Australian shares were headed for a stronger start on Tuesday as resource-related stocks were likely to gain from soaring metal prices on political uncertainty in Guinea, with investors on the sidelines for minutes of the central bank's September policy meeting.

The local share price index futures rose 0.2%, a 6.5-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark ended flat at 7,528.50 points on Monday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was largely unchanged, down 0.03% to 13,296.68 points in early trade.