Amazon Australia Shipping Templates and Settings for FBM: Handling Time, Regions and Rates

Amazon shipping templates, also called shipping settings, control the delivery times and shipping charges buyers see on your fulfilled-by-merchant (FBM) offers on Amazon.com.au. To set them up, decide your handling time, your carriers and service levels, the regions you deliver to and your pricing, then apply those choices to groups of products in Seller Central. Amazon publishes the exact screens and current limits inside Seller Central; this guide covers the decisions that sit behind them.

What do shipping templates and settings control?

For FBM offers, your settings answer four questions for Amazon and the buyer:

1. How long until you ship? Your handling time, from order to dispatch.
2. How long does the carrier take? Transit time by region and service.
3. What does it cost the buyer? Free, flat, or by weight or order value.
4. Where do you deliver? Regions and any exclusions.

Amazon combines handling and transit time to show an estimated delivery date. Buyers compare that date between offers, so slow or vague settings cost sales. Amazon notes that its Shipping Settings Automation (SSA) tool helps set up delivery regions and transit times for Standard Delivery, using the delivery speeds of your preferred shipping services and your fulfilment centre location. There is a seller guide for SSA in Amazon's education resources.

Fulfilled-by-Amazon offers do not use these settings, because Amazon delivers them. See FBA vs FBM if you are still choosing.

What should you decide before touching the settings?

Work these out on paper first.

• Where you ship from. Your location sets your transit times. Use a real dispatch address.
• Your handling time. The time you can meet on a bad day, including weekends, stocktakes and peak sales. Missing a promise causes late shipments, which feed your seller performance metrics and can lead to A-to-z claims.
• Your carriers. Australia Post, a courier, or Amazon Easy Ship. Easy Ship is for domestic orders of products not registered in FBA, needs a Professional plan and an eligible Australian pick-up address, and its fees start from A$3.81 per package excluding GST for Zone A and up to 0.5 kg, as at 1 August 2025. Rates are updated periodically, so check the Easy Ship page.
• Your price policy. Whether you absorb shipping in the item price or charge it separately. Amazon says all Amazon.com.au customers get free Australian shipping on eligible orders over A$59. That is Amazon's offer on eligible orders, so check which of your offers it applies to before you design pricing around it.
• Excluded areas. Remote postcodes or locations you will not serve.

How do you structure templates?

Few templates beat many. A common structure for a small catalogue:

The handling times in the table are placeholders; set your own. Amazon does not publish a recommended handling time for Australia on its public pages. For postage rates and services, see Amazon FBM with Australia Post.

How do you create or change a template in Seller Central?

Amazon's Seller Central help pages explain the current steps, and they sit inside your account, so the screens are not reproduced here. The general path is:

1. Open the shipping settings area in Seller Central.
2. Create or edit a template, naming it by what it covers, such as "Light parcel".
3. Set handling time, regions, service levels and rates.
4. Assign the template to each offer, in bulk if your inventory tool allows it.
5. Check an actual listing to see the delivery estimate a buyer sees.

If a setting you expect is missing, you may be on a different shipping model. Seller forum posts also report that Amazon has changed how some settings can be edited over time, so use the help page inside your account rather than an old screenshot. If the dispatch estimate on the listing differs from your setting, raise a case.

What is Shipping Settings Automation?

SSA is Amazon's tool that sets delivery regions and transit times for Standard Delivery based on your preferred services and your location. It reduces manual error and keeps estimates realistic. Use it as a base, then check the output against your carrier's actual performance, especially for regional deliveries and during sale events. Our sales calendar lists the peaks to plan for.

How does charging for shipping affect your price?

The referral fee is calculated on the total sales price including delivery and gift wrapping, with no minimum or maximum. So a shipping charge you add to the buyer's total also attracts referral fee, and free shipping built into the item price does too. Work out the comparison on the whole buyer total, not the item price alone.

An illustrative case, using the Home and Kitchen referral rate of 13%: you sell a kitchen tool at A$25.00 and charge A$6.00 shipping. The buyer pays A$31.00 and the referral fee is 13% of A$31.00, which is A$4.03. If you instead price at A$31.00 with free shipping, the fee is the same A$4.03, and the listing may look stronger next to offers that show free delivery. Your real postage, packaging and labour are the numbers to set against it. These amounts exclude GST, so confirm treatment with the ATO or a registered tax agent; this is general information, not tax advice.

What goes wrong with FBM shipping settings?

• Handling time too short. Late shipments hurt your metrics and invite buyer complaints.
• Wrong transit estimates. Buyers see a date you cannot meet.
• Template mismatch. A heavy product assigned to a light-parcel template means you pay the difference.
• Forgotten holidays. Public holidays and stocktake days not factored in.
• Third-party packing slips. Amazon's drop-shipping policy says orders with packing slips, invoices or packaging showing a seller name or contact other than yours are prohibited without exception, and violations may restrict your ability to sell using MFN.
• Hazardous goods. If an item cannot go in FBA, FBM may be the route, but your carrier must accept it. See dangerous goods on Amazon Australia.

How often should you review settings?

Review them each quarter, before major sales such as Prime Day and Black Friday, and whenever you change carrier, move stock or add a product type. Compare your promised and actual delivery days from carrier tracking, and adjust. Better settings also support a stronger Buy Box position, although Amazon does not publish how much weight delivery speed carries.

FAQ

What are Amazon shipping templates? They are groups of shipping settings, such as handling time, regions, service levels and rates, that you apply to many FBM offers at once. Amazon shows buyers an estimated delivery date based on them.

Where do I set up shipping templates in Australia? In the shipping settings area of Seller Central. Amazon's step-by-step help is inside Seller Central, so check it there for current screens and options.

What handling time should I choose? The time you can meet reliably, including weekends and busy periods. Amazon does not publish a recommended figure for Amazon.com.au on its public pages, so base it on your actual dispatch record.

Do shipping templates apply to FBA? No. FBA orders are picked, packed and shipped by Amazon, and the fulfilment fee includes shipping. Templates apply to your own fulfilled offers.

Can I use Amazon Easy Ship instead of my own courier? Yes, if you have a Professional plan and an eligible Australian pick-up address, for products not registered in FBA. Fees start from A$3.81 per package excluding GST for Zone A and up to 0.5 kg, as at 1 August 2025. Rates are updated periodically, so check the Easy Ship page.

What is Shipping Settings Automation? An Amazon tool that sets delivery regions and transit times for Standard Delivery from your preferred shipping services and fulfilment location.

Next step

Write down your real handling time, carriers and price policy, build three or four templates and check a live listing for each. Blooprint is an Amazon SPN verified partner that works remotely from Bengaluru with Amazon.com.au sellers, and Amazon Australia account management includes fulfilment settings and performance monitoring. The Australia hub lists related guides.