2026 Australian Consumer Review Statistics Every Business Should Know

If you're running a service business in Australia, your Google profile is doing more selling than your website. Here's what the latest data tells us about how Aussies actually choose who to call.

The headline numbers

• 93% of Australian consumers read online reviews before booking a local service.
• 73% won't even consider a business with fewer than 4.0 stars.
• Reviews older than 3 months are largely ignored — recency matters.
• The average Aussie reads 7 reviews before forming an opinion.
• Businesses that respond to reviews see a 12% lift in average rating over 12 months.

Why this matters for your bottom line

A jump from 4.0 to 4.5 stars typically increases call-through rate from your Google Business Profile by 25–35%. For a plumber doing $300 average jobs, that's an extra $30,000+ per year from the same number of profile views.

The recency trap

Google's local algorithm now weighs review recency heavily. Having 200 reviews from 2022 matters less than 15 reviews from the last 90 days. This is why a steady, automated review request system beats one big push.