01.1What counts as personal effects
The Australian Border Force’s term is unaccompanied personal effects, or UPEs: household and personal things you import that travel separately from you. They have to be in quantities a person arriving could reasonably be expected to need, and they can’t be meant for selling or trading.
They can come by air, by sea cargo or through the international post. The ABF’s examples run from clothing, shoes, toiletries and grooming items to furniture, appliances and sporting equipment, and some caravans, boats and aircraft without motors.
Goods brought in on a temporary basis, for up to 12 months, are a different category, temporary importations, and the ABF says duty and taxes aren’t payable on those.
01.2Who the concession is for
If both you and the goods qualify, the ABF clears UPEs without customs duty, GST or other taxes and charges. Shipping and brokerage fees are not part of that. Every condition has to be met, and the ABF makes the final call.
You
- are 18 or older
- arrived from outside Australia as a passenger or crew member of a ship or aircraft
- for some kinds of goods, meet the permanent residency requirement: an Australian citizen, or the holder of a permanent visa or a special category visa
The goods
- are your own property, suitable for you to use in Australia and meant for that
- were personally owned and used by you for a set number of months immediately before you left for Australia
- are not commercial goods, things left to you in a will, alcohol or tobacco, motor vehicles or their parts, or things you arranged to have sent after you arrived
“Owned and used” has a particular meaning here. The ABF reads it as the goods being available for their normal use, continuously, for the whole period before you arrived.
Alcohol and tobacco are worth a note of their own. The duty-free allowance that covers bottles and cigarettes you carry with you doesn’t extend to a shipment, so any that arrive as UPEs are assessed for duty, GST or wine equalisation tax.
01.3How long you need to have had it
The ownership period depends on the kind of goods. Clothing, footwear, toiletries and grooming products have no minimum, except fur clothing and perfume concentrates. Fur clothing, furniture, household goods and other personal effects not covered by another category need 12 months, and for these the permanent residency requirement doesn’t apply. Caravans, trailers, boats, aircraft and machinery each carry their own period and extra conditions, set out on the ABF’s page.
The ABF may ask you to show how long you have owned something. Receipts, photographs and a statutory declaration are the kinds of evidence it names.
A couple coming home after three years overseas ship a sofa they bought two years before leaving for Australia, a fridge bought 14 months before, and a television bought 5 months before. All three are household goods, so the 12-month period applies.
sofa: 24 months ≥ 12, meets the period
fridge: 14 months ≥ 12, meets the period
television: 5 months < 12, does not
The television can still come in, but it may attract duty, GST and other charges, and the ABF asks for receipts or other evidence of value for goods owned for less than the required period. The ABF won’t release goods until any duties, taxes and charges owed are paid. This is an illustration of how the rule is applied, not a ruling on any real shipment.
01.4The shipment has to belong to the trip
Your belongings may reach Australia before you or after you, but their sending has to be connected with your journey. For them to qualify for the concession, the ABF says you must arrange their transport before you arrive, and you must be able to show the connection with something like an airline ticket or a contract for work in Australia.
The concession covers one move, not a pipeline. Once everything sent in connection with your journey has arrived, anything sent later doesn’t qualify, and someone already living here can’t keep sending goods in duty and tax free.
01.5Lodging the B534
Genuine UPEs don’t go through an import declaration or a self-assessed clearance declaration. They are cleared with an Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement, form B534. It comes in several languages, but it has to be filled in in English.
Whichever way you lodge it, the ABF wants the same papers with it:
- the completed, signed statement
- the shipping documents (an air waybill or bill of lading) or a delivery order showing the owner and your address
- a list of everything in the shipment, such as a packing list
- receipts or evidence of value for anything owned for less than the required period
- any permits needed for prohibited goods
| Way | Who lodges | What else it needs |
|---|---|---|
| In person at an ABF office | You, or a friend or relative acting for you | An evidence of identity check worth 100 points, including a primary identity document, one with a photo and one showing where you live. A representative also gives a copy of their passport photo page showing their signature. |
| By email | You or your customs broker, to the ABF address for your state or territory | No counter visit, though the ABF may still ask for more. |
| Electronically | A customs broker or other service provider, through the Integrated Cargo System | No counter visit. Your broker or provider can tell you what it charges. |
The email addresses for each state are listed on the ABF’s page, linked below.
01.6Then the biosecurity check
The B534 isn’t only a customs form. The ABF calls it a legal declaration to both the ABF and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and every UPE shipment gets a biosecurity assessment from that department, which reads the B534 and the packing list.
The ABF can’t release anything until that department has assessed the goods, inspected them if it needs to, and cleared them. If a risky item has to be treated, exported or destroyed, the importer pays. Line 02 covers how to pack for that check.
01.7When goods don’t qualify
Goods that aren’t UPEs leave three options, as the ABF sets them out: enter them through an import declaration, export them again, or store them at a licensed customs premises, which usually costs money.