E-commerce giant Amazon made headlines last year when it opened its first Australian warehouse in December.

Most of the impact was expected to be felt by local bricks-and-mortar retailers. Customers were thought to be the winners after gaining access to a local portal of the biggest retailer in the world.

But from July 1, Amazon is making changes to what Australian customers can buy and which parts of the company they can access.

So what exactly is changing?

Australians have been free to buy goods from the United States via Amazon.com for years.

However, from July 1, local customers wanting their goods delivered to an Australian address will only be able to purchase goods from Amazon's Australian website, which was launched last year.

The company says it will no longer ship from its international websites to Australian addresses starting from the new financial year, and will redirect all Australian customers trying to use the US website back to the local one.

You'll still be able to shop on Amazon.com.au after July 1, but all international Amazon websites will be blocked. ( AAP: Joe Castro )

But why would you do this Amazon?

Amazon says it is making the change to remain compliant with new GST collection laws coming into effect on July 1.

Currently, a 10 per cent GST is applied to items bought overseas for more than $1,000.

However, starting in the new financial year, online retailers must apply GST to all purchases made overseas and shipped to Australia, regardless of the price.

What will I see now when I log on to Amazon?

For customers, there'll be little difference — at first glance.

Australians will still be able to reach Amazon's US website, but on trying to make a purchase will be redirected to the Australian version, which looks similar but offers a much smaller range of goods.

The Amazon Australia landing page is all Australian shoppers will see after July 1. ( Supplied: Amazon )

There are some cosmetic differences, too.

Some customer profile functions available to US Amazon customers are not offered for Australian accounts. These include garage, pets, credit cards, music library and photos options.

To help ease the change, Amazon is emailing customers to offer them a $20 voucher to redeem at the Australian store against their next purchase.

What will I be able to buy, and what will I not, after this change?

Amazon has not disclosed which products available to Australian customers on its US website will no longer be accessible after the change.

However, the company says it will launch an international platform — the Amazon Global Store — which will offer more than 4 million items that were previously available exclusively on the US website.

Amazon's Australian store contains more than 60 million products.

But it is unclear how Australian prices will compare with its stores in other countries.

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Can I get around the ban, and is it legal?

Orders received by Amazon's American website will no longer be shipped to Australia. The same rule applies for Amazon's other overseas websites.

However, there may be ways to circumvent the policy — if you're prepared to invest some time and money.

While Amazon will not ship to Australian customers, US parcel shipping services will not be subject to any ban.

These forward-shipping services provide a US delivery address for retail purchases, allowing goods to be sent overseas without triggering any shipping restrictions.

What has been the reaction?

Needless to say, most shoppers were none too impressed with Amazon's move.

When the ABC asked our audience on Messenger what they thought, people didn't hold back.

Most said the Australian site just didn't compare with the US or UK sites, which were said to have a much larger range of products.

Others simply thought Amazon was being greedy by forcing Australians to use a site where they may pay more.

But some people instead directed their ire at the Federal Government, blaming its tax policies for stifling business.

So has Amazon just shot itself in the foot?

Queensland University of Technology Business School Associate Professor Gary Mortimer said Amazon's decision to block shipping to Australia was likely to divert customers to its competitors.

"If shoppers are unable to get product through Amazon internationally, they will probably move to other players like eBay or Alibaba," Dr Mortimer said.

"The proportion of shoppers this will have an impact on, I believe, is quite small."

Dr Mortimer said the changes weren't likely to have a significant impact on Amazon's customer base in Australia, or the local retail sector.

"I think ultimately this is really Amazon just making a protest vote against the Federal Government's decision to implement GST on purchases under $1,000," he said.

His assessment was echoed by Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey, who told ABC News Amazon had furiously lobbied against the GST changes.

Sorry, this video has expired Gerry Harvey calls Amazon 'dreadful, dreadful people'

"For 10 years they have had this big advantage over all Australian retailers.