Australia movers for a move from the UK, with guides sorted by direction and subject.
Moving to Australia from the UK involves four bodies: HMRC for the export declaration, the Department of Home Affairs for the visa, Border Force for duty and GST, and the Department of Agriculture for biosecurity. We’re an introduction service, not a mover. Your removal company will tell you what it needs from you and when.
Which direction
Pick the direction you are moving in. Only removals from the UK to Australia are written so far, and in that direction four bodies each decide a different step of the move. A move out of Australia has no guide yet.
UK to Australia
The UK to Australia guide follows HMRC’s export step, the pointers to a visa, the concession on household goods and the sea route for belongings. It names no container size, sailing time or price, because the official pages it uses publish none for household moves, and it leaves out Medicare and tax file numbers.
Australia to UK
No guide yet. We have written nothing for this direction, so this site states no rule for it.
Order of steps
A move from the UK to Australia has three official steps with three different owners. HMRC handles the export declaration, the Department of Home Affairs sets the visa categories, and Australian Border Force decides whether household goods clear free of duty and GST.
The UK customs documentation checklist lists the papers for the British end, and the international moving checklist puts the tasks in date order.
Customs, pets, car
Customs with biosecurity, and pets, get a guide apiece, because either can shift the dates of everything else, from the sailing to your arrival. No guide exists for a car, and Border Force says plainly that its goods concession leaves motor vehicles out.
The customs and biosecurity guide reports Border Force’s duty and GST concession: who qualifies, a minimum age of eighteen, what Form B534 asks and the three ways to lodge it. It also sets out the Department of Agriculture’s checks, which rest on Internet Archive copies of the department’s pages, with capture dates in the guide.
The pets guide is written for dogs and cats from the UK. A pet is a separate import from the household shipment, with its own papers at both ends: GOV.UK lists one export health certificate for dogs and another for cats. The guide counts back from the landing day and reads no state rule or airline policy.
No guide exists for a car. Border Force lists motor vehicles among the items its goods concession excludes, so mention a car at your first enquiry. Our car shipping guide weighs the usual options for any destination.
States and cities
All six states and both territories are named below, and eleven places have a city guide. Each guide gives the council or state rule that names a removalist, with the lead time and fee where the council prints one, and says plainly what could not be read.
Medicare and tax file numbers are not covered: the UK to Australia guide sends you to Services Australia and the Australian Taxation Office. Australia to the UK has no guide yet and no rule stated. For any other place, put the full address in your enquiry.
All guides
Every guide closes with the official pages it relies on. A town that is absent is named inside the nearest bigger city’s guide, which is where the old town addresses lead if they have a page that names them.
Questions
Moving from the UK, start with the UK to Australia guide for the order of the steps, then the customs and biosecurity guide.
Read the pets guide as soon as a dog or cat is coming.
GOV.UK describes the eVisitor visa and the Electronic Travel Authority as visitor permissions, which do not let you settle.
The Department of Home Affairs visa finder lists the visas for a longer stay. We quote no visa fees.
HMRC’s export notices let someone leaving Britain for good declare household goods with a C21e Customs Clearance Request.
Ask your removal company in writing who sends it.
Border Force asks for twelve months of ownership and use of furniture and household goods. Newer items are declared, with receipts.
Border Force takes the final decision, and the customs and biosecurity guide sets out the conditions.
No. Border Force lists motor vehicles among the items outside its goods concession.
The general car shipping guide weighs the usual options for any destination.
Yes for eleven places: Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Bendigo, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Tasmania, Darwin and Canberra.
Each says which council rules were read. Other cities and towns are named inside the nearest guide. A move out of Australia has no guide yet.
Give your UK postcode, the Australian city or suburb, your target arrival month and the big items. Mention any car or animal that is travelling.
International Removals Companies is an enquiry and introduction service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, in partnership with AGM Group. We don't move goods ourselves: the removal company quotes for your move and carries it out, so check its credentials and terms before you book. Our service is free. Discuss the quotation and booking terms directly with the removal company.