Can people freelance in Australia while on a tourist visa?

An interesting question - and I assume you mean clients who are not in Australia? In other words, the fact that you are physically in Australia is irrelevant to the online work that you're doing ... you could be located anywhere?

I think the same question was asked some years ago, and we had quite a lively debate ... I can't recall the outcome, but it seems to my what you do with your laptop in your own time is your own business. But IANAL!

Thanks for the reply!
I will develop websites for clients that are in Australia while I am in Australia, then I'll move to New Zealand and develop websites for clients that are in New Zealand while I am there, and so on. It's how I have planned to earn an income while traveling the world. I'll also develop websites for clients abroad, but most people/companies that need a website prefer to meet the developer, that's why I'll try to get clients in each country while visiting.

Well ... I'm reasonably close to certain that what you are planning is illegal in Australia and New Zealand without a work visa ... and that will be true in just about every country in the world. Might need a Plan B.

And how would you get clients in any country anyway (especially a place like Australia, where there are thousands of website developers already)? How will you advertise, make contacts, get word-of-mouth referrals, and so much else?

There is almost zero demand in Australia for Spanish-language websites, for example. But good luck with whatever you do. If you're under 30, a Working Holiday Visa could be good, but I don't know if Guatemala is a partner country.

Yep, see you want to do business with Australian clients and it is not quite as loose as what you might want to do with your own laptop and I'd not go making references in that regard and if asked, say your trip is about business enquiries on behalf of your company in Guatemala.
If you have a read at https://www.border.gov.au/visas/Pages/600-Visitor.aspx?TermStoreId=1cafda66-8aac-4a45-95fa-3e03872913b6&TermSetId=b8c60187-5f41-48c0-98a2-10cb7f1b0ea2&TermId=9fd6b749-b83c-4501-be3d-8edc77cef82d&AdditionalQuestion1=a%20business%20visit&=true re getting a visitor for business visa you will see that it allows for
" The Business Visitor stream is for people travelling to Australia for a short business visit. This includes making a general business or employment enquiry, negotiations or participating in a conference. "

If your activities were to occur within such a framework and any website development was part of a general business enquiry or negotiations such that actual business transactions were finalised between a company in Australia and one in Guatemala with any contracts negotiated as such, you would be on reasonably sound ground.

The type of thing that could be checked however is that there is a bonefida company in Guatemala and it is not just a company in your name so it could be viewed that were in fact offering services for payment within Australia.

How you will fare in other parts of the planet will be determined by what the different countries immigration visas do allow and you would need to examine each one individually.

Definitely illegal in NZ. Its not a simple matter. No business would be able to claim any GST as you aren't NZ GST registered. And at 15%, its a fair chunk.

Oh, and people like to deal with business that have an actual office in NZ. As the most famous line from a NZ soappie goes "You're not in Guatemala now, .......... "

It is quite a grey area, definitely not something to mention to immigration on the way into the country but probably not illegal as long as you are the employee of the Guatemalan company and only get paid by it in Guatemala. Lots of large companies send employees to other countries for short periods (up to 30 days) to fix things like software problems on business visitor visas. I have done it myself, the major difference being that my company had only one shareholder (me) and one employee (me) but going through a company does give the business a considerable veneer of legality. It probably goes beyond the bounds of legality if your clients start paying for your services into an AUD or NZD bank account as that gives the impression of a permanent establishment.

Maybe the OP can use the ABN of Bunnings when issuing reciepts in Australia.

I supppose the Warehouse as an equivalent for when he heads your way too.
And if there is any dirty laundering to be done, he only needs to drop into the CBA!

There's also the situation of a dead Wallaby underdownunder, anything that happens with the AllBlacks on the SI that could help that situation, or maybe just what happens to possums would do.