Personal effects shipping
Personal Effects Shipping to Australia — UPE, Customs and Biosecurity
Moving your household to or from Australia is a customs exercise as much as a freight one. Unaccompanied personal effects have their own concession, their own paperwork and their own biosecurity scrutiny — and getting it wrong is expensive.
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Household goods
What we move, and how
We ship household goods and personal effects into and out of Australia by sea and air, from a few cartons through to a full four-bedroom household. On the Australian side we handle the customs and biosecurity requirements for unaccompanied personal effects, which is where most of the difficulty in these moves actually sits.
| Service | Typical volume | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Air freight | Up to a few cubic metres | Essentials you need immediately, or small moves where speed matters most. |
| LCL — shared container | 2–15 cbm | Apartments, partial households, students, singles and couples. |
| 20ft container | Up to ~33 cbm | A two to three bedroom household, or a smaller household plus a vehicle. |
| 40ft container | Up to ~67 cbm | A four bedroom household, or a household with substantial furniture. |
| Vehicle shipping | Per vehicle | Cars, motorcycles, boats and caravans, by container or RORO. |
Domestic moves within Australia — local, interstate and NDIS relocations — are outside our freight forwarding services. We handle the international leg of the move.
Customs and biosecurity
Unaccompanied personal effects: what you must know
Personal effects arriving separately from you are treated as unaccompanied personal effects and require a declaration. A concession from duty and GST may be available for goods you have owned and used, but it is conditional and it is not automatic.
- The concession applies to goods you have owned and used, not to new purchases shipped as part of the move. New goods can be assessed for duty and GST.
- You need a detailed inventory. “Household goods” on a packing list is not enough. Every carton should be numbered with contents listed.
- Biosecurity inspects personal effects closely. Outdoor furniture, garden tools, bicycles, camping and sporting equipment, vacuum cleaners, footwear and wooden items are the classic problem areas.
- Clean everything thoroughly before packing. Soil, seeds, plant material, insects and food residue are what inspectors look for, and treatment on arrival is charged to you.
- Some items are prohibited or restricted, including certain foods, plant material, seeds, weapons, some medicines and items made from protected species.
- Alcohol and tobacco in personal effects are generally dutiable regardless of ownership history.
- Motor vehicles need import approval before shipment, and steam-cleaning to a very high standard.
We prepare the declaration, tell you exactly what documentation you need, and warn you about the items in your house most likely to cause a problem before they are packed.
Process
How an international move runs
Survey and quote
A volume estimate based on your inventory or a video walkthrough, quoted as a landed cost including clearance and delivery.
Packing and collection
Professional packing where required, with a numbered inventory that satisfies customs and gives you a claim basis if anything is damaged.
Export and shipping
Container loading or consolidation, documentation, and sailing or flight booking.
Australian clearance
Unaccompanied personal effects declaration lodged, biosecurity assessment managed, inspection or treatment arranged if directed.
Delivery and unpack
Delivery to your new address, placement of furniture, and unpacking with debris removal if you have opted for it.
FAQ
Personal effects questions
Do I pay duty and GST on my own household goods?
A concession may be available for goods you have owned and used, subject to conditions. New goods, alcohol and tobacco are generally assessed. We will review your inventory and tell you what to expect before shipment.
How long does it take to ship household goods to Australia?
By sea, typically six to twelve weeks door to door depending on origin, including packing, consolidation, transit, clearance and delivery. By air, one to two weeks. Personal effects are frequently selected for biosecurity inspection, which can add time.
What should I not put in the shipment?
Food, seeds, plants and soil, anything made from protected species, weapons, and hazardous items such as aerosols, paint and fuel. Also think carefully about high-value irreplaceable items — jewellery and documents are better carried with you.
Will my goods be inspected?
Personal effects shipments are inspected far more often than commercial cargo. Thorough cleaning before packing is the single most effective thing you can do to keep the process short and cheap.
Can I ship my car with my household goods?
Often yes, in the same container. But vehicle import approval must be in place before shipment, and the vehicle must be steam-cleaned. Start this early — approvals are not quick.
Do you offer insurance for household goods?
Yes, and we strongly recommend it for personal effects. Carrier liability is limited and will not come close to replacement value.
Do you move households within Australia too?
Domestic moves within Australia are outside our freight forwarding services. We handle the international leg of the move.
Biosecurity
Australian biosecurity and personal effects — the part that catches people
Australia screens personal effects more closely than almost any country. Most delays we see are not customs delays; they are biosecurity delays, and nearly all of them are avoidable at the packing stage.
What gets inspected and why
Used household goods and personal effects are treated as a biosecurity risk because of what travels with them: soil, seeds, plant material, insects and animal residue. Inspection is normal, not a sign that something is wrong. What matters is whether the inspection finds anything.
The items that cause the most problems
- Outdoor furniture, garden tools, lawnmowers and anything that has touched soil
- Bicycles, camping gear, hiking boots and sporting equipment with dirt or plant matter
- Vacuum cleaners with used bags or full canisters
- Wooden items, cane, bamboo, and unfinished or bark-bearing timber
- Animal products, hides, skins, feathers, shells and taxidermy
- Seeds, dried flowers, pine cones, straw and plant-based handicrafts
- Food of almost any kind, including packaged and sealed items
Clean is cheaper than treated
Anything that could carry soil or plant material should be cleaned thoroughly before it is packed — not wiped, cleaned. A single dirty garden tool can trigger fumigation or steam cleaning of a whole consignment, plus storage while it waits its turn. The cost of that treatment vastly exceeds the cost of an hour with a hose.
Declare everything
Under-declaring to avoid inspection is the worst possible strategy. An accurate inventory and a truthful declaration lets the assessment be made on paper; an inaccurate one invites a full unpack. See Australian biosecurity requirements for the detail.
Timber packaging and treatment certificates
Timber cases, crates and pallets must meet the international treatment standard and be marked accordingly, with the supporting declaration provided. Where packing is done overseas by a third party, we confirm this before the container is sealed rather than after it arrives.
Costs, insurance and timing
What a personal effects shipment actually costs, and what changes it
Personal effects shipping is quoted on volume, and the volume is almost always larger than people estimate. Being honest about the volume up front is how you avoid a revised invoice.
Volume, not weight
Sea freight for household goods is priced on cubic measurement. A reasonable estimate needs a room-by-room inventory, including the garage and the shed, which is where the volume usually hides. We would rather survey properly than quote low and correct later.
Shared container or your own
A part-load in a shared container is cheaper but slower, because it waits for consolidation and then for deconsolidation at destination. A sole-use container costs more and moves faster with less handling. For fragile or high-value contents, less handling is worth paying for. Compare LCL shipping and FCL shipping.
Duty and GST concessions
Personal effects that have been owned and used for a qualifying period may be eligible for concessional treatment on arrival, subject to conditions and to the goods being genuinely yours. Motor vehicles, alcohol and tobacco are treated separately and rarely concessionally. We assess eligibility before arrival so the number is not a surprise.
Insurance
Carrier liability is not insurance and it will not replace your possessions. Marine transit cover for household goods is inexpensive relative to the value of what is in the container, and it requires a valued inventory to be worth anything at claim time. We will explain what is and is not covered before you decide.
Realistic timing
Plan on the full door-to-door picture: packing, origin consolidation, the sea leg, arrival, biosecurity assessment, any treatment, and delivery. Quoting only the sea leg is how people end up without furniture for three weeks longer than they expected.
Vehicles and unusual items
Cars, motorcycles, boats and trailers have their own import approval, cleaning and compliance requirements and cannot be treated as ordinary household goods. See vehicle shipping. For corporate and employee moves, see international relocations.
Read next
More on moving personal goods
Related guides and services covering the questions importers and exporters usually ask next.
- International relocations — full household moves, surveys, packing and placement
- Vehicle shipping — if a car or motorcycle is moving too
- Australia–UK freight — one of the busiest relocation lanes
- Trans-Tasman freight — the shortest and simplest relocation lane
Moving to or from Australia?
Send us your inventory or a rough room-by-room list and the origin and destination addresses. We will quote the move including customs and delivery.