Moving to an overseas country can be a trying time for you and your family, especially when leaving your family, friends and familiar surroundings. The last thing you want to think about are the shipping requirements when sending your unaccompanied personal effects to your new home.
To get an insider’s insights on shipping your belongings to Australia, I spoke to David Denning of Poseidon Freight.
Here are some of his top tips on moving your unaccompanied personal effects to keep shipping costs down and making the whole experience a smooth process.
International Packing Tips
Ensure that the items are sufficiently packed within sturdy cartons (if possible).
Each carton must be numbered.
Create a packing list for the total shipment ensuring this is cross-referenced to the packing list. This will allow for either Australian Border Force (ABF) or the Department of Agriculture to easy identify the items that require inspection otherwise all the cartons will need to be unpacked to locate the required articles.
What Can You Ship To Australia
All items must have been owned and used for over 12 months otherwise import duty and GST will be applied.
Typically, unaccompanied personal effects include clothing and footwear, personal hygiene and grooming items, furniture, appliances, household items, sporting equipment and books.
The following items are not classified as unaccompanied personal effects:
Motor vehicles
Motor vehicle parts
Commercial goods
Bequeathed goods
Items purchased over the internet
These items can be shipped BUT the appropriate import duty and GST will be applied:
Motor vehicle (an import permit will be required from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development Canberra prior to being shipped)
Motor vehicle parts
Alcoholic beverages
What Permissions Are Needed
Due to the change in recent legislation, the importation of tobacco or tobacco related products is prohibited (unless included in your airline luggage – limited to 1 open packet and 1 unopened packet containing 25 sticks).
If you would like to bring some foodstuffs, this permissible but is subject to ingredients verification and import requirements set by the Department of Agriculture. This should be checked before shipping otherwise additional charges can be incurred for disposal.
Shipping Your Belongings To Australia
The most important thing to remember is to engage the services of a reputable international removalist or freight forwarder who can provide an end to end solution. Make sure they have a plan for how your goods will be delivered to your new address in Australia and if there are any storage provisions if you’re not ready to receive your belongings when they arrive.
Poseidon Freight has been operating for almost 20 years and can assist with both personal relocations and commercial freight needs. Owner David has almost 40 years of experience in the industry and the company is a member of the South African Business Council in NSW.
If you have any questions about the shipping process or want to get a quote for shipping you belongings to Australia, you can get in touch with David directly here:
Web: www.poseidonfreight.com
Email: freight@poseidonfreight.com
Phone: 02 8338 0633
This blog is brought to you by Poseidon Freight.
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