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Whether you're writing a uni assignment, running a small business, or just keeping the household budget in order, you need a way to handle documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The good news for Australians is that you don't have to pay a subscription to do it well. LibreOffice is free, works offline, and reads and writes Microsoft formats reliably, while Microsoft 365 and Google's free suite cover the rest of the spectrum.
There are a couple of local details worth getting right. Australia uses A4 paper and metric measurements, so set your default page size to A4 and units to centimetres to avoid printing on the wrong stock. You'll also want Australian English as your spellcheck dictionary so "organise", "colour" and "centre" don't get flagged. Most suites support this out of the box; it's just a setting many people never change.
This guide compares the main options, including AUD pricing where it applies, and links only to official sources so you get a clean installer rather than a bundled one.
Top picks & alternatives
LibreOffice
Free, offline office suite that reads and writes Microsoft formats.
Visit official site ↗
Microsoft 365
Paid suite billed in AUD with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Visit official site ↗
Google Docs, Sheets & Slides
Free browser-based suite great for collaboration.
Visit official site ↗
Apache OpenOffice
Free open source office suite, an older alternative to LibreOffice.
Visit official site ↗
Free office suites that do the job
LibreOffice is the standout free, offline suite. It opens and saves .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files, gets steady updates, and costs nothing, ideal for students, community groups and small businesses watching costs. Apache OpenOffice is a related option, though LibreOffice is more actively developed. If you mostly work in a browser, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are free with a Google account and excellent for collaboration.
For most Australian home and study use, LibreOffice with A4 defaults and the Australian English dictionary covers everything.
Microsoft 365 and AUD pricing
If you need full Microsoft compatibility or use Outlook and Teams heavily, Microsoft 365 is the paid option. It's billed in AUD, with personal and family plans on monthly or annual terms, plus a perpetual one-off Office Home edition for those who prefer to buy once rather than subscribe.
- Microsoft 365 Personal/Family: annual or monthly AUD subscription with cloud storage included.
- Office Home (one-off): a single AUD purchase, no subscription, fewer cloud extras.
- Free web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint exist for light use with a Microsoft account.
Set A4, metric units and Australian English
This is the single most useful local tweak. In any suite, change the default paper size to A4 and measurement units to centimetres, then set the document language to English (Australia). That keeps your printing correct on standard Aussie paper and stops the spellchecker from "correcting" Australian spellings. In LibreOffice you'll find these under Tools then Options; in Word they live under Options and the Review tab.
Working offline and across devices
Connectivity varies a lot across Australia, from fast fibre in the cities to fixed wireless and satellite in the regions. LibreOffice is fully offline, which is a real advantage if your connection is unreliable or you're working remotely. Cloud suites like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace sync nicely when you're online and offer offline modes too, so pick based on whether you value local files or seamless collaboration.
Download safely and skip the fakes
"Free Microsoft Office" is a heavily searched and heavily faked term. Download LibreOffice only from libreoffice.org and Microsoft products only from microsoft.com. Avoid any site selling suspiciously cheap "genuine" Office keys, many breach licensing and some are outright scams reported to Scamwatch. When a checksum is offered, verify it, and decline any bundled extras during setup.
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