Amazon is continuing their aggressive expansion of specified Kindle territories, opening kdp.Amazon.com.au. For Australian authors, this means Amazon can now convert your worldwide royalties to Australian dollars and pay into your local bank account (New Zealand authors can only be paid by cheque or wire transfer). For non-Australian authors, this means yet another territory and currency that Amazon will be keeping your royalties for until you meet the minimum threshold (the EFT threshold is, surprisingly, $0.00, but those authors paid by cheque must meet a AUS $100.00 or NZD $100.00 threshold).

If your book is available in Australia and New Zealand (if you checked “Worldwide” for your publishing rights or did not specifically exclude Australia and New Zealand), then your book will automatically be made available on this new Australian site. You can do nothing and simply let Amazon convert your book price automatically, or you can now set a specific price for these territories. If you choose the latter option, you need to ensure that your price falls within the range specified for the 70% royalty, if that is the royalty you desire. For Australia and New Zealand, the price must be set between AUS $3.99 and $11.99.

For those who elect to let Amazon convert your book prices automatically, and whose books are priced at the lower or higher end of the 70% royalty spectrum, this means that if the converted Australian price falls out of the 70% bracket, Amazon adjust the converted price upwards or down to maintain the 70% royalty. This may affect your pricing and royalties on other sites where your book is sold if these other sites use agency pricing and enforce their price-matching clause.

It is not clear from the Amazon website (is it ever?) whether your books will be sold to New Zealand consumers at the Australian price converted to New Zealand dollars (their currencies are not at par) or whether New Zealanders will have to pay in Australian dollars. I would think the former but, as I said, it isn’t clear.