Relocating to Australia made Clear
When moving to Australia, Custom Brokers aims to help you information to assist with relocating to Australia. We help you avoid a customs or quarantine disaster and navigate through the importation process confidently. Custom Brokers can assist you with import customs and quarantine clearance in Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin ports.
All used cargo being imported to Australia will need to be fully unpacked and inspected at a Quarantine Approved Premise. This means if you are shipping a full container load that you cannot have the sea container delivered to your house.
Unaccompanied Personal Effects Tax Concession
Importing your personal belongings GST and Customs Duty Free is possible with a tax concession. Goods owned and used by you for 12 months or longer are eligable. Any goods not owned for at least 12 months should be declared on your B534 form (except clothing and footwear)
To claim a Personal Effects concession when moving to Australia you first need to meet the permanent residency requirement:
- are an Australian citizen
- hold a permanent visa
- hold a special category visa.
Secondly the goods must arrive in a timely manner before or after you arrive in Australia. If the goods arrive months after your arrival will may need to arrange payment of Customs Duty and GST.
When relocating to Australia these goods are not eligible for the UPE concession:
- motor vehicles
- motor vehicle parts
- commercial goods
- bequeathed goods
- items that you have purchased over the internet after your arrival in Australia
- items belonging to another person who is not eligible for the concession
- tobacco and tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, or other products containing tobacco)
- alcoholic beverages.
Quarantine Rules when Moving to Australia
When preparing your personal effects for shipment, it is important to familize yourself with Quarantine requirements:
- Do not pack with fruit or vegetable boxes, raw cotton, straw and raw wool.
- Empty Vacuum Cleaner
- Ensure all cargo is clean from dirt, plant and animal materials. Double check outdoor equipment such as tents, lawn mowers, garden tools and shoes for cleanliness in advance.
- Do not pack soil and sand materials including fertilizers
- Do not pack seeds or live plants including cuttings, roots, bulbs, corms, rhizomes and stems
- Check Christmas decorations for pine cones.
- If packing food, please ensure it is commercially packaged and unopened. Do not pack Bee products, uncanned Meat, Pork products, popping Corn, unroasted Nuts, Salmon products, Trout products, Beans, Peas, Cereal Seeds, Eggs, Fresh Fruit, Fresh Vegetables
- Check undersides of solid wooden furniture for borer holes. If there are pin prick sized holes that is a sign of borer activity.
Quarantine will require the goods to be fully unpacked and available for a thorough inspection. We recommend providing a detailed packing list of your labelled cartons. The Quarantine officer is likely to inspect the cartons on the packing list which are of high risk.
Importing a Car from the UK to Australia
If you’re looking at Importing a Car to Australia then you should consider your Australia car shipping options. Sending your vehicle on a RoRo vessel is a viable vehicle shipping option. A car carrier shipping service (RoRo) typically offers discharge ports in Australia of Brisbane, Port Kembla, Melbourne and Fremantle.
If you are sending personal effects with the vehicle on a car carrier shipping service is not allowed. We recommend utilizing a sea container.
Did you know sea containers are provided on a lease basis as part of the Ocean Freight charge?
Vehicle Importing Approval Rules and Taxes
All road vehicles being imported to Australia must be accompanied by a valid vehicle import approval. It is an offense to import cars into Australia without a vehicle import approval. Custom Brokers can apply for a Vehicle Import Approval to assist with vehicle importing.
Common Vehicle Import Approval options include:
- Personal Import Scheme
- Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles Register (SEVS)
- Vehicles older than 25 years old
When moving to Australia there is limits on the use of personal import scheme. A resident can apply for a personal import approval once every 5 years. The criteria for eligibility for the personsal import scheme to import cars into Australia is strict and detailed. The onus is on the applicant to provide all necessary documentation to assist with the application before importing vehicles into Australia.
Taxes are calculated based on the value of the vehicle at the time of importation. Custom Brokers will use a valuation in order to calculate car import duty and taxes in Australia.
Note: There are no custom duty concessions available unless your vehicle is over 30 years old or the goods comply with a free trade agreement.
Quarantine Rules for Importing Vehicles into Australia
Quarantine will inspect your car or motorbike for cleanliness. It needs to be free from all animal, plant and soil materials. It is recommended you:
- thoroughly clean the vehicle underside and engine bay with high pressure washing. This is very important for those moving to Australia from UK or Europe due to salting of roads during winter.
- vacuum the inside of the car, under floor mats, boot and under the spare wheel.
- Remove any seeds and twigs stuck in your car’s radiator, grill and engine bay.
- Clean off any bird droppings
Non compliant cars will be subject to cleaning delay and costs. Once your car or motorbike is released from Quarantine and Customs, we can arrange transport of cars to your door. Need a car shipping cost, then please contact Custom Brokers.
Note: If you are importing a vehicle manufactured in the last century, then it’s also important to check before importing vehicles into Australia that:
- It is free from asbestos
- If it has an air conditioner that is not charged with or designed to run on CFC or HCFC gasses.
Importing a Boat, Trailer or Caravan to Australia
Customs Duty concessions are available if you or your family are moving to Australia with a Boat, Trailer or Caravan. This duty concession is available to a maximum of one Boat, Trailer or Caravan if:
(1) The goods must be imported by an arriving resident.
(2) Have not used this concession in the previous 3 years.
(3) The person must :
(a) be an arriving resident; and
(b) have personally owned and used the goods overseas for the twelve months preceding the person’s departure for Australia.
(4) Goods, as follows:
(a) non-motorised caravans;
(b) non-motorised box, boat or similar trailers;
(c) boats designed for use in sheltered waters for sport or recreation, conforming to one of the following specifications:
(i) boats propelled by manual or pedal power;
(ii) sailing boats that:
(a) do not exceed 1,000 kilograms of unladen weight;
(b) do not incorporate any device for propelling the boat by power; and
(c) are not of the deep keel type; or
(iii) powered boats that:
(a) do not exceed 7 metres in length, overall;
(b) do not exceed 2.5 metres in width at any section; and
(c) do not exceed 1,250 kilograms unladen weight when imported with driving units and transmissions, or 800 kilograms unladen weight when imported without driving units and transmissions.
(5) If the goods are a boat specified in Table Item 4(c), they cannot be sold or otherwise disposed of in Australia by or on behalf of the arriving resident, within two years after the date of importation of the goods.
(6) If the goods are a towable caravan or trailer specified in Table Item 4(a) or 4(b) then it will require a vehicle import approval prior to importation. Custom Brokers can assist you with vehicle import approval applications for low ATM trailers.
Quarantine Rules for Importing Caravans, Trailers and Boats into Australia
Quarantine inspections on used caravans, trailers and boats requires the cargo to be clean from all soil, plant and animal materials. Inspections are thorough and focused not only on external areas but also external and internal compartments. We recommend the emptying of water reservoirs and cleaning of sewage systems.
If the caravans, trailers and boats contain significant quantities of solid timber products (not remanufactured like chipboard, melamine, plywood) then fumigation may be required on arrival in addition to specialist inspections to check for termites, European borers and other pests.
Importing an Aircraft to Australia
Customs Duty concessions are available for Aircraft of all types, having not more than one propulsion motor.
To be eligible for this Customs Duty concession:
(1) The goods must be imported by a person who is an arriving resident and who is an adult.
(2) If the person is part of a family, only one aircraft will be allowed for the family.
(3) If the person is not part of a family, only one aircraft will be allowed for the person.
(4) The person must have personally owned and used the goods overseas for the six months preceding the person’s departure for Australia.
(5) The goods must not be sold or otherwise disposed of in Australia by or on behalf of the arriving person, within two years after the date of importation of the goods.
GST will be payable on the importation based on current value of the item in Australia.
Quarantine inspections on this commodity used aircraft, gliders and the like require the cargo to be clean from all soil, plant and animal materials. For aircraft, this typically requires us to arrange dismantle and vacuuming to verify cleanliness at additional cost to the importer.
Importing of Machinery, Plant and Equipment to Australia
Customs Duty Concessions are available for Machinery, plant and equipment being imported to Australia. Note that trailer mounted machinery, plant and equipment will also require a vehicle import approval prior to importation.
To be eligible for the Customs Duty concession:
(1) The goods must be imported by a person who is an arriving resident and who is an adult.
(2) The person must have personally owned and used the goods overseas for the twelve months preceding the person’s departure for Australia.
(3) The person must intend to use the goods or be in a position to use the goods.
(4) The goods will, for a continuous period of two years, be put to use in Australia by the person for the purpose for which they are intended.
(5) The goods will not be sold, leased, hired, mortgaged or otherwise disposed of, by or on behalf of the person, before the expiration of the two year period referred to in sub-paragraph (4) of this condition.
Quarantine inspections on this commodity require the cargo to be clean from all soil, plant and animal materials. For complex machinery, plant and equipment dismantling and flushing may be required to verify this at additional cost to the importer.
We’re here to Help
In summary we are here to help you with your personal importations to Australia. If you need a cost to import car or belongings to Australia then please contact Custom Brokers.
