Questions to answer for every shortlisted hosting or cloud provider before you sign, grouped by workload, cost, data location, security, contract and exit.
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Use this checklist on every shortlisted provider so the answers can be compared. Ask for written answers or screenshots of the provider's own documentation, and keep them with the contract.
The checklist is built around the six things that decide the real cost and risk of hosting: what you will run, what each line of the bill costs, where the data lives, who secures what, what the contract lets the provider change, and how you leave. A provider that is the best fit for a brochure website may be a poor fit for a database holding customer records, and the cheapest monthly price is rarely the cheapest over three years once data transfer, backups, support and exit are counted.
Tick an item only when you have the answer in writing. If a provider cannot answer a data-location or exit question before you sign, treat that as part of the price. For the reasoning behind each item, read how to choose a hosting provider and, for contracts, hosting contract terms and renewals.
Prices, bill drivers and 2026 rules
What hosting data in an Australian region does and does not settle under the Privacy Act, how APP 8 and s 16C treat overseas cloud storage, APP 11 security, and where IRAP and the HCF fit.
Worked estimates and choosing a host
The hosting contract clauses that move your cost, how the unfair contract terms rules protect small businesses on standard-form contracts, and the subscription rules from 1 July 2027.
Worked estimates and choosing a host
A step-by-step method to shortlist and compare hosting and cloud providers on workload fit, three-year cost, data location, security, contract terms and exit, without relying on rankings.
Bill shocks, exits and official sources
Which Australian government bodies and official portals to check for GST, privacy and cross-border data, cyber security, government hosting rules, contracts, domains and small business disputes.
Bill shocks, exits and official sources
What 99.9% uptime means in minutes, how service credits are calculated and claimed, why they rarely cover your loss, and how consumer guarantees and your own design fill the gap.
