Gumtree Pets Insertion Fee

As pet owners ourselves, animal welfare is a huge priority for Gumtree and it’s important to us that all animals are traded responsibly, safely and successfully.

So to better protect animals, support responsible trading and deter illegal operators including scammers, we have a mandatory insertion fee which applies to animals listed on the site.

Take a look at our Gumtree Pets Code of Practice which was developed in consultation with animal welfare groups (including the RSPCA). While we have traditionally operated on a ‘free for all users' model, we believe we have a duty to ensure every Gummie is responsible for ethical animal and pet trading. The insertion fee is a significant shift away from our traditional model, as we move to discourage casual animal advertisements and irresponsible trading. You'll now be required to pay a one-off nominal fee for each animal listing.

As always, if you are looking to buy a new pet or list one on Gumtree, we encourage you to consult RSPCA guidance and Gumtree's Guide to Responsible Pet Ownership on how to identify good homes for animals, including breeder verification and animal care questions. Gumtree also encourages its users to be aware of pet scammers, by reading Gumtree's Tips to avoid pet scammers  or visiting ACCC's guidelines.

We are also encouraging pet adoption through verified local animal shelters, by facilitating free shelter adoption listings on the platform. Verified local animal welfare organisations and shelters will be able to continue using Gumtree to help place animals in safe and loving homes, without incurring any undue cost. Any animal welfare organisations and shelters who would like to register for free listings will need to contact Gumtree's Customer Support.

Gumtree applies a mandatory insertion fee across all pets and animal listings. The insertion fee is determined based on the category, price and number of pets being sold, and the supply and demand of those categories. For example, if you list multiple pets in one listing, the insertion fee would be higher than if you listed one pet, which is a standard method of volume based pricing. Or, if your listing price is higher, the insertion fee is higher. Once you have provided this information to Gumtree, the system will automatically generate a consistently applied insertion fee prior to you committing to posting the listing. The variations are applied consistently across all users. To help reunite lost pets with their owners, users will be able to post animals within the 'Lost & Found' section for free. Animal shelters and rescue organisations will also be able to list for free.

We are deeply committed to protect animal welfare in Australia, all community members are encouraged to use the 'Report Ad' function to flag concerning ads and users that breach Gumtree policies or animal welfare legislations. We have a dedicated support team who actively investigate reported ads and take action, as appropriate. 

Animal shelters / Rescue organisations

If you are an animal shelter who wants to understand more about our free animal adoption listings, please contact our customer support team.