Ship boxes from New Zealand to Australia
1 to 10 boxes, collected from your door in New Zealand and delivered to the door in Australia. Price up front, customs paperwork prepared for you.
- Typical transit
- 2–4 business days
- Duty-free up to
- AUD 1,000 (about $710) for most goods
New Zealand → Australia
Enter a weight to see your price.
Who ships on this route
- Anyone sending belongings to family or to themselves
- Households moving a few boxes, not a whole home
High-volume regional movement.
Leaving New Zealand
Sending boxes out of New Zealand
Everything sent out of New Zealand by courier, air, or sea needs a Customs export clearance, which the courier usually completes for you. Personal and household effects and gifts for people overseas don't need a full export entry, but other goods worth more than NZ$1,000 do, and the sender needs a Customs Number at NZ$1,000 or more. Protected objects, natural pounamu, and many wildlife items are restricted.
Documents
- A packing list with values
- The sender's passport or ID details
- A Customs Number (form NZCS 224A) if the shipment is worth NZ$1,000 or more
- A CITES permit for protected wildlife items; check with the Department of Conservation
Can't leave New Zealand
- Protected New Zealand objects are restricted, including Māori artifacts over 50 years old, moa bones and feathers, and goods over 50 years old of national, scientific, or artistic importance, such as documents, photographs, stamps, coins, and works of art
- Pounamu (greenstone) in its natural state can't be exported. Articles made from pounamu, such as jewelry and carvings, are allowed, as are consignments with no more than 5 kg of pounamu from one exporter
- Wildlife items under CITES, such as ivory, whalebone, coral, shark teeth, and some orchids and cacti, need permits
- Cash can't be sent, and neither can anything illegal, explosive, dangerous, or poorly packaged
Arriving in Australia
Australia customs, in short
- Duty-free threshold
- AUD 1,000 (about $710) for most goods. Shipments worth AUD 1,000 or less generally pay no duty, GST, or charges at the border. Alcohol and tobacco are taxed at any value. Gifts get no separate allowance, and a parcel can't be split into smaller items to stay under the limit. Above AUD 1,000, duty, GST, and processing charges apply unless a concession fits.
- Import tax
- GST at 10%, plus customs duty on some goods, once a shipment is worth more than AUD 1,000. Duty varies by item: for example, 5% on cotton clothing and wooden furniture, and free on laptops. Wine also pays a 29% wine equalisation tax. Overseas online sellers may charge GST at checkout on purchases of AUD 1,000 or less, but that doesn't apply to your own used goods.
- Who pays
- Shipments are sent DAP. The receiver pays any duties and taxes before or on delivery. The courier may add a clearance or disbursement fee.
- Moving there?
- If you are moving to Australia, unaccompanied personal effects (UPEs) sent by air, sea, or post can come in free of duty and GST. You must be 18 or over, arrive from outside Australia as a passenger or crew member, and arrange the shipping before you arrive. Furniture, household goods, and most personal effects must have been owned and used by you for 12 months before you leave for Australia. Clothing, footwear, and toiletries have no ownership period but need Australian citizenship, a permanent visa, or a special category visa. Alcohol, tobacco, vehicles, inherited goods, goods for sale, and anything sent after you arrive are not covered. Lodge form B534.
Not allowed into Australia
- Aerosols, spray cans, and compressed gas cylinders
- Flammable liquids and solids: fuel, lighter fluid, paint, nail polish, matches
- Loose or spare lithium batteries and power banks not installed in a device
- Cash, gift cards, checks, and other negotiable items
- Firearms, ammunition, replicas, and weapon parts
- Perishable food, and meat, dairy, or fresh produce
- Cannabis, CBD, and THC products, even where they are legal at origin
- Vaping goods of any kind, with or without nicotine, even with a prescription
New Zealand to Australia: questions
How long does it take to ship boxes from New Zealand to Australia?
Typically 2 to 4 business days door to door after pickup, plus any time customs in Australia takes to clear the shipment.
Do I pay duty on used belongings sent to Australia?
AUD 1,000 (about $710) for most goods. Shipments worth AUD 1,000 or less generally pay no duty, GST, or charges at the border. Alcohol and tobacco are taxed at any value. Gifts get no separate allowance, and a parcel can't be split into smaller items to stay under the limit. Above AUD 1,000, duty, GST, and processing charges apply unless a concession fits. Shipments are sent DAP. The receiver pays any duties and taxes before or on delivery. The courier may add a clearance or disbursement fee.
What paperwork do I need to send boxes from New Zealand?
A commercial invoice listing what's in each box and what it's worth today. Onvoyo prepares it from your contents list for you to review and approve. Everything sent out of New Zealand by courier, air, or sea needs a Customs export clearance, which the courier usually completes for you. Personal and household effects and gifts for people overseas don't need a full export entry, but other goods worth more than NZ$1,000 do, and the sender needs a Customs Number at NZ$1,000 or more. Protected objects, natural pounamu, and many wildlife items are restricted.
Do I pay duty on used belongings sent to Australia?
Not if you are moving there, have owned and used them for 12 months, arrange the shipping before you fly, and lodge form B534. Otherwise, shipments worth AUD 1,000 or less usually pay nothing at the border, and larger ones pay duty, 10% GST, and processing charges.
What is form B534 and how do I lodge it?
It is the Australian Border Force statement for unaccompanied personal effects. It claims duty and GST relief and is also a legal declaration to the biosecurity department. Lodge it in person with a 100-point ID check, by email to your state's Border Force office, or through a customs broker.
Can I send a gift to Australia duty-free?
Yes, if the shipment is worth AUD 1,000 or less and has no alcohol or tobacco. There is no separate gift allowance, so a gift worth more pays duty, GST, and charges like any other goods.
Official sources
Export rules for New Zealand and import rules for Australia, checked against these official pages. Customs makes the final decision on every shipment.
- 1.New Zealand Customs Service · Duty and allowances (opens in a new tab)
- 2.New Zealand Customs Service · Send items overseas (opens in a new tab)
- 3.Australian Border Force · Unaccompanied Personal Effects (opens in a new tab)
- 4.Australian Border Force · Import declarations (opens in a new tab)
- 5.Australian Border Force · Import Processing Charges (opens in a new tab)
- 6.Australian Border Force · GST and other taxes when importing (opens in a new tab)
- 7.Australian Taxation Office · GST on low value imported goods (opens in a new tab)
- 8.Australian Border Force · List of prohibited items (opens in a new tab)
- 9.Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry · Moving to Australia or importing personal effects/household goods (opens in a new tab)
- 10.Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry · Bringing or mailing goods to Australia (opens in a new tab)
Going the other way? Ship boxes from Australia to New Zealand