SHIPPING TO AUSTRALIA

Australia is the 13th largest economy in the world with a GDP of USD1.33 trillion in 2020.¹

Australia has a relatively open domestic economy with many free trade agreements with partners all around the Asia Pacific region.

In terms of eCommerce, Australia saw USD 27.28 billion in market value for online consumer goods purchases made by more than 18 million online shoppers in 2020. That year also saw eCommerce usage explode in response to lockdowns and safe distancing requirements.

This living page compiles the steps you need to ship your eCommerce goods there along with a few eCommerce industry insights to power up your next campaigns. You can use the below links or the side bar to easily navigate around this page:

• Australia Customs Clearance Basics
• Step-by-step Breakdown of How to Ship to Australia
• Australia’s eCommerce Insights

Background on Australia’s eCommerce Market

• 18.28 million online shoppers
• USD 27.28 billion market value for online consumer goods purchased
• USD 1,492 average annual revenue per online consumer goods shopper (AARPU)

Prior to 2020, Australia Post mentioned that the share of total retail belonging to online shopping in Australia would reach 12 per cent only in 2021.³ In April 2020, about a month after COVID-19 was announced as a pandemic, online shopping reached 12 per cent.  In 2021, online shopping made up 16.3 percent of total retail according to Australia Posts’ 2021 eCommerce Industry Report.⁴

In a September 2021 survey by IAB Australia, 84 percent of Australian respondents reported that they either sustained or increased their online shopping in 2021, showing that online shopping habits may remain above pre-pandemic levels in time to come.⁵ This continued the trend of Australians needing to go online for their shopping needs due to the pandemic in 2020.

This trend was validated in 2021. Australia Post in 2021 deemed November 2021 as the ‘biggest month in Australian online shopping history’ after delivering 21 million parcels across the period, a record number.⁶

To find out more about what and how Australians shop online, head over to our Australia eCommerce snapshot.

Sources:

1. Countries by GDP: The Top 25 Economies in the World
2. Population | Australian Bureau of Statistics accessed as at 9th February 2022
3. Australia Post 2020 eCommerce Industry Report
4. Australia Post – Inside Australian Online Shopping – eCommerce Industry Report 2021
5. Research confirms online shopping uptick but with increased consumer expectations of brands – IAB Australia
6. November was Australia’s biggest online sales month ever: AusPost – Inside Retail

PART 1: CUSTOMS CLEARANCE IN AUSTRALIA

1. Australia’s De Minimis Rate, Informal and Formal Entries

Australia’s de minimis rate is AUD 1000.

The value they use to calculate taxation is the transaction value (FOB) added with customs duties, international transport and insurance costs, which puts it closer to CIF valuations.

You can get the breakdown of customs value calculations (the Jeans Co and Jewellery Co examples) here. Here are more official resources from the Treasury of Australia¹ and Australia Border Force 1² & 2.³

There are generally no duties or taxes or charges to pay at the border for low value imports, but from 1st July 2018, 10 percent Goods and Sales Tax (GST)⁴ may apply to these goods when they are bought by Australians online from an overseas vendor at the point of sale.^5,6,7 The Australian Taxation Office provides examples of when taxes are collected at the border or at the point of sale here.⁸

You can find out a more detailed explanation, how customs value is calculated and more official sources for these in our Australia de minimis post.

Sources:

1. The Treasury of Australia – Applying GST to low value goods imported by consumers – Q&A
2. Australia Customs and Border Service – GST and other taxes when importing
3. Australia Customs and Border Service – Valuation of Imported Goods
4. Australian Taxation Office – Non-resident businesses and GST
5. Australian Border Force – GST on low value goods when importing
6. Australian Taxation Office – Registering for GST
7. DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION NOTICE No. 2015/44 3
8. Australian Border Force – GST on low value imported goods | Australian Taxation Office

Next: Restricted and Prohibited Goods

2. Restricted and Prohibited Goods

Prohibited Goods

The following items are prohibited from entering Australia. You can find the official list on the Australian Border Force’s website.

• Asbestos
• Counterfeit credit cards
• Certain Drugs, Narcotics and Therapeutic substances
• Hazardous goods and Radioactive substances
• Certain food items* (containing meat, egg, dairy, unpopped popcorn, nuts)
• Signal jammers

Restricted items – normally prohibited items that need special permission to enter Australia:

In Australia, restricted imports are prohibited from entering Australia unless you have a permit from the relevant authorities.

Australia restricts goods from the following categories:

For a breakdown of item categories that are catered more to eCommerce and their respective governing bodies along with links to official sources you can head over to our post on Australia’s restricted and prohibited imports.

Source: Australia Border Force

Next: Required Customs Documents

3. Required Customs Documents

To be cleared for import into Australia, your shipment will need to have the following documents prepared:

• Air waybill
• Packing list
• Commercial invoice
• Certificate of origin (if applicable)
• Insurance policy (if applicable)
• Other relevant permits, licenses, and certificates for certain product types
• Import Declaration (N10) – Post (B374 Form) – for goods above AUD1000 or controlled items, including those that arrive via courier or post
• Self-assessed Clearance form – for goods under AUD 1000 but arrive via air or sea cargo

The following information needs to be provided with your customs documentation:

• Shipper’s & consignee’s phone number and address
• Certificate of Origin match with house invoice or commercial invoice
• Incoterm used – e.g. FOB, CIF
• Retail price of good (transaction value/ FOB value) plus cost of freight
• Correct Currency and Photos of the goods
• If needed provide the Purchase Order number and reference number (if needed for larger eCommerce marketplaces or enablers that are already registered with Australian Customs and Border Force)

The above will be pre-audited by Janio customs partners before your goods arrive in Australia

When import declarations are required

Importing into Australia usually doesn’t require an import license, but importing certain goods like tobacco or alcohol requires import permits. Products also incur customs duties and taxes at the border as well. You can find the list of tariffs by type of goods on this Australian Border Force page.¹

If you’re sending an item below AUD1000 into Australia by courier or post, your purchasers do not need to fill in the Self-Assessed Clearance form (SAC). The SAC needs to be filled in if your goods are valued at or under AUD1000 but arrive via air or sea cargo. You can find out about the different SAC’s on the Australian Border Force’s page on import declarations.²

On the other hand, if they are importing an order above AUD1000, the order will incur an import processing charge.³ Orders above AUD1000 will require the purchaser or importer to fill in a full Import Declaration (N10) form.

They will also be notified by the Australian Border Force that they need to pay any import processing charges or customs duties and taxes. You can find the full list of duties and taxes for your type of goods or HS Codes on this Australian Border Force page.⁴

Source:

1. Australian Border Force – Current tariff classification
2. Australia Border Force – Import declarations
3. DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION NOTICE No. 2015/44 3
4. Australian Border Force – Current tariff classification

Next: Section 2: End-to-end International Shipping Steps to Australia

PART 2: THE DOOR-TO-DOOR INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING PROCESS TO AUSTRALIA

Both international bulk freight and parcel deliveries tend to follow the same broad steps:

• First Mile Delivery in the Origin Country
• Origin Country Customs Clearance
• Mid-mile or Freight
• Customs Clearance in Australia
• Distribution and Last-mile delivery in Australia

You can click on any of the links above to find out more about each step

Next: 1. First Mile Delivery in the Origin Country

First-mile Delivery in the Origin Country

The first-mile stage is where your shipment leaves your origin address, such as a storefront, office, or warehouse. Prior to your goods leaving your storage facility, the product has to be packaged and labeled appropriately to facilitate smooth cross border shipping.

Depending on your arrangement, your shipment will either be picked up at your address or dropped off at a location specified by your shipping partner. These will then be sent to either a port or an airport.

Great preparation can help minimise the chances of your shipment going missing or getting damaged during delivery. Generally, you’ll want to do the following:

• Engage the right shipping partner
• Packaging your products
• Choosing the right service levels
• Providing shipping details
• Printing and attaching shipping labels and documents to your package(s)
• Hand over shipment to carriers

We’ve also got a packing guide to arm you with the basics of packaging and labeling your goods. You can check it out here.

You can also find out more about what the first mile entails in our first-mile article.

Next: Origin Country Customs Clearance

Origin Country Customs Clearance

Once your shipment arrives at the airport or port, customs officers will inspect the parcel’s contents and shipping documents and determine if it can be cleared for export.

Generally, you’ll need the following:

• Commercial invoice – provides total shipment value. Helps to determine the import duties and taxes and eligibility of the shipment
• Packing list – provides product details, shipment volume in KG (actual) and CBM (volumetric), and serves as a checklist to ensure the shipment has been packed correctly or not

If you’re planning to ship with B2B, you may want to check if you need to produce specific customs documentation for export on your local customs websites. You can find a list of these on our Customs Clearance in SEA resource page.

You can also find the origin customs clearance requirements if you are shipping to Australia for the countries below:

You can also check out the origin customs requirements

• International Shipping from Singapore to Australia
• International Shipping from Malaysia to Australia
• International Shipping from Indonesia to Australia

Next: Freight or Mid-mile to Australia

Freight or Mid-mile to Australia

Janio can help you ship to Australia via either air freight or sea freight.

Air freight is faster than sea freight but also costs more during normal times. On the other hand, the cost considerations also depend on whether the cost of port space is currently affected by factors such as the levels of congestion seen in 2021 and 2022 as of the time of this writing where port space comes at all time highs.

During normal periods, when deciding when to use air freight or sea freight you’ll need to balance between costs and speed.

If you’re shipping with Janio, the following calculation is used to find chargeable weight:

Length (in cm) x height (in cm) x width (in cm)/ 5000 = Volumetric weight in kgs rounded up to nearest 0.5kg

Sea freight saves you money if your order is larger than 2 cbm. However, you don’t get those economies of scale for items that aren’t that big like small cartons that take up between 0.5 to 0.9 cbm as you’ll end up paying for unused space. This is where air freight can be more economical than sea freight.

For more details on air and sea freight’s pros and cons, check out our post on air freight vs sea freight.

Next: Customs Clearance in Australia

Customs Clearance in Australia

We’ve already covered the documentation requirements and import declaration requirements earlier in this page, but here’s a summary for customs clearance for B2C imports into Australia:

In Australia, your parcels will usually take around 1 to 2 days to get clearance from the Australian Border Force.

The following information needs to be provided with your customs documentation:

• Shipper’s & consignee’s phone number and address
• Certificate of Origin match with house invoice or commercial invoice
• Incoterm used – e.g. FOB, CIF
• Retail price of good (transaction value/ FOB value) plus cost of freight
• Correct Currency and Photos of the goods
• If needed provide the Purchase Order number and reference number (if needed for larger eCommerce marketplaces or enablers that are already registered with Australian Customs and Border Force)

The above will be pre-audited by Janio customs partners before your goods arrive in Australia.

To be cleared for import into Australia, your shipment will need to have the following documents prepared:

• Air waybill
• Packing list
• Commercial invoice
• Certificate of origin (if applicable)
• Insurance policy (if applicable)
• Other relevant permits, licenses, and certificates for certain product types
• Import Declaration (N10) – Post (B374 Form) – for goods above AUD1000 or controlled items, including those that arrive via courier or post
• Self-assessed Clearance form – for goods under AUD 1000 but arrive via air or sea cargo

Duties and GST need to be collected if you earn AUD 75,000 from sales in Australia in the past 12 months. GST will be at 10% of your shipment’s transaction value in addition to its customs duties (if any) and costs of freight and insurance.

Next: Distribution and Last Mile in Australia

Distribution and Last Mile in Australia

If you’re shipping with Janio, your delivery can be shipped anywhere in Australia. If your order’s destination address is reachable by vans or motorcycles, your order will be taken to your logistics service provider’s warehouse first to be deconsolidated from its pallet if required, then sorted to the vehicle that will take the order to your customer.

The last mile delivery leg of the journey is where your parcel will be sent from the destination warehouse to your consignee’s address. During the last mile delivery stage, your logistics service provider will ensure that your shipment is received by your consignee.

Australia is a vast country though. If your destination within Australia can’t be reached in a timely way by land transport, it may need a domestic flight or a boat to get there. After this trip, the order will head to your shipping partner’s warehouse to prepare for the last mile trip via vans, or motorcycles as highlighted above.

Now that you know how you can use air freight to deliver your eCommerce products from Singapore to Australia, you’ll need a flexible shipping partner who’s got your eCommerce logistics and international shipping needs covered from first mile to the last.

Now that your shipment has reached a distribution centre it will be sorted based on your consignee’s destination. If your order’s destination is reachable by land transport, it will immediately be shipped there. If the destination is in a further part of the country, your shipment will take an additional domestic line-haul flight to an airport closer to the destination before the above happens.

Our next section covers Australia’s eCommerce insights to power your online promotions and campaigns.

Next: Find out more What’s Driving the Australia’s eCommerce Market?

PART 3: AUSTRALIA’S ECOMMERCE INSIGHTS

Why Australia? Key stats of Australia’s eCommerce market

Quick Statistics on Australia’s eCommerce Market:

• Population – 25.73 million people¹
• Total Consumer spending
  • Total Consumer spending – estimated USD 1095 billion in 2022²
• B2C eCommerce Sales Total Revenue* – USD 27.28 billion³
• Internet Usage Statistics (as % of Australia population)³
  • Internet Penetration – 89%
  • eCommerce Penetration – 71%
  • Social Media Penetration – 79.9%
• De Minimis Rate – AUD 1000

*Consumer goods not including groceries and food deliveries

Key Australia eCommerce Findings:

How they Shop Online:

Australians primarily shop using smartphones and laptops, with 76 percent of shoppers buying at least once a month in 2021. This differed from 2020 when Australians primarily bought via their desktops and laptops since that year saw the height of Australia’s lockdowns.

Why they Shop Online:

Australians shop online because it’s convenient, with the biggest shoppers staying in Victoria and New South Wales. 76 percent of Australians look for convenience when shopping online and 50 percent look for free delivery.

Brand Discovery in Australia:

Australians discover brands first via television advertisements, then by online searches and thirdly through word of mouth recommendations. A mix of both inbound and outbound marketing channels would be a good combination to reach your Australian audiences.

Top Payment Methods:

Card payments are still the predominant payment method. For a time in 2020, Buy Now Pay Later saw some traction. Whether to offer buy now pay later requires additional monitoring considering recent turbulence.

What Australians are Buying Online:

In terms of consumer products bought by Australians in decreasing order (not including groceries and food deliveries), the top three product categories were fashion items, health and beauty products, electronics and tech. Deeper trends for these categories are explored later in the book.

The other categories in descending order of popularity included books and toys and games; home and garden; followed by furniture, household goods and appliances.

For more details on the above insights, head over to our recently updated Australian eCommerce Snapshot or download our latest Australia eBook.

Next: Australia eCommerce Consumer Snapshot

Sources:

1. Population | Australian Bureau of Statistics
2. IBIS World – Business Environment Profiles – Australia – Household Consumption Expenditure
3. Digital 2021 Australia – We Are Social Australia

Australia eCommerce Consumer Snapshot

Australians shop online because it’s convenient, with the biggest shoppers staying in Victoria and New South Wales. 76 percent of Australians look for convenience when shopping online and 50 percent look for free delivery.

Australians primarily shop using their smartphones and laptops. This is indicative of some normalcy returning to life in Australia considering that in 2020 the primary method of shopping online was via laptops or desktops during the lockdown periods.

IAB’s full list of devices shows the following¹

• Smartphone – 64%
• Laptop computers – 48%
• Desktop computers – 28%
• Tablets – 21%

76 percent of Australian shoppers bought online at least once a month, with 70 percent of shoppers purchasing non-grocery products online every month. Below is the breakdown of their buying frequency:¹

• Weekly or more – 27%
• Every 2 – 3 weeks – 25%
• Once a month – 24%
• Once every 2 – 3 months – 15%
• Once every 6 months – 6%
• Less than every 6 months – 3%

Australians discover brands first via television advertisements, then by online searches and thirdly through word of mouth recommendations. 

The top 5 channels for brand discovery in Australia according to We Are Social are:²

1. Ads on television
2. Search engines
3. Word-of-mouth recommendations
4. Brand or product websites
5. Ads in social media

A mix of both inbound and outbound marketing channels would be a good combination to reach your Australian audiences.

Card payments are still the predominant payment method.³ For a time in 2020, Buy Now Pay Later saw some traction. Whether to offer buy now pay later requires additional monitoring considering recent turbulence.

34 percent of Australia Posts’ respondents mentioned they pay for online purchases using credit cards in 2020. This means that card payments were still the most popular method of payment according to JP Morgan, who mentioned that cards (debit, credit, etc) were used in 52% of all online purchases in 2019.

The above insights are a summarised version of what we have available in our recently updated Australian eCommerce Snapshot and latest Australia eBook. Check them out today.

Next: Popular eCommerce Product Categories in Australia

Sources:

1. Research confirms online shopping uptick but with increased consumer expectations of brands – IAB Australia
2. Digital 2021 Australia – We Are Social Australia
3. JP Morgan – E-commerce Payments Trends: Australia

Popular eCommerce Product Categories in Australia

In terms of consumer products bought by Australians in decreasing order (not including groceries and food deliveries), the top three product categories were fashion items, health and beauty products, electronics and tech. Deeper trends for these categories are explored later in the book.

The other categories in descending order of popularity included books and toys and games; home and garden; followed by furniture, household goods and appliances.

You can find a more detailed breakdown of what drove the purchases of these items in Australia in our post on Australian eCommerce Snapshot.

Next: Major Online Sales Events in Australia

Source:

1. Australia Post – Inside Australian Online Shopping – eCommerce Industry Report 2021

Major Online Sales Events in Australia

Before the pandemic, Christmas season was when holiday-related spending would peak. Nowadays, this has been shifting earlier to late-November/ early December with the rise of shopping events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Click Frenzy (Australian Black Friday equivalent that occurs in May and then October or November) and even Singles Day according to JP Morgan in their eCommerce payment trends report 2019.

This trend was validated in 2021. Australia Post in 2021 deemed November 2021 as one of the biggest months in Australian online shopping history after delivering 21 million parcels across the period, a record number.

What this means is that you can plan for the Q4 peak season to catch the Black Friday season all the way to Christmas in December. Below are some dates worth considering:

• Singles Day (11th November 2022)
• Click Frenzy (2 times a year: 17th May and then 8th November 2022)
• Black Friday (25th November 2022)
• Cyber Monday (28th November 2022)

Next: Section 4: Public Holidays and Top Import and Export Countries

PART 4: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Non-working days (2022)

Saturday, Sunday and public holidays are non-working days. Please expect shipment delays on these days.

List of public holidays, including for different territories:¹

• Australia Territory Codes:
  • ACT – Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)
  • NT – Northern Territory
  • QLD – Queensland
  • SA – South Australia
  • TAS – Tasmania
  • VIC – Victoria
  • WA – Western Australia

Source: Public Holidays.com.au – Australia Public Holidays 2022 accessed as at 18th February 2022

Australia’s Top Import and Export Partners

Sources:

• Public Holidays.com.au – Australia Public Holidays 2022
• Trading Economics.com – Australia Exports By Country
• Trading Economics.com – Australia Imports – January 2022 Data – 1971-2021 Historical – February Forecast