The main AFL trade period usually finishes in mid‑October , with the 2025 trade window running from Monday 6 October to a deadline day on Wednesday 15 October at night (AEDT).

Key dates in recent seasons

  • For 2025, the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period opened on Monday 6 October and closed on Wednesday 15 October.
  • The league treats that closing day as the official “trade period finish”, with all club-to-club trades needing to be lodged by the stated evening deadline.

What “trade finish” actually means

  • Once the trade period finishes, clubs cannot complete standard player-for-pick or player-for-player trades until the next year’s window.
  • Player movement can still occur via later mechanisms like the national draft, rookie draft and pre‑season draft, plus the supplemental selection period, but those are not part of the main trade period.

How to know the exact date each year

  • The AFL publishes the precise trade-period start and finish dates (and deadline time) on its official “Key Dates” page ahead of each off‑season.
  • Because dates can shift slightly year to year, checking that key-dates page or the AFL’s trade hub each September–October gives the exact “when does AFL trade finish” answer for that season.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.