Everything you need to ship to Australia in one place. We collect from your door anywhere in the UK, handle the B534 customs paperwork and Australian biosecurity, and deliver to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and beyond. Air freight in 5–9 working days, or economical sea freight transit 8–14 weeks, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers. Shipping to Australia since 1998.
After shipping personal effects to Australia since 1998, we’ve learned that the difference between a clearance that takes days and one that drags on for weeks almost always comes down to two things: the paperwork and the packing. Australia runs one of the tightest borders in the world — get those two right and it’s smooth; get them wrong and your goods can be held, inspected, treated or destroyed at your expense. This guide is everything we’d tell a friend making the move, drawn from our own Heathrow-side operation and the thousands of Australia shipments we’ve handled. Whether you think of it as shipping to Australia or shipping from the UK to Australia, it’s all here.
Not sure which service you need? Start here — each links to full details, transit times and what’s included.
A few boxes or bags, shipped door-to-door without airline excess fees. The most popular option for students and individuals.
Furniture, white goods and a whole home’s contents by sea freight, with the B534 concession handled for you.
Moving more than a bag or two? See why shipping beats airline excess-baggage charges — often by a wide margin.
The fast option — your consignment flies from Heathrow to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth.
The economical option for volume — shared (LCL) or full-container (FCL) to all main Australian ports.
Sending a term or a year’s belongings to an Australian university, without the airport queue.
On a budget? Compare the most economical routes and consolidation options to Australia.
Tell us what you’re sending and where. We give you a clear quote up-front, before anything is collected — no guesswork.
We collect from your address anywhere in the UK. No need to get anything to a depot or the airport.
Goods are export-packed and we prepare your itemised packing list and the B534 customs declaration.
Air freight from Heathrow, or consolidated sea freight to your nearest Australian port.
Australian Border Force assesses customs; the Department of Agriculture assesses biosecurity. We prepare everything to clear cleanly.
Your goods are delivered to the Australian address, or ready to collect from the arrival depot.
Australia lets you bring your used personal belongings in free of duty and GST — but only under specific conditions, declared on the right form.
Australia has the strictest biosecurity regime on earth, run by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). Every shipment of personal effects — air or sea — is assessed before it can be released. DAFF reads your B534 and packing list to decide how much to inspect, and inspection is charged by the time it takes. Good packing and honest declaration are what keep your costs and delays down.
Most UK–Australia shipments clear without drama. The ones that don’t nearly always come down to the same short list of things. Here’s what actually trips people up, and how to stay on the right side of it:
An illustrative example of a common scenario — your own quote is always specific to your exact shipment.
We ship to every state and territory. Here are our most popular destinations — each with local delivery detail, arrival ports and transit times:
Our busiest Australian lane — air to Sydney (SYD) and sea to Port Botany.
Air to Melbourne (MEL) and sea to the Port of Melbourne.
Air to Brisbane (BNE) and sea to the Port of Brisbane.
Air to Perth (PER) and sea to Fremantle — the fastest sea port from the UK.
Air to Adelaide (ADL) and sea to Port Adelaide.
Air freight suits a few boxes, urgent items or anything you need within a couple of weeks — 5–9 working days, priced on weight and size. Sea freight suits volume — a room, a family’s contents or a whole house — at a fraction of the per-kilo cost, over 8–14 weeks. These sea transit times are approximate — the actual time depends on when your LCL container finishes loading and consolidating, the vessel’s sailing date and route, any transhipment hub before the final destination, and customs clearance, so please allow a week or two either side. Many customers split the two: air for the essentials, sea for the rest.
Compare air vs sea to Australia › Moving-to-Australia checklist ›
“Since the first day Excess Luggage has been a great help, communicating with me throughout the entire time and updating me on the important details. I would 100% recommend this company to anyone transporting baggage abroad.”
— Neide · Verified review on Trustpilot ↗