Travelling to Australia from UK via Shanghai

You do not need any kind of visa because you will be covered by 24 hour visa free transit. People are talking different things out of their prejudices and guessing and not based on their real knowledge or experience. In other words, all you need is your passport and your flight tickets. In other words, upon landing in Shanghai, you will just proceed to the gate gate for your onward flight by looking at the screens showing departure flights. You will not cross any immigration, so you will not need even a "landing card"... Just be relaxed and know that you have every right to travel to Australia via Shanghai absolutely visa free.