From 1 October 2026, new rules will prevent Australian businesses from adding a surcharge to customers who pay using Visa, Mastercard, eftpos and American Express cards.

If you use Service Fees in Cookaborough, there is no need to change how these fees are applied. Cookaborough Service Fees are not credit card surcharges and are not affected by the new rules.

What is changing?

A card surcharge is an additional fee charged specifically because a customer chooses to pay using a particular payment method.

From 1 October 2026, new rules will prevent businesses from adding these surcharges to Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos debit, credit and prepaid card payments. 

For example, a business will no longer be able to add an extra 1.5% to an order simply because the customer chooses to pay by credit card.

The important distinction is that these changes relate specifically to fees charged because of the customer's chosen payment method. They do not prohibit legitimate service fees that relate to providing or servicing an order and apply independently of how the customer pays.

Why Cookaborough service fees are different

The Service Fee that Cookaborough allows a food business to add to an order is not a credit card or payment surcharge.

Cookaborough provides food businesses with the ability to add a Service Fee to help offset some of the external operational costs associated with receiving, managing and fulfilling customer orders via Cookaborough.

Depending on how a business operates, these can include costs associated with third-party tools and services that are integrated with, or used alongside, Cookaborough, such as:

• Email and customer communication software used to send order confirmations, reminders and other customer communications;
• Delivery partner and delivery routing integrations used to plan, manage and complete customer deliveries;
• Phone ordering and communication systems used to assist customers and manage orders; and
• Web hosting and other technology infrastructure required to provide and maintain online ordering services.

These are operational costs associated with providing the overall ordering and fulfilment service to customers. They are not costs that arise because a customer chooses to pay by credit card.

Most importantly, where a food business applies a Cookaborough Service Fee, it applies to the applicable order regardless of the customer's payment method.

The Service Fee in Cookaborough is applied whether an order is paid by:

• Credit or debit card;
• Cash; or
• Invoice.

A customer does not pay the Service Fee because they have chosen to use a credit or debit card. They pay it as part of the service associated with their order.

This is the fundamental difference between a Cookaborough Service Fee and a card surcharge.

Service Fees for standard customer orders

Cookaborough allows businesses to apply a Service Fee of up to 2% to standard customer orders.

The purpose of this fee is to help the business offset external operational costs associated with managing and fulfilling customer orders through Cookaborough, including technology, communications, delivery and other integrated services.

These costs can exist regardless of how the customer ultimately pays for their order. For this reason, the Service Fee is attached to the order rather than to the customer's chosen payment method.

Service Fees for Support at Home and NDIS orders

Businesses servicing Support at Home (SaH) and NDIS customers can apply a Service Fee of up to 5%.

In addition to the operational costs that apply to standard orders, SaH and NDIS orders can involve additional administration and servicing requirements, including:

• Creating and managing customer profiles;
• Managing SaH and NDIS customer applications;
• Generating compliant split-payment invoices;
• Managing invoicing and payment reconciliations;
• Communicating with Care Providers and Plan Managers; and
• Providing additional customer support.

The Service Fee helps offset these broader operational and administrative costs. It is not a fee for accepting a credit or debit card and applies independently of the customer's payment method.

Do I need to make any changes?

No.

If you currently use Cookaborough's Service Fee functionality as intended, you do not need to remove or change your Service Fee because of the card surcharge changes commencing on 1 October 2026.

What if a customer asks about the Service Fee?

Customers may have heard about the credit card surcharge ban and understandably ask why a Service Fee continues to appear on their order.

You can explain:

“The Service Fee on your order is not a credit card surcharge. It helps offset some of the operational costs associated with providing and fulfilling your order, including technology, customer communications and delivery-related systems. The fee applies regardless of whether an order is paid by card, cash or invoice. The new rules relate to additional fees charged specifically because a customer chooses to pay by card, so they do not apply to this Service Fee.”

What about the fees Cookaborough charges my business?

There is also no change to the fees Cookaborough charges your business because of the credit card surcharge ban.

Cookaborough charges a 1.9% transaction fee on orders processed through the platform. This is not a credit card surcharge and is not a fee charged because a customer chooses to pay by card.

The transaction fee contributes to the cost of third-party integrated tools that enhance your platform experience and support the operation of your Cookaborough business.

It forms part of the existing fee structure between Cookaborough and your business and is separate from any fees charged by your business to an end customer.