If you are importing into Australia for the first time, the single most useful thing you can do is understand the sequence. Most first-time importers get the order wrong: they find a supplier, agree a price, place an order, and then start asking about freight. By that point most of the decisions that determine your landed cost have already been made for you.
1. Work out what the goods actually are, in tariff terms
Before anything else, establish how your goods will be classified in the Australian Harmonized Tariff. Classification determines your duty rate, whether a free trade agreement concession is available, and whether other agencies have an interest. Two products that look identical on a website can sit in different tariff lines with different rates.
This is not a guessing exercise. Send us the product description, photographs, materials and the supplier’s specification, and we will confirm the likely classification and rate before you commit. Our guide to import duty and GST explains how the numbers work.
2. Check permits and biosecurity before you buy
Australia’s biosecurity regime catches far more than food and plants. Timber packaging, used machinery, anything with plant or animal material, and goods with soil residue all attract conditions. Some goods need permits from other agencies. Discovering this on arrival is the expensive way to learn it.
3. Agree the right Incoterm — this is where money is won and lost
Your supplier will probably offer CIF, because it lets them control the freight and their agent recover margin at the Australian end through destination charges you have no visibility of. Ask for an FOB price instead. On FOB you appoint your own forwarder, you see every charge, and you can compare quotes properly. See Incoterms explained.
4. Choose your mode on total cost, not freight cost
Sea freight is cheaper per kilogram. Air freight is cheaper when being late costs you more than flying. For a first shipment, there is a strong case for sending a small quantity by air freight to check quality before committing to a container. A sample that arrives in four days is worth more than one that arrives in six weeks.
5. Decide between LCL and FCL with actual numbers
Below roughly 12 to 15 cubic metres, LCL is usually cheaper. Above that, a 20ft container is often cheaper in total and faster because it skips consolidation handling. Ask for both prices — see FCL shipping.
6. Get the documents right the first time
The commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading must agree with each other on descriptions, quantities, values and country of origin. Inconsistency between documents is the most common cause of clearance delays we see. If you are claiming a free trade agreement rate, the origin document must be valid and held before the declaration is lodged.
7. Plan arrival week before the vessel sails
Demurrage and detention clocks start on arrival, not on your convenience. Before the ship berths you should know that the entry is lodged, transport is booked, and you have somewhere and someone to unload it. This one habit eliminates the most avoidable cost in importing.
8. Insure it
Carrier liability under international conventions is limited by weight, not value. On an uninsured loss you will recover a fraction of what the goods are worth. Marine cargo insurance is one of the cheapest risk reductions available to an importer.
The short version
- Classify the goods and confirm the duty rate before you order.
- Check permits and biosecurity early.
- Buy FOB, not CIF.
- Compare sea against air, and LCL against FCL, on total landed cost.
- Make every document agree with every other document.
- Have clearance lodged and transport booked before arrival.
- Insure the cargo.
If you would like this walked through for your specific product, send us the details or call 1300 972 040. Pre-purchase advice is free, and it is the point at which it is worth the most.