Forex margin calculator (AUD, ASIC-aware)
Calculate exactly how much margin a forex CFD position will lock up at any leverage, in your account currency. ASIC retail leverage caps surfaced as warnings. Margin call and stop-out thresholds tracked when you supply an account balance.
Calculator
Add your account balance to see free margin and margin used percentage. Warnings surface when leverage exceeds ASIC caps or margin used would breach broker thresholds.
- A$165,000 notional position
- 1:30 leverage, 1 lot
- Add account balance for margin usage %
What is margin
Margin is the deposit your broker locks up on your account when you open a leveraged position. It is collateral, not a fee. When the position closes, margin returns to free balance unrelated to whether the trade was profitable; the P&L is settled separately against the account.
The amount required is determined by the leverage on the account and the notional value of the position. At 30:1 leverage, $1 of margin controls $30 of notional exposure. Lower leverage means more margin required for the same position size; higher leverage means less margin but greater sensitivity of the account to adverse price moves.
Margin is not the same as risk. Risk is set by stop loss distance and position size (see the position size calculator). Margin is set by leverage and position size. The two interact: a position large enough to require half your account in margin can still be risk-managed with a tight stop, but the account becomes much more fragile to gap risk and stop slippage.
The formula
For a one-standard-lot EUR/USD position with an AUD account at 30:1 leverage:
- Position size in units: 1 lot x 100,000 = 100,000 units of EUR.
- Convert EUR to AUD at EUR/AUD ≈ 1.6590: 100,000 x 1.6590 = $165,900 AUD notional.
- Divide by leverage: $165,900 / 30 = $5,530 AUD margin.
The calculator does this in one keystroke and updates as you change pair, lot size, or leverage.
ASIC leverage caps
Australian retail clients at ASIC-licensed brokers are subject to maximum leverage caps under the Product Intervention Order in force since 29 March 2021. The caps are not optional and cannot be overridden by client request unless the client is reclassified as Pro or Wholesale.
| Asset class | ASIC retail max | Margin % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major FX pairs | 30:1 | 3.33% | EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD |
| Minor FX + gold | 20:1 | 5.00% | All other FX pairs and XAU/USD |
| Major indices | 20:1 | 5.00% | S&P 500, ASX 200, FTSE 100, NASDAQ 100, DAX 40 |
| Minor indices | 10:1 | 10.00% | Smaller national indices |
| Commodities ex gold | 10:1 | 10.00% | WTI oil, Brent, silver, copper |
| Single stock CFDs | 5:1 | 20.00% | Apple, Tesla, BHP, CBA, etc. |
| Crypto CFDs | 2:1 | 50.00% | BTC, ETH (offered as CFDs at AU brokers) |
If you select a leverage ratio above the cap for the chosen pair, the calculator emits a warning. The math will still compute, but in practice the broker will reject the order at execution unless the account is Pro or Wholesale classified.
Margin call and stop-out
Two threshold concepts every leveraged trader needs to understand:
- Margin call (typically at 100% margin used)
- When equity (balance plus or minus open P&L) drops to where it equals total margin used, your free margin is zero. Most brokers send a margin call notification at this point. You can no longer open new positions. Existing positions stay open, but any further adverse move starts eating into the position's collateral.
- Stop-out (typically at 50% margin level)
- When equity drops to half of total margin used, the broker auto-liquidates positions to protect against the account going negative. Largest losers get closed first. ASIC's Product Intervention Order also requires negative balance protection on retail accounts at AU-licensed brokers, meaning the account cannot go below zero even if a stop-out fails to execute in a fast market.
The calculator surfaces a warning when the configured position would consume more than 50 percent of the supplied account balance. This is a heuristic, not a guarantee: actual margin call thresholds vary by broker (Pepperstone uses 80% margin call / 50% stop-out; FP Markets uses 100% margin call / 50% stop-out; check your broker's terms).
Worked example
An Australian trader at FP Markets has $5,000 AUD in their account. They want to open a 0.5 lot AUD/JPY position. AUD/JPY is a minor FX pair, so the ASIC retail cap is 20:1.
- Position size in AUD units: 0.5 lot x 100,000 = 50,000 AUD.
- Account currency is also AUD, so no conversion: notional = $50,000 AUD.
- At 20:1 leverage: margin required = $50,000 / 20 = $2,500 AUD.
- Margin used percentage: $2,500 / $5,000 = 50 percent.
This position would consume half the account in margin, leaving the trader at the broker's stop-out threshold the moment any adverse move occurred. The calculator would warn. Mitigation: drop to 0.25 lots (25 percent margin used), or move to a 30:1-eligible major pair, or add capital before opening the position.
Related calculators
- Position size calculator - work out the right lot size from your risk envelope.
- Pip value calculator - what one pip is worth in AUD on any pair.
Related guides:
- How to trade forex in Australia (step-by-step) - full workflow.
- ASIC-regulated forex brokers - where these caps apply.
- Best CFD brokers in Australia - broker comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Margin is the deposit your broker locks up on your account to keep a leveraged position open. It is not a fee or a transaction cost; it is collateral. When you close the position, the margin is released back to free balance. The amount of margin required is calculated as the notional position value divided by the leverage ratio.
Margin = (position size in units x exchange rate of the base currency to your account currency) / leverage ratio. For a one-standard-lot EUR/USD position with an AUD account at 30:1 leverage: 100,000 EUR x ~1.65 (EUR/AUD) / 30 = ~$5,500 AUD margin. The calculator handles the FX conversion automatically.
Under the ASIC Product Intervention Order (effective March 2021), retail clients trading at Australian-licensed brokers are capped at 30:1 leverage on major FX pairs, 20:1 on minor FX pairs and gold, 20:1 on major indices, 10:1 on minor indices and most commodities, 5:1 on single stock CFDs, and 2:1 on crypto CFDs. Pro and wholesale clients can access higher leverage but must meet income, asset, or experience tests.
Two thresholds matter. At 100 percent margin used (free margin reaches zero), most ASIC-licensed brokers send a margin call notification. At 50 percent margin level (equity is half of margin used), positions are auto-liquidated starting with the largest unrealised loss. The calculator surfaces a warning when configured inputs would push margin used above 50 percent.
Used margin is the total collateral locked up across all open positions. Free margin is account balance plus or minus open P&L, minus used margin. Free margin is what you have available to open new positions or absorb adverse price moves on existing ones. When free margin reaches zero, no new positions can be opened and the next adverse tick triggers margin call.
Leverage ratios express the multiplier between your margin and your notional exposure. 30:1 means $1 of margin controls $30 of notional position. The same relationship can be expressed as a margin requirement percentage: 30:1 leverage means 3.33 percent margin (1/30). 20:1 means 5 percent margin. 2:1 (crypto CFDs) means 50 percent margin. The calculator accepts the ratio form.
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