speed downloads, including ultra-fast streaming, double-hop VPN, Tor over VPN, and anti-DDoS.
VPNs to avoid in Australia
One of the primary reasons to use a VPN is to improve your online security and the privacy of your digital footprint while you are online. Regrettably, not all VPNs do this function, and some may potentially impair or damage your privacy.
Hola
Israel-based Hola is not a standard VPN service in the sense that it does not link consumers to a network of centralized servers controlled by the VPN provider. Instead, Hola users connect to one another using the idle bandwidth of other internet users as part of a vast peer-to-peer network. Obviously, this raises significant security and legal problems. Users might, for example, exploit one another’s internet connection to engage in criminal conduct. Hola utilized the computers of its users to construct a botnet and launch a huge distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assault in 2015. Customers’ confidence was abused completely without their awareness.
HideMyAss
In 2011, a member of the LulzSec hacking collective was arrested for his role in an assault on the Sony Pictures website. Cody Kretsinger concealed his online identity using HideMyAss VPN, but the provider cooperated with a court order to turn over data that led to his arrest. This happened despite the company’s commitment to not keeping user activity data. HMA maintains that it does not track the content of its customers’ internet traffic, but it does maintain thorough metadata logs that include users’ actual IP addresses, which was sufficient to prosecute Kretsinger.
With the UK’s recent passage of the Snooper’s Charter, which forces service providers to retain full records of their customers’ internet activity, HideMyAss, situated in the United Kingdom, seems to be the last service that any privacy-conscious individual would want to sign up for.
Our process for determining the best VPN for Australia
There are a variety of reasons why you would consider using a VPN. This could be to access geo-restricted content, safeguard your data, or circumvent ISP throttling. In any event, the best VPN for Australia is robust all-rounders that enable you to do all of this and more. Below, we discuss the important criteria and our approach in further detail.
All major VPN providers offer servers in dozens of countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and, of course, Australia. In most instances, the VPN described in this article provides thousands of servers. As such, you should have no difficulty circumventing limits or establishing a fast connection.
- Speeds: Certain VPNs are just too sluggish, especially when it comes to bandwidth-intensive activities like streaming and torrenting. We do performance testing on each VPN’s servers in numerous regions. Thus, we can identify the fastest VPNs available, all of which provide unlimited bandwidth.
- Unblocking: Due to copyright and even government control, many websites and services are not accessible globally. While some VPNs have difficulty with this, the top VPNs regularly discover workarounds. We ensure this by constantly testing them against popular services such as BBC iPlayer, Skype, and Twitter.
- Security: At the very least, we search for VPNs that provide 256-bit AES encryption, security against DNS leaks, and a kill button. Many of the best VPNs for Australia, on the other hand, provide additional features such as dual VPN servers, a password manager, and an ad blocker. As a result, you’ll benefit from enhanced protection.
- Privacy: A VPN should encrypt your data and mask your IP address, enabling you to surf anonymously. Some lack an adequate degree of encryption, while others may retain logs that might be used to identify you or even record and sell your surfing data. We examined 140 VPN logging policies in order to choose the absolute best.
- Ease of use: Simple-to-use programs may make all the difference in terms of how much you like using a VPN. Having personally tried dozens of VPN applications, we know which ones are the simplest to set up and navigate. Even better, all of them provide 24-hour live chat and email help in the event of a problem.
- Value: Despite providing all of the above, the best VPN for Australia remains reasonably priced, especially if you sign up for a long-term membership. Additionally, all come with at least a 30-day money-back guarantee. To maximize your savings, make sure to use our VPN discount coupons!
Our VPN testing technique delves even further into the process of analyzing VPNs. This hands-on approach enables us to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information possible.
FAQs about VPNs in Australia
Why should you avoid free VPN services?
While it may be tempting to go for a free VPN over a commercial one, we highly advise against it. With very few exceptions, free VPNs are either very restricted in their functionality or compromise your privacy in order to mine personal data that is subsequently sold to third-party advertising.
Often, free VPNs include data quotas, bandwidth restrictions, and even delays. There is a restricted variety of servers. Some will put advertising into your browser and track your activity via tracking cookies. This effectively decreases your privacy and defies the point of using a VPN.
If you must use a free VPN, be careful to read the company’s privacy statement. Ascertain that they adhere to stringent encryption standards and maintain no-logs policy. We urge, however, that you choose for enhanced security, limitless bandwidth, and access to geo-restricted content that only a commercial VPN service can give.
Is it legal to use a VPN in Australia?
Yes, it is absolutely legal to use a VPN in Australia. This does not, however, render you immune to the law. Using a VPN to conceal criminal behavior remains a crime.
Using a VPN to circumvent region-locked services may violate the terms of service of such services. However, they are not laws and are often not enforced by punitive action.
Will a VPN assist you in circumventing Australia’s data retention law?
VPN offers a plethora of privacy safeguards that we believe everyone should take advantage of. This is notably true in Australia, where a 2017 survey indicated that cybercrime rates grew by 15% to 47,000 instances over the preceding 12 months. They will, however, be ineffective in the context of Australia’s 2015 data retention legislation.
Google is replete with articles suggesting that a VPN would prevent ISPs from collecting information, but this is not the case. While a VPN conceals the contents of your internet traffic and your location from the outside world, you must still connect through your ISP’s network. A VPN cannot, strictly speaking, prevent an ISP from recording your geolocation, device information, and traffic volume.
We went into additional information about this in our post on Australia’s data retention statute. Additionally, you may discover various ways to circumvent data retention regulations there.
Is torrenting a criminal offense in Australia?
Torrenting copyrighted content is a criminal offense in Australia, however, enforcement is lax. It is uncommon for copyright holders to successfully sue ISPs for the names of torrenters, from whom they might subsequently seek compensation through a procedure known as speculative invoicing.
However, efforts to clamp down on torrenting have been met with uneven results. A “three-strikes” proposal, under which ISPs would warn torrenters on behalf of copyright holders, was shelved in 2016 owing to cost disagreements.
In 2016, an Australian federal court ordered internet service providers to restrict BitTorrent tracker websites such as ThePirateBay, Torrentz, TorrentHound, IsoHunt, and SolarMovie. This has shown to be partially successful since traffic to these sites from Australia has decreased by 53%. This does not include VPN users; the sites are still accessible using the VPN mentioned above.
In 2017, the list of blacklisted websites was expanded by 59 additional pirate sites, increasing the total to more than 160.
The Australian Parliament enacted the Copyright Amendment to the Copyright Act in late November 2018. This amendment requires internet service providers to ban proxy servers and mirror sites—duplicates of restricted torrent sites that appear after the original site is blocked—without requiring numerous court judgments. Second, the new rules require search engines like Google to delete or downgrade links to illegal websites, as well as their proxies and mirrors.
PrivacyExplore never condones or promotes piracy. Kindly use only legal torrents.
Is it legal to use a VPN in Australia to access US Netflix?
No, using a VPN to access US Netflix from Australia is not against the law.
However, using a VPN to access video streaming libraries in other countries violates Netflix’s terms of service, which state:
“You may only access Netflix content in the nation in which you created your account and only in geographic areas where we provide our services and have licensed such content. Information that is accessible for viewing varies by geographic region and is subject to change.”
Netflix implements this regulation by barring connections from the majority of VPN providers but does not punish customers who seek to access the service over a VPN. Apart from merely blocking streams, we have not seen Netflix prohibit, suspend, or take legal action against VPN users.
What are the greatest streaming television networks in Australia?
Here are several streaming services available in Australia that you may access from inside the country:
- Netflix Australia
- 10Play (Network 10)
- Kayo (live sports)
- Stan
- Amazon Prime Video
- Foxtel Now
- CBS 10 All Access
- Hayu (reality TV)
- BINGE
- Apple TV+
- Disney+
Is it unlawful in Australia to access the deep web?
No, accessing the deep web or darknet is not prohibited in Australia. Check read our post on how to securely and secretly visit the deep web and black web.
Is utilizing a VPN going to increase my privacy while I’m on social media?
To a certain extent, yeah. A VPN masks your IP address on the social network and prevents other parties, such as your internet service provider, from monitoring your social media activities.
However, social networks will still demand you to check in, thus a VPN would not conceal your identity. Numerous social networking sites also install tracking cookies on your device, which are unaffected by VPNs.
Is it possible to prevent identity theft by using a VPN?
Because identity theft is a broad phrase that encompasses a variety of crimes, a VPN may assist but is not a panacea for avoiding identity theft. A VPN secures data in transit, so if an identity thief is waiting to steal your information on your wi-fi network, for example, a VPN can prevent them from doing so.
However, identity theft may occur in a variety of ways, and a VPN cannot protect you from every situation. It will not prevent data breaches, phishing attempts, or robbers from sifting through your rubbish for abandoned papers.
Which Australian cities are served by NordVPN servers?
NordVPN has servers in Australia’s major cities of Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Which VPN service is the best for viewing Australian rules football?
Kayo, an Australian sports streaming service, is the cheapest method to watch Australian Rules Football (a.k.a. Aussie rules football) online. NordVPN offers a large number of servers located in Australia that are capable of unblocking Kayo. Kayo’s monthly subscription fee begins at AU$25 for streaming on two devices.
You may also use WatchAFL.com to watch AFL Premiership games from overseas, but it is more costly, beginning at US$33 per month. If you are located outside of Australia, you will not need a VPN; nevertheless, Australian viewers will need to connect to a VPN in another country in order to utilize WatchAFL.com.
Subscribing to NordVPN and Kayo would almost certainly be less expensive than paying for WatchAFL.com alone.
Is it possible to watch British television in Australia?
Yes! By connecting to a VPN server in the United Kingdom via one of the recommended services above, you can access BBC iPlayer, All 4, ITV, and Sky Go, as well as a plethora of other British services.
How do I access American Netflix on my Australian smart TV?
VPNs are often not supported on smart televisions. As a result, there are many alternatives:
Install the VPN on your wireless network or buy a VPN router that is already configured. Due to its proprietary VPN software, ExpressVPN is our preferred alternative for this. Any device connected to the router will automatically connect to the VPN.
Utilize a laptop or smartphone to create a VPN-enabled wireless hotspot. By connecting your phone or laptop to a VPN and then tethering your smart TV to that device, you may use a VPN to route your smart TV’s internet connection.
Utilize a clever DNS proxy server. While many smart TVs do not enable VPNs, they do allow consumers to configure custom DNS servers. For instance, ExpressVPN provides access to its MediaStreamer DNS service to all users. This does not provide the same level of safety as a VPN, but it does allow you to access Netflix and other streaming services.
Is it possible to increase internet speeds while using a VPN?
Generally, a VPN will cause a minor slowdown in your connection owing to the encryption and decryption processes, as well as the additional time required to route via the VPN server.
A VPN may help circumvent some of your internet service provider’s bandwidth throttling. If your ISP, for example, throttles BitTorrent downloads, a VPN’s encryption will mask that activity, preventing your ISP from discriminating against it. A VPN, on the other hand, will not bypass blanket throttling, such as when you exceed your monthly data cap.
In some cases, a VPN connection can utilize a less congested route or data source, resulting in increased speeds. However, this is not always the case.