42% of Australian Advertisers Increased Affiliate Spend This Year

Affiliate and partnership marketing is gaining ground in Australia. IAB Australia's 2026 State of the Nation report, now in its eighth year, shows 42% of surveyed advertisers increased their investment over the past 12 months.

The data comes from 123 respondents with direct experience in the channel: 66 agencies and advertisers, 57 publishers and partners. The survey was conducted during March and April 2026.

Three numbers tell the story. 42% increased spend. 64% expect the channel to become more important in the next year. And 95% of advertisers reported satisfaction with ROI delivery.

That last number is striking. In a market where digital ad budgets are under constant scrutiny and attribution is getting harder, a 95% satisfaction rate on ROI is unusual. Revenue and sales volumes were identified as the most important success measures, which suggests advertisers are judging the channel on hard commercial outcomes rather than vanity metrics.

Two thirds of publishers reported increased revenues from partnership programmes, which indicates the supply side is healthy. More inventory, more partners, more deal types. The channel is maturing beyond coupon and cashback sites into content creators, comparison platforms and B2B referral networks.

For Australian businesses not yet testing affiliate or partnership marketing, this report is a prompt to reconsider. The channel consistently delivers measurable, last-click revenue with lower risk than paid media because you only pay on performance.

If affiliate is not in your channel mix, start with a pilot. Identify 3 to 5 partners in your category, set up tracking through an affiliate network (Commission Factory and impact.com are the major AU platforms) and run a 90-day test. Measure on revenue contribution and incremental customer acquisition, not just click volume.