TL;DR
Atlassian licensing changed a lot in 2026. Data Center is no longer sold to new customers, products are increasingly bought as Collections, Cloud list prices rose on 13 October, and from 3 December Rovo AI credits, automation steps and AI agent resolutions are billed above your allowance. Atlassian can't invoice Cloud orders in Australian dollars, so buying direct means US-dollar invoices plus 10% GST. Buying through a local partner gives you AUD invoicing and one point of accountability. The biggest savings come from right-sizing tiers and plans, reviewing apps, and controlling usage-based charges before they arrive.
Buying Atlassian licences sounds simple: pick a product, pick a user tier, pay. For mid-market and enterprise organisations in Australia it rarely is. Multiple Jira and Confluence sites, a mix of Cloud and Data Center, renewals that land at different times of the year, invoices in US dollars that finance has to reconcile, and now usage-based charges on top.
What changed in 2026
- 30 March 2026: Data Center stopped being sold to new customers. Existing Data Center licences are supported until end of life on 28 March 2029.
- Collections: Atlassian now sells bundles for a purpose, such as the Teamwork Collection (Jira, Confluence, Loom) and the Service Collection (Jira Service Management, Customer Service Management, Assets), with larger AI allowances than the individual apps.
- 13 October 2026: Cloud list prices rose.
- 3 December 2026: allowances and billing take effect for Rovo credits, automation steps and AI agent resolutions.
How Atlassian licensing works
- Cloud plans: per-user subscriptions in Free, Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans. Higher plans add capabilities such as cross-team planning, sandboxes, higher uptime commitments and, on Enterprise, single sign-on without a separate Atlassian Guard subscription.
- Collections: several apps bought together, usually better value if you need most of what's inside.
- Data Center: self-managed, licensed by user tier annually. Existing customers can renew until end of life, but new customers can't buy it.
- Marketplace apps: priced on the user tier of the product they extend, so app costs grow with your Jira or Confluence tier.
Atlassian Server reached end of support in February 2024. If you still run Server, plan a move to Cloud. Our migration guide covers the options.
The new usage-based charges
- Rovo credits: Jira and Confluence include 25, 70 or 150 credits per user per month on Standard, Premium and Enterprise; the Teamwork and Service Collections include 250, 700 or 1,500. Allowances are pooled across the organisation. Extra credits cost US$0.01 each at list price. Extra usage is on by default, and admins can turn it off or set spending limits.
- Automation steps: every trigger, condition, action and branch in an automation rule counts against a monthly allowance.
- AI agent resolutions: requests that an AI agent completes without human escalation are metered.
Before 3 December 2026, look at current usage in Atlassian Administration, decide whether to allow extra usage, and set spending limits that match your budget.
Can you pay in Australian dollars?
Not if you buy Cloud directly from Atlassian. According to Atlassian's purchasing FAQ, it can quote in US dollars, Australian dollars and Japanese yen, but it can't issue quotes or invoices in Australian dollars for orders containing Cloud products or Marketplace apps. Non-USD prices also include a currency fluctuation margin, and Australian customers pay 10% GST.
Buying through an Atlassian Solution Partner such as Great Minds lets you be invoiced in Australian dollars, consolidate purchasing across products and sites, and work with a local partner on payment terms and finance requirements.
Where organisations overspend
- Shelfware: paying for user tiers well above actual active use.
- The wrong plan: paying for Premium or Enterprise features nobody uses, or the reverse, running Standard and building costly workarounds for features a higher plan includes.
- Individual apps instead of a Collection, or a Collection whose extra apps nobody uses.
- Site sprawl: several Jira or Confluence sites, each licensed separately, with overlapping users.
- Unmanaged renewals that roll over at list price with no review of usage, tier or term.
- Marketplace apps that scale with the host product's tier and are rarely reviewed, including older Connect apps, which lose support on 31 January 2027.
- Unwatched usage charges: AI credits and automation steps billed above the allowance because extra usage was left on without limits.
How Great Minds manages Atlassian licensing
Great Minds is an Atlassian Silver Solution Partner that works with mid-market and enterprise clients, accredited by Atlassian in Cloud Migration Delivery and Service Management Sales. We treat licensing as part of your platform strategy, not a transaction.
- Advisory and cost modelling: we analyse current and forecast usage, compare plans, Collections and Data Center renewals, and model usage-based charges.
- Procurement and renewals: we manage the full lifecycle, from purchase to renewals and upgrades, with one point of accountability.
- Multi-site optimisation: for organisations with several Jira or Confluence sites or a hybrid estate, we consolidate licence management and prepare for consolidation or Atlassian Cloud migration.
- Local invoicing: Australian-dollar invoices, consolidated across products and sites, with flexible payment terms.
A checklist before your next renewal
- Export active-user reports for every Atlassian product and site.
- Compare active users with your licensed tier and the next tier down.
- List the plan-specific features you actually use, such as sandboxes, cross-team planning or admin controls.
- Price the relevant Collection against the individual apps you hold.
- Review Marketplace apps: who uses them, whether you still need them, and whether they run on Forge.
- Check Rovo credit and automation step usage, and set extra-usage limits.
- Map renewal dates across products and sites and consider aligning them.
- Agree the invoicing currency, payment terms and approval path with finance in advance.
Frequently asked questions
Can we buy Atlassian Cloud in Australian dollars?
Not directly from Atlassian, which invoices Cloud orders in US dollars. A local Solution Partner such as Great Minds can invoice you in Australian dollars.
Do Australian customers pay GST on Atlassian licences?
Yes. Atlassian applies 10% GST to Australian customers.
Is Rovo included, or does it cost extra?
Rovo is included in paid Cloud plans with a monthly credit allowance. From 3 December 2026, usage above the allowance is billed at US$0.01 per credit unless you turn extra usage off.
Can we still buy Atlassian Data Center?
Not as a new customer. Existing Data Center customers can renew until end of life on 28 March 2029.
Is Great Minds an Atlassian Solution Partner?
Yes. Great Minds is an Atlassian Silver Solution Partner (see our Atlassian Partner Directory profile) working across licensing, implementation, integration, cloud migration, managed services and training.
Do we need to change anything technically to buy through a partner?
No. Buying through a partner changes who you buy from and how you're invoiced, not how your Atlassian products run.
Where to start
List every Atlassian product, site and Marketplace app you pay for, with its tier and renewal date. Most organisations find at least one tier, app or site they don't need. We're happy to review the list with you.