How old do you have to be to buy cryptocurrency in Australia

Around 270,000 Australian children under the age of 12 are investing in share trading, cryptocurrency, or standard savings accounts.

New research in the Finder’s Parenting Report 2021, which surveyed over 1000 parents of Australian children under 12, found that 7 per cent of Aussie kids have a share trading account in their name, and 2 per cent have a cryptocurrency account in their name.

Finder’s survey also found more than half of children under 12 (58 per cent) have a savings account.

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Investing expert Kylie Purcell says the figures reflect a trend towards more parents teaching their kids about wealth concepts.

“Financial literacy is often something we don’t learn until we’ve finished school,” Purcell said.

“While it’s essential to teach children about saving and budgeting, the concept of investing is also important.

“Starting an investing fund early on is a nice way to teach your children the concepts of wealth accumulation and compounding returns over time.”

She said that parents were opening accounts for their children to hold their investments.

Regulations stipulate that Australians must be 18 or older to buy and sell shares, but parents can open minor accounts under their child’s name.

But Purcell says it may come at an extra cost.

“Typically, for tax reasons, it’s not a good idea to hold investments directly in the name of a child under the age of 18,” she said.

“They can only earn $416 per financial year tax-free. Once you exceed this, you can be hit with hefty tax rates as high as 66 per cent.

“The tax implications of investing for your kids are complicated. If in doubt, a chat to an accountant might save you a lot of heartache.”

Survey results

• 58 per cent of children have a savings account
• 7 per cent of children have a share trading account
• 6 per cent of children have a debit card
• 2 per cent of children have a credit card
• 2 per cent of children have a cryptocurrency trading account
• 37 per cent of children have none of the above

Purcell is urging parents to use the opportunity to supervise their children’s investing at the same time as educating them on wealth concepts, like investing.

“Use the opportunity to educate them on the importance of not putting all your eggs in one basket, but instead spreading out their money over different funds and companies.

“If you’re investing small amounts of money, micro-investing apps such as Raiz are great because you won’t face large brokerage fees, and you can let your child invest their spare pocket money.

“If you’re looking for an all-round share trading account, SelfWealth is a fantastic option to consider. It recently won the top prize for Australian Share Trading Account in Finder’s Investment Awards 2021.”

Tips for buying shares

Finder shared six steps for buying shares:

• Choose an online share trading platform: Be sure to compare your options to find one that best suits your needs.
• Sign up for an account: You’ll need to be over the age of 18 and an Australian resident to sign up.
• Plan before you buy: Work out how much you can afford to invest and how long you’ll be holding the shares for.
• Choose your shares: Do you want to buy Australian shares, global shares, dividend-paying or penny stocks?
• Order your stocks: Search for the company name or ticker code and set a market or limit order to buy.
• Pay for your shares: Ensure you have enough funds in your account ahead of the settlement date.

Hold the phone

The new research comes after Finder revealed about a third of Australian 12-year-olds have their own smartphone, and on average they were aged seven-and-a-half when they first received a phone.

The statistics come from Finder’s recent survey of parents which found a decreasing age at which kids are getting their first smartphone.

The polling questioned 1033 parents and promoted the use of pre-paid phone plans so that expenses don’t get out of hand.

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