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Move To Australia Guide
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Shipping Your Stuff From NZ To Australia
Last updated over 1 year ago on 11 December 2023

Shipping Your Stuff From NZ To Australia

Some tips to make moving you and your stuff to Australia as simple as possible.

Key Points

  • Shop around! We saved just over $700 by comparing quotes and then asking our shipper to match a better quote from another company.
  • Use air freight for urgent items. We really needed our beloved iMac and an LCD monitor soon after arriving in Australia. We used UPS to air freight them for us. Make sure you declare the full value of the items you freight like this, and pay the additional insurance cost to cover the item(s) in case they are damaged.

Is It Worth Shipping Your Household Stuff To Australia?

Not everyone moving from to Australia will want or need to ship their household goods with them.

Other options include starting afresh by buying new or secondhand items or renting a furnished apartment or house, meaning you don’t urgently need household goods of your own.

Before we moved we had no idea how much shipping would cost and whether it was going to be worthwhile. Would it be better to take all our bits and pieces with us, or just the bare minimum and spend an afternoon at IKEAThis is an external link (in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide) buying all the stuff we left behind?

In our case it turned out to be well worth shipping items over (like a good bed and a decent work desk) that would have cost more than the shipping cost to replace. We also shipped a number of sentimental items along with kitchen items, which meant we could create a homely home quickly and without splashing too much cash.

We were on a pretty tight budget for our move, so we got 3 different shipping quotes before deciding on an option. This was well worth doing and ended up saving us over $700!

Based on the inventory below, we ended up paying NZ$1,600 (insurance was an additional $530) for our shipper to come to our home and pack everything for us, ship it to Melbourne, clear it through Australian Customs, and deliver it to our new home and unpack everything.

Here's the inventory of items we submitted to different international moving companies for a quote:

Kitchen

  • Casserole dish
  • Grill pan
  • Mini muffin tin
  • 2 x pizza trays
  • Marble rolling pin
  • Electric bread knife
  • Chef’s knife - loose
  • Food processor
  • Cocktail shaker
  • 2 x medium blue ceramic mixing bowls
  • Large ceramic mixing bowl
  • 2 x pyrex jugs
  • 4 x small serving plates
  • Breadmaker
  • Pasta maker
  • Sandwich grill
  • Various cookbooks (approx 12)

Lounge

  • Hatbox
  • Mini stereo
  • Bowling pin
  • DVD player
  • Some books and DVDs - approx 2/3 standard boxes.

Office

  • Portable phone
  • Fax machine
  • Student desk (disassembles)
  • Component stereo including 1 CD player, 1 amplifier and 2 desk speakers
  • Small laser printer
  • In/out file tray
  • Two drawer filing cabinet
  • 2x packing boxes of misc stuff
  • 2 x office chairs

Bedroom

  • Queen slat bed (disassembled) with queen mattress
  • Various clothing and shoes - standard wardrobe
  • Jewellery
  • Approx 1 box misc stuff

Bathroom

  • Misc products and cosmetics
  • Hairdryer
  • Straightening iron
  • Curling tongs

So you can see we didn't take heaps of stuff, but it still cost us a reasonable amount of money to take our belongings with us - although less than to replace it, for sure.

To Pack Or Not To Pack?

As part of your shipping quote you will need to decide whether you intend to pack your belongings yourself or have professional movers do it all. Note that if you intend to pack your belongings yourself, you might find it a lot harder, or impossible, to get a reasonable insurance premium for your valuable items. This was what we found at least.

To get an accurate quote to decide if it might be cost effective to pack things yourself, you need to give the moving companies a good idea of the volume and types of things you are going to be moving.

When Should You Organise Shipping?

We started researching shipping about 2 months before our move and were still getting quotes 1 month before we needed to get our items collected.

In hindsight that was probably leaving it a bit last minute, but mainly because we didn’t allow much time to get rid of the items we weren’t taking with us, which was by far the harder task!

No Delivery Address In Australia Yet?

When we organised our shipment we didn’t actually know where in Melbourne we needed it to be delivered, as our plan was to find an apartment to rent after arriving in Melbourne.

This is something shipping companies are used to dealing with.

In our case we had 3 weeks up our sleeve from the time we arrived in Melbourne, Australia before the shipment arrived and was processed through Customs. During that time we were able to find an apartment and then provide the shipping company with our address.

However, if you don’t have a delivery address by the time your shipment lands, your shipping company can arrange storage until you are ready (although this may have an associated cost).

How Long Does It Take To Arrive In Australia?

It can take between 2 and 8 weeks for your shipment to arrive in Australia, depending on where you are moving to and how much you are shipping. Our shipment took just over 3 weeks to get from Christchurch to Melbourne, which was faster than estimated.

How Much Does It Cost To Ship Goods To Australia?

Unless you have bucket loads of cash, shipping the majority of your stuff by air isn't going to be an option. Besides, container ships don't take that long to get from New Zealand to Australia (our stuff took just over 3 weeks in the end).

Here are the options for freight:

Full container load

If you are shipping your entire household over this will generally go in a full container (there are various sizes available). Having a full container usually means faster processing and can take approximately 6-8 weeks to arrive in Australia.

TransworldThis is an external link say a full container load costs between $11,790 and $13,290.

Less than container load

This was the best option for our size of shipment. Our items was put into a crate inside a container that also held other people’s crates. This was estimated to take 6-8 weeks but ended up arriving in 3 weeks. It cost us $1600 at the time (2007) + insurance - today it would be more like $3000.

Consolidated or groupage

This is a cheaper option where your items are consolidated with other people’s into a container. You can typically pay around $450 - $850 per cubic metre, according to TransworldThis is an external link. Transworld estimate between 7-10 weeks for a consolidated shipment to arrive.

Airfreight

Airfreight is the fastest option - and most expensive. Your items can arrive within 1-2 weeks.

For our move we used UPSThis is an external link to airfreight two computers to Melbourne, as we needed to start work shortly after arriving.

Are There Any Hidden Costs?

Your shipper will explain all the costs involved upfront and their quotes will be for a door-to-door service including all associated charges, precisely to ensure you aren’t surprised by anything during the move!

Your shipment cost will include insurance, covering damaged and missing items. Your shipper will also talk to you about Customs and Quarantine inspections and fumigation costs, as these can be steep.

Tip: When we spoke to NZ VanlinesThis is an external link a few years ago they mentioned that this cost means it's best not to ship cane or rattan furniture, as they will definitely be fumigated!

Note that you generally don’t need to pay dutiesThis is an external link on items you’ve owned for more than 12 months. You can’t bring plants or seedsThis is an external link into Australia but most other things are fine as long as they are clean.

Shipping From New Zealand To Australia - Step By Step

  1. Make a detailed inventory of everything you are planning to ship.
  2. Decide when you need it to be picked up.
  3. Contact several moving companies and compare quotes.
  4. The shipper will often visit your home to guide you through the process and create the most accurate quote.
  5. Read online reviews for each shipping company (noting that all shipping companies have mixed reviews! Our shipper had a few less than ideal reviews, but their service turned out great all the way through).
  6. Provide insurance replacement values for all your items.
  7. Book the date for packing and collection of your goods.
  8. You’ll receive current shipping times and delivery dates in Australia.
  9. Complete all the paperwork your shipper requests in plenty of time - this is really important for customs clearance. This includes an acceptance form, insurance proposal and customs forms. We also had to include a copy of our passport photo page with the customs documentation.
  10. Move to Australia!
  11. Receive a phone call from the shipping company when your goods have arrived. A delivery date will be arranged.
  12. Your shipper will deliver your goods and unpack them for you. They will usually also assembling beds and other items and unpacking boxes. Packing material is removed once everything is unpacked.
  13. Enjoy your new home.
Still have questions about shipping your things to Australia? Take a look at our discussion forum where you can ask for help and share what you‘ve learned.
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