If a shipment is already held, delayed or accruing cost, start here. These pages set out what is happening, what usually decides how long it takes, and what can be done now.
Which problem do you have?
A border hold and a biosecurity hold look identical from the outside — a container that will not move. They are two different agencies, with different resolution paths and very different cost consequences. Start with whichever description matches what you have been told.
Cargo held by customs (Australian Border Force)
Your consignment has been selected for documentary examination, X-ray, a tailgate inspection or a full unpack. Covers what triggered it, the free storage concession and the two lodgement deadlines that decide whether you get it, and what the hold is costing you per day.
Biosecurity hold on imported goods (DAFF)
A biosecurity direction has been issued — treatment, export, destruction or release. Covers what commonly triggers a hold, the offshore treatment trap, and why storage is charged to you from the start with no equivalent concession.
Not sure which one you have? Call 1300 972 040 with the container number and the port and we will tell you.
Get help with a shipment that is held or delayed
Call 1300 972 040 or email freight@movingsolutions.com.au. Enquiries during normal business hours.
Container selected for a biosecurity inspection
DAFF has directed your container for inspection but has not issued a direction against the goods. Covers tailgate versus full unpack, what each one costs, and the three ways an inspection can end.
Shipment needs BMSB treatment
Your cargo falls inside the brown marmorated stink bug seasonal measures. Covers offshore versus onshore treatment, which cargo types cannot be treated here, and what changes once the goods have already landed.
Goods have arrived and nothing has been lodged
No import declaration exists — no broker was appointed, or the arrangement ended at the port. Covers how to take a shipment over mid-stream, what documents are needed, and the two meters running while you wait.
The ABF has queried the value of your goods
A revenue and compliance matter rather than a border hold, and it can arrive long after delivery. Covers why values get queried, what evidence to assemble, and how voluntary disclosure changes the outcome.
You cannot return the empty container
Detention keeps running after the cargo is delivered, until the empty is receipted at the nominated park. Covers why the box is stuck, what to do today, and the charges that arrive from everyone except the shipping line.