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This is the Indonesia origin version of this lane. We also have available Singapore and Malaysia origin versions of this lane and blogost.
Australia saw an explosion of online shopping demand in 2020 and a lot of that momentum was maintained in 2021. December has traditionally been Australia’s biggest shopping month, but recent events are shifting the peak closer to November when Black Friday takes place. You can find out more details about this and other insights like what Australians are buying in our recently updated Australia eCommerce Snapshot.
If you’re an Indonesia-based business looking to ship cross-border to Australia, read on to find out how shipping from Indonesia to Australia works below.
Cross-border or international shipping means that your inventory will be based in Indonesia and products will be sent overseas to Australia. As speed is key for cross-border eCommerce, sending your products to Australia via air freight is the best way to go.
Local distribution, on the other hand, sees your products warehoused in Australia for faster delivery to your target market. Stocks are shipped in bulk to the store and deliveries of individual parcels are fulfilled via the local warehouse or distribution centre.
However, there are some differences to note between shipping in bulk and shipping loose parcels via air freight.
B2C air freight shipments tend to face fewer hurdles as they are shipped to individual people compared to bulk shipping to businesses. These shipments tend to be below the customs’ de minimis rate of the destination country which means they need less customs documentation and pay less import duties and taxes.
The minimum documentation needed are usually commercial invoices and packing lists. Australia’s de minimis value as of the time of writing is AUD1000.
Bulk orders face more regulation. These orders are usually imported by enterprises and businesses who need to be registered with local authorities. Your importing party also needs to have import licenses as well as other permits with relevant authorities at hand to clear destination customs clearance. These orders are subject to duties and taxes depending on their customs valuation and the type of goods shipped.
While import licenses may not be necessary to import most goods into Australia, parties importing restricted or controlled items still require the importer to register for permits with relevant local authorities.
If you’re shipping to Australia from Indonesia with Janio, your shipments will be flown out from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) in Indonesia to Sydney Airport (SYD) in Australia. Janio also offers transhipment services via Singapore into Australia.
But before you begin preparing your parcels for Australia, it helps to know which imports are restricted and prohibited in that country. You can check our recent article on Australia’s restricted and prohibited imports for more info.
Sydney is used as Janio’s primary gateway into Australia for its connectivity to various countries such as Singapore and the frequency of flights for this lane.
While the logistics supply chain from Indonesia to Australia can vary depending on your requirements, shipping via air freight usually follows these steps:
This guide will cover how these steps apply to an air freight shipment being shipped from an address in Jakarta to Australia.
The first mile stage is where the shipment leaves the origin address to your logistics service provider’s warehouse, be it a distribution centre or sorting hub. The origin address is where your inventory is initially stored, such as your office, warehouse, or your supplier’s address. Depending on your arrangement with your logistics service provider, your shipment will be picked up by your shipping partner or dropped off at your partner’s designated location.
Packaging and labelling are key to a successful delivery. Packages may sometimes go through bumpy rides like turbulence. Having extra padding for fragile items like bubble wrap and packing peanuts is recommended to prevent your products from getting damaged during shipping. To learn more about the best practices in packaging your goods, we’ve covered this topic in our packaging guide.
Labels should be visible, legible and easily accessible by your shipping partner and customs officials after being transported to the destination airport. You can check out our guide on labelling your shipments which you can also find in our resources for B2C shipping to Southeast Asia.
If your shipment is a loose parcel, it has to be consolidated on a pallet at your shipping partner’s warehouse together with other packages heading to the same destination country before it can be sent for terminal handling and customs clearance at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. As B2B shipments are already consolidated, the shipment can be transported directly to the airport for customs clearance.
After collection and consolidation your shipment will be sent to an air cargo agent’s warehouse for terminal handling at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Terminal handling includes weighing and inspection of the cargo, tallying up the items with the commercial invoice and packing list and checking that all required customs documents are in order. If your items haven’t been palletized yet, it’ll be palletized at the air cargo agent’s warehouse before being sent for customs clearance.
Once this is done, your goods will be cleared for export by officers from the Indonesian Directorate General of Customs and Excise. The kinds of documents that you’ll need to prepare for export customs clearance depends on the size of the shipments
To get your goods cleared for export, your shipment usually needs the following documents ready:
If you’re exporting in bulk (B2B amounts) then you may need the following additional documents:
If you’re unsure about the kinds of documents you need to prepare for either B2B or B2C export clearance for air freight, our experienced customs clearance teams can give you a hand.
After getting cleared for export, your order is uplifted onto a plane and leaves Indonesia, bound for Sydney Airport for direct injection into Australia.
After landing in Sydney Airport, your items will be inspected by officers from the Australian Border Force (ABF) before it can be cleared for import into Australia.
In Australia, customs clearance of your parcels will normally require 1 to 2 days.
The information below needs to be provided with your customs documentation:
To get import clearance into Australia, your shipment will need to have the following documents prepared:
Starting from 2018, people in Australia need to pay 10% GST on overseas eCommerce purchases. According to the Australian border force, these taxes should be collected by the eCommerce merchants outside Australia at the point of sale.
To check if you need to collect GST at the point of sale, you need to earn AUD 75,000 in revenue in the last 12 months from selling to Australia. If you’ve crossed this threshold, you need to register for GST in Australia and begin collecting the amount. You can check more details on this from the Treasury of Australia and Australia Border Force 1 & 2.
The GST is calculated using the customs value of the goods added with the cost of overseas freight and insurance. The customs value itself is calculated using the ‘transaction value’ which is the price of the goods itself together with costs incurred after importation such as inland freight and inland insurance costs. For official examples for these, you can check out our article on Australia’s de minimis and prohibited imports.
The above is intended to serve as a guide and not legal or financial advice. For a full breakdown of these definitions, please refer to Australia’s Customs Act 1901 Section 159 for customs value and 161 for transaction value.
Importing into Australia doesn’t usually require an import license unless you are importing certain goods like tobacco or alcohol. These products also incur customs duties and taxes at the border as well.
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 is needed 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.
On the other hand, if an import is above AUD1000, the order will incur an import processing charge. 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.
After the order has been cleared for import into Australia, the order will be ready for distribution and last mile delivery.
The last mile delivery stage of the journey is where your delivery goes from the destination warehouse to its final address. During the last mile delivery stage, your logistics service provider will ensure that your shipment is received by your consignee.
Janio’s extensive partner network can help you deliver 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.
If your destination within Australia is fairly far from the destination airport, it may need a domestic flight or a boat ride 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 Indonesia 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. Contact us below to find out more about how we can help you or if you’d like a shipping quotation to Australia, Southeast Asia or beyond.
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