02.1Leave these out of the boxes
The department lists things that can’t come in as personal effects at all, and its advice is simply not to pack them.
- Fresh produce and living plantsFresh fruit and vegetables, live plants, bulbs, tubers, corms and cuttings.
- SeedsProhibited and restricted seeds, and seeds that can’t be identified, spices included.
- Khapra beetle high-risk plant productsThe department keeps a separate list of these.
- Animals that need a permitLive animals, pets included, that require an import permit.
- Biological and unprocessed goodsBiological products, including some plant-based herbal medicines, and goods of plant or animal origin that haven’t been processed.
- Dirty or infested goodsAnything soiled or carrying organic residue, and anything you know to be infested with a pest or disease.
For anything you are unsure of, the department points to its Biosecurity Import Conditions system, BICON, which shows whether an item is allowed, needs a permit or treatment, or has other requirements. Goods that need a permit and arrive without one are sent out of the country or destroyed.
02.2Empty, drain, clean and dry
What interests a biosecurity officer is anything made from a plant or an animal, timber included, and anything that has been in contact with animals, plants, water, food or soil. Before packing, the department asks for those things to be clean and dry. Its list, item by item:
- Machinery and equipmentDrain any standing water and remove all contamination from used equipment such as barbecues, lawnmowers and quad bikes.
- Garden and outdoor thingsGet every trace of soil, plant and animal matter off outdoor furniture, fencing, pots, ornaments, outdoor toys and tools.
- Pet gearWash and vacuum bedding, clean cages and grooming equipment until no pet hair is left, and drain and clean fish tanks.
- Cleaning gear and binsEmpty and clean bins, brooms and vacuum cleaners, bags included.
- KitchenContainers and appliances clean. Pack no fresh food, and no opened packets of dry food, herbs or spices, which can hide insects too small to see.
- Freshwater gearReservoirs drained, and jet skis, boats, wetsuits, gumboots and fishing tackle fully dry.
- Camping, sport and shoesTents with their poles and pegs, backpacks, footwear, bikes, football boots, cricket sets, golf clubs and climbing gear all cleaned.
- Floor coveringsCarpets, rugs and mats vacuumed.
Timber and plant material
Look over wooden furniture, toys, instruments and kitchenware for signs of insects: a fine sawdust-like powder, fresh holes, chewed wood or tunnels. If you find them, the department suggests leaving the item behind or having it treated before it ships. Live timber pests found on arrival mean treatment at your cost.
Decorations deserve a second look. The department says Christmas decorations with plant material in them are among the items people most often give up for destruction, at their own expense. Heat bags are another: note on the packing list what they are filled with, because seeds or plant filling may need treatment.
02.3Pack for the inspector
Inspection is charged by the time it takes, so a shipment that is easy to search costs less to clear. The department’s packing advice, in the order you would follow it:
Write the packing list as you go
Record what is in every box, and what each thing is made of: a metal bed frame, wooden chairs, a cane basket. Australian authorities will ask for the list.
Number every box
One number per box or large item, matching the list, written in permanent marker rather than on a sticky label. Number similar things in a run, so three bikes become 56, 57 and 58.
Choose the cartons with care
Cover or remove old labels on second-hand boxes, and don’t use any that carried fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs or fertiliser. Use no straw, sawdust, wood shavings or other plant material as packing.
Group the things an officer will want to see
Pack footwear, food and garden tools together, apart from boxes that clearly hold nothing of interest, and show on the list where any food is.
Declare, and note the box numbers
Declare goods of concern on the B534, and record the box numbers of declared items so they can be found quickly at inspection. The department warns that failing to declare risk items can lead to prosecution.
One safety note sits beside the packing advice: don’t pack flammable things such as fireworks, aerosols, solvents and paint thinners, and label any boxes holding medical items or dangerous goods.
02.4At the inspection
After reading your documents, a biosecurity officer tells you what will be inspected. Goods from countries with known biosecurity risks may be looked at more closely.
An inspection needs an entry, a legal document under the Biosecurity Act 2015, which you pay for, and an appointment. You or your agent open and unpack the consignment, bringing tools such as crowbars and hammers, and the officer inspects with you there. Things you cleaned before packing are still checked.
If nothing of concern turns up, the goods may be released, and getting them home is up to you. If something does, the options, all at your expense, are treatment where a suitable one exists, sending the goods out of Australia, or destroying them.
| Treatment | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Steam cleaning or washing | Removing soil. A second inspection follows. |
| Fumigation | Killing live insects in timber goods or untreated timber. |
| Gamma irradiation | Goods with risk material that can’t be removed. |
| Heat treatment | Devitalising plant material, bark included. |
Treatment is done by a department-approved provider, or the site arranging it, and they charge for it.
02.5Which fees are the department’s
The department charges for assessing the documents and for inspection time, under its charging guidelines, and treatment costs extra. If the documents go in through its Cargo Online Lodgement System and you are not an account client of the department, you pay a minimum screening fee up front. The final amount depends on how long the work takes, and you may need to pay it in full before your goods are released.
Other charges can arrive on the same invoice. If your removalist or freight forwarder takes the goods to an Approved Arrangement site, that site may charge for port costs, transport, administration, unpacking the container and storage. Those may be labelled “quarantine fees”, but the department says they are not its fees, and it suggests confirming with your removalist or forwarder what you may be charged.
- Customs broker
- Helps put your goods through the ABF and the department.
- Freight forwarder
- Transports the goods.
- Bond store or depot
- A place where goods are stored.
- High Volume Specialist Operator
- A moving company that specialises in personal effects, sometimes offering the move and the clearance together.
For general biosecurity questions about personal effects, the department’s line is 1800 900 090 from within Australia.