Movingmole Australian Moving Guide
Australia (along with New Zealand) still remains the most popular destination for UK migrants with over 128,000 people moving there every year. Although the most popular destination Australia has one of the most stringent import procedures for household goods / shipments arriving into the country.
All private shipments of personal household goods will require a customs B534 form to be completed prior to the arrival of the goods in Australia and accompanied with a photocopy of the passport photo and visa pages. Additional shipping paperwork will be provided / completed by your selected removal company, these include an inventory of effects and an Ocean Bill of Lading.
All household effects are subject to examination by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS). The inspections take place in AQIS approved premises, usually a removal companies warehouse, and can cause delays of up to 14 working days from arrival at destination port.
The following items will be of particular interest and should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to shipping:
- Bicycles
- Gardening equipment
- Garden Furniture
- Golf clubs & trolleys
- Outdoor footwear (Wellington boots, hiking boots etc)
- Children's garden toys
- Vacuum cleaners
- Barbeques
- Motor vehicles
It is also advisable to not take the following items:
- Wicker / cane / rattan furniture
- Untreated solid wood items
- Seasonal decorations containing pine cones, holly, mistletoe, festive wreaths and such like
- Refrigeration units that contain CFC compressed gasses.
Please note that cleaning and additional treatments (steam cleaning, fumigation, etc) prior to shipment does not guarantee automatic clearance, AQIS can still order further treatments if in their opinion the items are still considered a risk.
Certain items will always attract customs duty and GST (goods service tax) these include:
- Alcohol - all types
- Tobacco - all types
- New furniture and household goods
- Motor vehicles
Motor vehicles attract high levels of duty and tax and require additional paperwork to be completed and supplied, these include vehicle log books, sales invoice, vehicle import approval forms. Motorcycles can be imported duty free but will attract 10% GST.
All the information given above is true to the best of our knowledge and is to be used as a guide only to assist you with your move to Australia, please ensure you discuss all your requirements with your chosen removal company.
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