In short: a 40ft container suits a 4-bedroom home or larger, around 54 to 58 usable cubic metres, and can take a car alongside your belongings. With sole use it ships once sealed, around 6 to 9 weeks at sea.
Typical cost: roughly £7,500 to £12,000 door to door, depending on destination and access. We match you with one FIDI-certified mover free; we are not a removal company.
A 40ft container fits a four-bedroom home, with room for a car. We pair households from England and the wider United Kingdom with a single vetted removalist for the full-home move to Australia.
A 40ft container is the largest standard shipping unit, and it is the right choice for moving a whole three or four-bedroom house from the UK to Australia. It gives you about 67 cubic metres, roughly double a 20ft, so there is room for the lounge, the bedrooms, the kitchen, white goods, and the contents of the garage and garden too.
Booked for your sole use, a 40ft container is the best value per cubic metre when you have a lot to ship. Filling one large box works out cheaper than spreading a big move across two smaller shipments, and because it is yours alone it sails on its own schedule rather than waiting to share space with anyone else.
If 67 cubic metres still isn't quite enough, a 40ft high-cube container adds about 30 centimetres of height, lifting capacity to around 76 cubic metres. That extra headroom helps with tall wardrobes, large appliances, or a few awkward items that would otherwise tip you into a second container.
A quick word on who we are. International Removals Companies matches your move with a mover; we are not the mover and we never handle your goods. DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD operates the service free of charge. Send us your 40ft container move and one FIDI-certified firm will contact you, survey the house and give you a price. Nothing to pay, nothing to commit to.
Free matching. One FIDI partner. No catch. No fee.
On packing day the crew export wraps your furniture and protects the breakables, then loads the 40ft container so the weight is balanced and nothing can shift at sea. A full house can take a day or more to pack and load, so your mover usually plans it across a clear day with the container or a shuttle on site.
Access is the thing to plan for. A 40-foot trailer is long and needs space to turn and park, which many UK streets simply can't offer. Where it can't reach the house, the crew loads a shuttle vehicle at your door and packs the container at a depot nearby. Your mover works this out at the survey and builds it into the quote, so access doesn't change the price on the day.
At the Australian port the container is cleared by the Australian Border Force and checked by biosecurity. Because a 40ft load is large, that inspection can run a little longer. The container, or a shuttle, then delivers to your address, where the crew unloads and unpacks if you have booked it. The move stays on its own schedule from your old home to your new one.
A 40ft container is built for whole houses. Here is what it typically holds, and the high-cube option for when you need a bit more.
All three bedrooms, the lounge and dining room, the kitchen, white goods and the usual boxes. A 40ft handles it comfortably.
A full family home, garage and garden included. Most four-beds fit a single 40ft container.
A 40ft high-cube adds about 30cm of height, lifting capacity to roughly 76 cubic metres for tall or bulky loads.
There is often room for a car alongside your effects. It must be declared, drained of fuel and biosecurity clean.
These are ballpark figures to help you plan, not a quote. What you actually pay depends on the volume, your UK pickup, your Australian destination and the access at each end. The firm number comes from your matched mover after a home survey.
Standard 40ft load
About £6,500 to £9,000
Door to door: 9 to 12 weeks.
Full family home
About £8,000 to £11,000
Often still one container.
Extra height, 40ft HC
From £9,500
For tall or bulky loads.
Effects plus a vehicle
Priced after survey
Subject to space and clearance.
Since the UK left the EU in 2021, a UK shipment is treated as an overseas import and must clear Australian customs. The good news for most movers is that anything you have owned and used for 12 months or more comes in as unaccompanied personal effects, free of duty and the 10% GST, provided there is a clear connection between your relocation and the goods. The owner of the goods signs the B534 statement, which the mover submits to the Australian Border Force. A 40ft container is a large consignment, so expect a thorough biosecurity check, clean anything that has touched soil, food or plants, including mowers, barbecues, bikes, tents and footwear, before it is packed.
Once you land, everything is priced in Australian dollars, code AUD, and a big move usually means big arrival costs, so the exchange is worth getting right. Avoid changing money at the airport, where the rates are worst. A specialist such as Wise or XE will often beat a high-street bank, and opening an AUD account before you go saves hassle later. Because the GBP to AUD rate changes daily, check it on XE.com close to when you transfer. To be clear, International Removals Companies does not exchange currency; we only match your removal.
This guide is maintained by Darren Benjamin, who has run International Removals Companies since it launched in 2010 and has over 20 years in the logistics industry. Since 2013 he has also been Secretary and Manager of a UK removal company, a role verifiable on Companies House. In practice that means matching people moving abroad with the right certified mover, and knowing the customs and shipping detail behind an international move to or from Australia.
Our partner movers hold the industry's recognised credentials, including FIDI FAIM Certified (audited by Ernst and Young), BAR Overseas, IAM, EUROMOVERS and FEDEMAC membership. You can read more about who we are and how we vet partners on our about us page.
A 40ft container gives you about 67 cubic metres, which comfortably takes a full three or four-bedroom house. That includes all the bedrooms, the lounge and dining room, the kitchen, white goods, and the contents of the garage and garden. Most four-bedroom homes fit a single 40ft container.
As a rough plan, a three-bedroom move runs about £6,500 to £9,000 and a four-bedroom home about £8,000 to £11,000. A high-cube 40ft for a larger load starts from around £9,500. The final figure depends on volume, access and your destination port, and your matched mover quotes it after a survey.
The sea crossing is about 6 to 9 weeks. Door to door, a sole-use 40ft container usually arrives in about 9 to 12 weeks. Because it is yours alone it sails once sealed rather than waiting to be filled, though a large load can take a little longer to clear biosecurity at the Australian end.
A high-cube 40ft container is the same length and width as a standard 40ft but about 30 centimetres taller, lifting usable space to roughly 76 cubic metres. The extra height suits tall wardrobes, large appliances and bulky items, and it can keep a big move in one container instead of two.
Not always. A 40-foot trailer is long and needs room to turn and park, which many UK streets can't offer. Where it can't reach the house, the crew loads a smaller shuttle vehicle at your door and packs the container at a nearby depot. Your mover checks access at the survey and builds it into the quote.
Often yes. A 40ft container usually has room for a car alongside your household effects. The vehicle must be declared, drained of fuel and cleaned to meet Australian biosecurity rules, and it may need extra paperwork. Your matched mover confirms whether it fits and what is required.
Goods you have owned and used for at least 12 months usually enter free of duty and the 10% GST as unaccompanied personal effects, as long as your move and the shipment clearly belong together. Newer items may be taxed. The owner signs the B534 statement, which your mover lodges with the Australian Border Force.
A 40ft container lands at one of the major ports, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle for Perth, or Adelaide. If your new home is inland or regional, it clears at the closest port and your goods continue by road. Your matched mover handles that onward leg to the door.
International Removals Companies matches your move with a mover; we don't carry it out ourselves. Send us your 40ft container move and we connect you with one vetted FIDI-certified firm. They call you, survey the house and quote the job. There is no charge to you and no obligation.
FIDI FAIM is the benchmark accreditation for international movers. An independent Ernst and Young audit tests each firm on more than 200 points, from how goods are packed and loaded to how claims are handled, and the firm has to pass it again every three years. For a full-house 40ft move, that standard is your assurance the job is in safe hands at both ends.
International Removals Companies matches each 40ft container enquiry with one accredited firm, at no cost to you. Our matching service has operated since November 2010. DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company 07425576, ICO ZB022743. Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London, SE1 3DH. Working Member of AGM Group since 2010.
Send your UK collection postcode, your Australian delivery address, your number of bedrooms and any large items, and your preferred dates. One FIDI-certified partner takes it from there, confirming access, the port, the price and your Australian customs plan.
Get a 40ft Container QuoteFree matching. One FIDI-certified mover. DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, matching movers since November 2010.
We connect 40ft container and full-home shipping enquiries for Australia with one vetted FIDI-certified partner mover. DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company 07425576, ICO ZB022743. Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London, SE1 3DH. Working Member of AGM Group since 2010.
Prices, transit times, insurance and customs paperwork are confirmed by your partner mover before booking.