Arrange international shipping for your belongings

Shipping your belongings internationally is usually a choice between sea freight -- cheaper, slower, weeks to months depending on origin -- and air freight -- faster, significantly more expensive. Most people use sea freight for a full household move and air freight only for anything genuinely time-critical.

How to do it

1. Get quotes from at least 2-3 international freight forwarders, not just one -- pricing and included services such as packing, insurance, and door-to-door versus port-to-port vary a lot.
2. Ask about groupage or shared-container options if you don't have enough for a full container -- you pay for the space you use rather than a whole container, often significantly cheaper for a single household's worth of goods.
3. Check whether you qualify for the Unaccompanied Personal Effects concession. Genuine migrants and returning residents can generally import used household goods and personal effects duty and GST-free through Australian Border Force, provided you've owned and used the items for at least 12 months and your goods clearly connect to your move -- this isn't available if you ship your things long after you've already arrived.
4. Check the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's biosecurity requirements for household goods. Anything that's been in contact with soil, plants, or animals must be clean, dry, and declared -- used outdoor gear and furniture are commonly inspected.

Common mistakes

• Not declaring items DAFF cares about -- used outdoor gear, anything with soil or plant matter -- this is a genuinely strict process at the Australian border, not a formality
• Assuming door-to-door service is standard -- some quotes are port-to-port only, with local delivery as a separate cost
• Booking too close to your move date -- sea freight in particular needs real lead time, and delays are common enough to plan around
• Shipping your belongings well after you've already arrived, which can disqualify you from the duty and GST-free concession

Related tasks

If there's any chance your shipment won't arrive by the time you need to be in your new home, sort temporary accommodation and short-term storage in parallel, not after the fact.

Useful links

• Australian Border Force: unaccompanied personal effects -- the duty and GST-free concession referenced above, direct from the source.
• DAFF: moving to Australia or immigrating -- the biosecurity requirements for household goods and personal effects.