A dividend is a payment made by a company to eligible shareholders, usually from company profits. Depending on the company and your preferences, dividends can be paid as cash or reinvested into additional shares through a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP). Not all companies or funds pay dividends, and not all offer DRP participation.
Dividends for Australian shares are administered by a share registry on behalf of the company. The share registry manages shareholder records and dividend payment instructions.
For more information about share registries and how to identify the registry for your holding, click here.
Note: This article relates to Australian shareholdings. For information about dividends on international holdings, click here.
Receiving ASX dividends as cash
For most customers, Australian dividends are paid directly into their Selfwealth AUD Cash Trading Account.
If you selected the option to receive dividends to your Selfwealth cash account during your account application, the relevant share registry will automatically receive your payment instructions when you purchase eligible shares.
You may also receive correspondence from the share registry confirming your dividend payment details have been updated after you trade.
If you would like to verify your Selfwealth cash account details match what is shown on the correspondence from the share registry, follow the instructions in this help centre article.
Customers who applied after 24 October 2025
If you opened your trading account on or after the 24th October 2025, dividend payments will default to your Selfwealth ANZ cash trading account automatically for customers who request a new HIN. For more information on this, please see here: Default Dividend Instructions for New HINs – FAQs
Customers who applied before 25 July 2022
If you opened your trading account before 25 July 2022, you may have provided dividend payment instructions directly to the share registry for each holding. To learn more about how to update this, see here: How do I change my dividend income bank instructions? You can nominate your Selfwealth AUD Cash Trading Account to receive dividend payments.
Reinvesting Dividends (DRP)
A Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) allows dividends to be automatically reinvested into additional shares instead of being paid as cash.
To participate in a DRP, you must register directly with the share registry managing your holding.
Once new shares have been issued, the share registry will notify Selfwealth and your portfolio will be updated accordingly. Please allow up to one week for the additional shares to appear in your account.