Microsoft is announcing Australian dollar pricelist changes to align its global prices for online services effective January 1, 2019. Microsoft periodically assesses the impact of its local pricing of products and services to ensure there is reasonable alignment across the region and this change is an outcome of this assessment.

Starting January 1, 2019 Australian dollar prices for commercial online services will increase by up to 8% for commercial online services. Customers across the region buying in Australian dollars will continue to find Microsoft cloud offerings highly competitive. Azure remains competitively priced versus AWS, with opportunities for additional savings with offers like Azure Hybrid Use Benefits (AHUB) and Reserved VM Instances.

Microsoft offers the benefits of AUD pricing and billing to Australian partners and customers. This provides more stable and predictable pricing. Although we are changing prices in January, our last such pricing alignment in AUD was over three years ago.

For business customers, these changes will not affect existing orders under volume licensing agreements for products that are subject to price protection. However, prices for new product additions under such volume licensing agreements and purchases under new contracts will be as defined by the pricelist at the time of order.

Note this change applies to Microsoft commercial online services only. On-premises commercial software prices will remain unchanged. This pricing change will not apply to consumer software or consumer cloud services. For indirect sales where Microsoft products are sold through resellers, final prices and currency of sale will continue to be determined by resellers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) from BaseHost

I have an existing customer subscription with BaseHost. When will I be affected?
Your existing subscriptions receive price protection during their term which is normally twelve months from the start of paid subscriptions. Additional seats to an existing subscription after January 1, 2019 will be at the previous billing price which remains in place for the remaining twelve-month term purchased before January 1, 2019.

How do I check the subscription renewal dates of the subscriptions of my services?
You can check the subscription renewal dates of the subscriptions through the BaseHost Client Portal under Services.

If I create a new Office365 subscription with BaseHost before January 1st 2019, what price do I need to pay for the subscription?
All new Office365 subscriptions provisioned by December 31st 2018 (i.e. Before January 1st 2019) will have price guarantee and be charged the lower price until November 2019. They will only be charged the new prices from December 2019 onwards.

If I create a new Office365 annual billing subscription with rhipe before January 1st 2019, what price do I need to pay for the subscription?
You will pay the current monthly subscription price before price increase x 12 months.

I created a new Office365 subscription in the month of December 2018. What price will I be charged if I add licenses later?
Additional Office365 seats to an existing subscription created before January 1, 2019 will be charged at the previous billing price (i.e. price before price increase) which remains in place for the remaining twelve-month term.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) from Microsoft

Why is Microsoft adjusting prices in Australian dollar now?
Microsoft is announcing Australian dollar price changes to align its global prices for online services effective January 1, 2019. Microsoft periodically assesses the impact of its local pricing of products and services to ensure there is reasonable alignment with the market and this change is an outcome of this assessment.

What are the changes to Australian dollar pricing?
Starting January 1, 2019 online services priced in Australian dollars will increase by up to 8% to realign close to US dollar levels. Customers across the region buying in Australian dollars will continue to find Microsoft cloud offerings highly competitive.

How frequently do you plan to make these changes?
Microsoft periodically assesses the impact of its pricing to ensure there is a reasonable alignment with the needs of its customers, partners, and the marketplace across the region, and may make changes in response to its assessment and feedback.

How frequently do you plan to adjust pricing in Australian dollar?
Microsoft will maintain relatively stable and predictable prices in Australian dollars and other currencies. Periodically Microsoft assesses the impact of its pricing to ensure there is a reasonable alignment with the needs of its customers, partners, and the marketplace across the region, and may make changes in response to its assessment and feedback. Any future changes to pricing will be assessed based on Microsoft’s internal pricing strategy and processes in order to maintain relatively stable prices while ensuring close alignment of prices to US dollar levels.

Which Volume Licensing programs will be impacted?
Revised Australian dollar prices will be applicable to new and renewing contracts for commercial online services available through volume licensing programs. For all indirect licensing agreements, resellers continue to determine final price and currency of sale. Price will adjust as noted above for cloud service sold through an Enterprise Agreement (Commercial, Government, Campus, and Enrollment for Education Solutions), the Open Value Agreement (Commercial, Government, and Education Solutions), a Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (Commercial, Government, and Academic), Select/Select Plus Agreement (Commercial, Government, and Academic), Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), Syndication, and Microsoft Subscription Program (Commercial, Government, Not for Profit and Academic).

How are prices going to be changed for government/public sector customers?
We have taken a unified approach to price adjustment which will be equal for all categories of volume licensing customers, including commercial, government/public sector and academic customers.

How are any promotional offers being designed to offset this price increase?
Promotions are aligned to the business and market needs. Promotions are not used to offset price increases. However, we are making an early announcement of this change to give customers who wish to the opportunity to procure and fulfill their business needs at the current price.

When will the Australian dollar pricelists be available and effective?
New prices in Australian dollar will be effective January 1, 2019. A preview will be available one month in advance on December 1, 2018 (preview only).

How does this change impact existing Cloud Solution Program (CSP) and Syndication contracts?
Existing subscriptions receive price protection during their term which is normally twelve months from the start of paid subscription. Additional CSP seats to an existing subscription after January 1, 2019 will be at the previous billing price which remains in place for the remaining twelve-month term purchased before January 1, 2019.

How does this change impact Customers under trial?
Prices are determined at the time of paid sign-up.

How does this change impact existing Promotions?
Customers enjoying previously ordered promotion pricing are protected on previously ordered services and will not experience a price change during the term of the agreement. Orders for new services will be priced at the then current promotion pricelist price.