Services

Personal Effects Clearance

Personal Effects Clearance

Personal Effects allow for the entry of personally owned household items arriving via air/or sea duty/GST free, items NOT allowed under the Personal Effects Duty Concession include

 

• Motor Vehicles
• Alcohol
• Tobacco
• Items bought within the last 12 months

 

Timeline
Generally the documents assessment process can be collected in 2 business days, physical inspection of the goods will be dependant on the availability of the unpack depot to place a booking for inspection with Quarantine.

 

 

Cost
Atlas Processing Fee – $175.00* + gst

Australian Quarantine Charges * at cost

 

Documents Required

• Detailed Packing List with estimated replacement value
• List of any item purchased within the last 12 months
• Completed B534 (ABF personal effects statement)
• Copy of Passport
• If a foreign citizen evidence of Visa Granting permission to enter Australia

 

More information can be found at:

https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/moving-to-australia/upe

https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/travelling/moving-immigrating/personal_effects

 

Overview

Unaccompanied Personal Effects (UPEs) are your household and personal items that you import into Australia but that arrive separately to you.

UPEs may arrive in Australia by air, sea cargo or by international mail (post).

UPEs include:

• clothing and footwear
• personal hygiene and grooming items
• furniture
• appliances
• sporting equipment, and
• books.

They may also include, subject to conditions, non-motorised caravans, boats and aircraft.

You may be eligible for a UPE concession. If you are eligible, we will clear your UPEs from customs control without requiring you to pay:

• customs duty
• goods and services tax (GST), or
• other taxes and charges.

For more information on the UPE concession, see Concessions below.

An Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement (B534 Form) (290KB PDF), is generally used to clear UPEs from customs control. This form is available in other languages but you must complete it in English.

If the goods are not UPEs, your options are to:

• enter the goods (see the Import Declaration page for more information),
• export the goods, or
• store the goods (usually for a cost) at a licenced customs premises.

Concessions

You may not have to pay customs duty and GST if you meet certain criteria. Customs by-law 1700581 to Item 15 of Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 details the UPE concession criteria.

To be eligible for the UPE concession you must:

• be a passenger or crew member of a ship or aircraft
• have arrived from a place outside Australia, and
• depending on the nature of the goods, meet permanent residency requirements

and the goods must be:

• your personal property
• suitable and intended for use by you in Australia
• personally owned and used overseas by you for a specified length of time. Generally, this is the 12 months before your departure for Australia.

You will meet the permanent residency requirements if you:

• are an Australian citizen
• hold a permanent visa
• hold a special category visa.

The following goods are not eligible for the UPE concession:

• motor vehicles
• motor vehicle parts
• commercial goods
• bequeathed goods
• items that you have purchased over the internet after your arrival in Australia
• items belonging to another person who is not eligible for the concession
• tobacco and tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, or other products containing tobacco)
• alcoholic beverages.

Note: The duty free concessions that apply to alcoholic beverages and tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars or other products containing tobacco) that you carry with you when you arrive in Australia do not apply to UPEs. We will assess alcoholic beverages and tobacco products that arrive as UPEs for duty, GST and/or wine equalisation tax. We will not release the goods until you pay these duties and taxes.

The final decision on eligibility for the UPE concession rests with the ABF. You cannot use the UPE concession if you do not meet the requirements listed above. In such cases, if you still want to import the goods, you may be liable for customs duty, GST, and other charges.

Arrival time of the goods

Your personal effects may arrive in Australia before or after you. There must be a connection between your travel to Australia and the importation of the personal effects. For example, you cannot use the UPE concession if you arrange to import your personal effects months after you arrive in Australia.

Where you arrange to transport your personal effects before you arrive in Australia, you may be able to use the UPE concession. You must prove you intend to travel to Australia in a reasonable time. Evidence could be an airline ticket or evidence of a work contract in Australia. If your personal effects arrive in Australia before you, they may still be eligible for the UPE concession.

There are currently restrictions on travel to Australia because of COVID-19. You will need to show that you can travel at the time you intend. If you are unable to, you cannot use the UPE concession.

Categories of goods

Category of goods	Do permanent residency requirements apply?	Number of months goods must be owned and used before your departure for Australia
Personal clothing and footwear, hygiene articles and personal grooming products. Not fur apparel or perfume concentrates	Yes	No requirement
Non-motorised caravans and trailers, and boats designed for use in sheltered waters for sport or recreation which conform to published specifications (other conditions apply)	Yes	12 months
Aircraft of all types, not having more than one propulsion motor (other conditions apply)	Yes	6 months
Machinery, plant and equipment (other conditions apply)	Yes	12 months
Fur apparel, personal effects, furniture and household goods not covered above	No	12 months

 

Biosecurity Inspection

All consignments of UPEs will be subject to some form of biosecurity inspection. Agriculture will conduct this inspection.

Agriculture has information on their website about importing personal effects and household goods. This includes tips for cleaning your goods before you pack them. There is also details on Agriculture’s fees and charges.

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