Shipping to Australia- what are prohibited and restricted goods?

The Australian Government controls the import and export of goods. There are three ways in which goods are classified when it comes to deciding what is allowed in and what isn’t. These are; goods that require no authorisation and can freely be taken with you into Australia, restricted permission, this is when you will need to have written permission in order to import your goods into Australia or absolute prohibition, this is when you are not allowed to import goods into Australia under any circumstances.

The general shipment of household goods and personal affects rarely have any restrictions placed on them and you are usually able to take them straight through into Australia with you. However aspects to do with gardening such as seeds and plants may be prohibited under quarantine regulations.

Drugs of dependence, for example, narcotics, hallucinogenic drugs, amphetamines, barbiturates, and tranquillisers must be declared to Customs. It is highly important that you don’t include these aspects with the shipment of your household goods and personal affects as you will need permission to retain these items. As well as any dependency drugs you must also declare the ownership of all firearms and ammunition imported in Australia to Customs. Firearms including air, gas, flame and starting pistols and spear guns are subject to import restrictions and will be subject to release on approval from the Police authorities.

Examples of items that are prohibited by the Australian Government are dangerous weapons. These dangerous weapons cover aspects such as daggers, swordsticks, knuckledusters and spring bladed knives.

It is important that when you are sorting everything out for moving and shipping to Australia that you read up on the import laws that are in place otherwise you could end up jeopardising your residency within Australia.

If you would like to find out more information about the goods that are prohibited and restricted from being imported into Australia then get in touch with Overs International today. We are shipping and moving experts and we will help you in any way that we can when it comes to your move to Australia.

Call us now on 0800 243433