A subscription renewal reminder email should state the renewal date, the price that will be charged (including GST for consumers), what's included, and how to change plan or cancel, with a direct link. For annual plans, send one about 30 days before renewal and another about 7 days before. From 1 July 2027 the law requires prescribed notices, but the regulations setting their content and timing hadn't been made as at October 2026.
Key takeaways
- Every reminder needs four things: the date, the price including GST, what they get, and a working cancel link.
- For annual plans, send about 30 days and 7 days before renewal, then a receipt.
- For monthly plans with no end date, a periodic reminder (the February 2026 draft proposed six-monthly) is a sensible default.
- As at October 2026, the regulations setting notice timing weren't published, so make timing adjustable and check with your adviser.
- Lead with what the customer got this year. A reminder is your best renewal sales letter.
I have a favorite peppermint tea.
Every month a box of it turns up from Amazon, and I save 10 percent on what I'd pay buying it one-off. I wrote about it in The Subscription Playbook as the perfect example of a product that suits a subscription: something I want, and need to buy over and over.
I never think about that subscription. Which is the point.
But imagine it was A$300 a year, charged once, in a month I wasn't expecting it. I'd notice. And if nobody had warned me, I wouldn't be grateful for the tea. I'd be annoyed at the charge.
That's what a renewal reminder is for. And from 1 July 2027, Australian law makes notices like it part of running a subscription. The rules as at October 2026: the Act requires businesses to send prescribed information at prescribed times, and the Bills Digest gives "when a subscription will be renewed" as an example. The regulations setting the exact timing and content weren't published when I checked. So treat the timing below as my recommendation, keep it adjustable, and check with your adviser.
For the legal background, read automatic renewals in Australia and the overview of Australia's subscription trap laws.
What should every renewal reminder include?
Four things, every time:
- The date it renews.
- The price that will be charged, including GST for consumers, and the payment method.
- What's included, briefly.
- The options: keep it, change plan, switch billing, or cancel, each with a direct link.
Then one more, if you can: what the customer got from you this year.
Which reminders should you send, and when?
| Plan | When (recommended) | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual or fixed term | Template 1: "Your year with us" | About 30 days before renewal |
| Annual or fixed term | Template 2: Final reminder | About 7 days before |
| Annual or fixed term | Template 3: Renewal receipt | On the day it renews |
| Monthly, no end date | Template 4: Periodic reminder | Every six months (the draft's proposal) |
| Small business, price changing | Template 5: Renewal with new price | 30 to 60 days before |
Template 1: The 30-day "your year with us" reminder
Subject: Your [Plan name] renews on [Renewal date]: here's your year in numbers
Hi [First name],
Your [Plan name] subscription renews on [Renewal date]. Before it does, here's what you got this year:
- [Usage stat 1, e.g. "You booked 11 sessions"]
- [Usage stat 2, e.g. "You sent 4,200 invoices"]
- [Value stat, e.g. "You saved A$212 on delivery"]
What's new: [One or two improvements you made this year.]
The renewal
- Renews on: [Renewal date]
- Price: A$[Price] (including GST) for [12 months]
- Charged to: [Card ending 1234 / direct debit]
Your options
- Keep everything as is: no action needed.
- Change your plan: [Link]
- Switch to monthly billing: [Link]
- Cancel before [Renewal date] so you're not charged: [Cancel link]
Questions? Just reply to this email. A real person reads it.
[Your name]
[Business name] | [ABN] | [Phone]
If the first three bullets are thin, that's useful too. It tells you who's at risk long before they cancel.
Template 2: The 7-day final reminder
Subject: Reminder: [Plan name] renews in 7 days (A$[Price])
Hi [First name],
A quick reminder that your [Plan name] subscription renews on [Renewal date] for A$[Price] (including GST), charged to [payment method].
If you'd like to keep it, you don't need to do anything.
If you'd like to change or cancel, you can do it in a couple of clicks before [Renewal date]:
- Change plan: [Link]
- Cancel: [Cancel link]
Thanks for being with us,
[Your name]
Short on purpose. The price goes in the subject line, so nobody can say it was hidden.
Template 3: The renewal receipt
Subject: Your [Plan name] has renewed: receipt for A$[Price]
Hi [First name],
Your [Plan name] subscription renewed today. Here's your receipt.
- Amount: A$[Price] (including A$[GST] GST)
- Period: [Start date] to [End date]
- Paid with: [Payment method]
- Tax invoice: [Link]
Next renewal: [Next renewal date]. We'll remind you before then.
Need to change something? Manage your plan here: [Link]
[Your name]
Template 4: The six-monthly reminder for monthly plans
Subject: Your [Plan name] subscription: a quick check-in
Hi [First name],
Just keeping you in the loop. You're on [Plan name] at A$[Price] a month (including GST), billed on the [day] of each month to [payment method]. You joined on [Start date].
In the last six months you [usage highlight].
You can change your plan, pause or cancel anytime here: [Link]
[Your name]
Template 5: Small business renewal with a price change
Subject: Your [Plan name] renewal on [Renewal date]: new price and your options
Hi [First name],
Your [Plan name] agreement for [Company name] renews on [Renewal date].
From that date the price will be A$[New price] a [month/year] (excluding GST), up from A$[Old price]. [One honest sentence on why: new features, higher costs, or both.]
Your options
- Renew on [Plan name] at the new price: no action needed.
- Move to [Cheaper plan] at A$[Price]: [Link]
- Switch to annual billing and save [X]%: [Link]
- Cancel before [Renewal date] with no penalty: [Cancel link]
If you'd like to talk it through, book a time here: [Link]
[Your name]
Notice the cheaper plan sits in the email, not halfway through a cancel flow. That's the heart of the ACCC's case against Microsoft over its Microsoft 365 price rise. For bigger changes, use the price increase email templates.
Check your renewal setup against the 2027 rules
The free AU Subscription Compliance Checker reviews your sign-up, renewal reminders and cancellation flow and flags the gaps.
SMS versions
[Business name]: Your [Plan] renews on [Date] for A$[Price]. To change or cancel before then: [Short link].
[Business name]: Your [Plan] renewed today, A$[Price]. Receipt and plan settings: [Short link]
The mistakes that turn reminders into complaints
- A subject line that hides the point. "Your account update" won't do. Say "renews."
- A cancel link that leads to a login wall, then a help article. Link straight to the cancel page. The cancellation rules explain why.
- Prices without GST for consumers.
- Sending from no-reply. People reply to renewal emails. Let them.
- Forgetting old customers. Contracts made before July 2027 come under the rules when they renew after that date. Your July and August 2027 renewal cohort needs these emails working first.
What to do next
- List every plan that renews automatically, and when.
- Copy Templates 1 to 4 into your email platform and wire up the merge fields.
- Make the send timing a setting, not hard code, so you can match the regulations when they land.
- Test with a dummy account and check every link.
- Check your annual discount while you're at it. If it's too generous, you're giving away margin to people who'd have stayed anyway. Here's how to choose between annual and monthly plans.
If your annual plans start with a trial, set up the free trial reminder emails too. For the rest of your setup, work through the AU subscription compliance checklist.
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- whether a subscription model could work for your business
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No cost, no obligation. General information only until we understand your situation.
Frequently asked questions
Should a renewal reminder come from a person or a no-reply address?
From a person, or at least an address that accepts replies. A renewal reminder often prompts questions about price, plan or billing details, and a no-reply address turns a simple question into a cancellation or a chargeback. Sign it with a real name and make sure replies reach someone who can process a change or cancellation the same day.
Do I need to send a renewal reminder for monthly subscriptions?
A monthly plan renews every month, and nobody wants twelve reminders a year. Under the 2027 rules, the regulations will set which notices open-ended subscriptions need. Until they're published, a periodic reminder of the price and how to cancel is a sensible default. The February 2026 exposure draft proposed six-monthly, so that's the template I'd prepare.
Can I send the renewal reminder by SMS instead of email?
SMS works well as a second channel because it gets read, but it's short, so keep the email as the full record with every detail. The regulations may also say how notices must be given. Until then, I'd send the email and use SMS as a nudge that links to it, and keep records of both.
What if the customer's renewal price is higher than last year?
Say so in the subject line or the first paragraph, show last year's price next to the new one, and list every option, including any cheaper plan. Hiding a higher renewal price in a routine-looking email is how businesses end up accused of misleading conduct. Template 5 on this page shows the wording, and the price increase templates cover bigger changes.
How do I prove a reminder was sent?
Keep a log from your email platform showing the template, recipient, send time and delivery status, and keep a copy of each version of the template with the dates it was used. If a customer disputes a renewal, that record is your evidence. Test your reminder system each quarter by renewing a test account.
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Robert Coorey, MBA
Robert is the author of The Subscription Playbook and Feed a Starving Crowd and a Director at BPAG Accountants in Sydney. More about Robert.
Sources
- Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026 (No. 64, 2026), ss 48D and 48E, Federal Register of Legislation
- Parliamentary Library, Bills Digest No. 58, 2025–26 (notice examples including renewal)
- King & Wood Mallesons, Unfair trading practices arriving mid-2027 (10 Feb 2026), summary of exposure draft reminder proposals
- ACCC media release, Microsoft in court for allegedly misleading millions of Australians over Microsoft 365 subscriptions (27 Oct 2025)
- The Subscription Playbook, Robert Coorey (2022), Chapters 1 and 3
Facts and prices checked 27 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.