- Documents required for Customs clearance
- Items you must declare on arrival (including cash/currency)
- Did you know?
Documents required for Customs clearance
If you are arriving, have the following documents ready for clearance:
- passport
- incoming passenger card
Your documents will be returned to you after checking and verification. You may then collect your luggage from the baggage hall and proceed to the baggage examination area.
Items you must declare on arrival (including cash / currency)
BE WARNED: DO NOT CARRY ILLICIT DRUGS
Penalties for drug offences in Australia are severe and could result in a jail term
Prohibited and restricted items
It is illegal to carry drugs including marijuana, cannabis, heroin, cocaine and amphetamines in and out of Australia.
Counterfeit goods and offensive types of pornography are also banned.
Other items may be restricted. You will need a permit to carry these items in and out of Australia.
See the following table for a summary on what you can and can't carry and what you need to declare on your Incoming and Outgoing Passenger Cards. There are penalties for not declaring illegal and restricted items and for making false declarations on your Incoming or Outgoing Passenger Card.
Contact Australian Customs or the consulate or embassy of the countries you're visiting before you travel, for more advice about importing or exporting illegal and restricted items.
What do I have to declare?
Declaring restricted items
|
Item |
Declare on Arrival |
Declare on Departure |
For more details, contact |
|
Firearms, weapons and ammunition |
Yes |
Yes |
Customs |
|
Performance and image enhancing drugs
|
Yes |
Yes |
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Therapeutic Goods Administration |
|
Currency A$10,000 or over
|
Yes |
Yes |
AUSTRAC |
|
Food, plants, animals and biological goods |
Yes |
Yes |
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service |
|
Medicinal products
|
Yes |
Yes |
Medicare Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration |
|
Protected wildlife and wildlife products
|
Yes |
Yes |
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |
|
Heritage-listed items
|
Yes |
Yes |
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |
|
Veterinary products
|
Yes |
Yes |
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority |
|
Defence and strategic goods
|
Yes |
Yes |
Department of Defence |
Did you know?
Your baggage may be X-rayed when you arrive. This should not affect normal camera film.
Fireworks, flammable liquids, corrosives, gas cylinders are not permitted on aircraft or in your baggage.
Visitors including business people and students can bring such items as desktop or laptop computers and similar electronic equipment duty free into Australia provided Customs is satisfied these items are intended to be taken with them on departure.
Yellow fever vaccination:Yellow fever is a quarantinable disease under the Quarantine Act 1908. Australia requires any person over one year of age to hold an individual international yellow fever vaccination certificate if they have, within six days prior to their arrival in Australia, stayed overnight or longer in a declared yellow fever infected country.
For further information regarding Australia’s yellow fever vaccination requirements refer to the Australian Department of Health and Ageing yellow fever fact sheet at the following link:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-communic-factsheets-yellow.htm
If you are unhappy with any aspect of your dealings with Customs, please ask to speak to a senior officer.
Customs National Information Line
Phone:1300 363 263
http://www.customs.gov.au/
email: information@customs.gov.au
Tips for Travellers
DO’S
|
|
Make yourself aware of Customs, quarantine (Agriculture), wildlife, currency and duty/tax free regulations listed in this brochure. |
|
|
Be aware that penalties for possession of drugs can result in heavy fines, imprisonment or even the death penalty in some countries. |
|
|
Ask a Customs officer if you are in doubt about any articles over your duty/tax free allowance on the Incoming Passengers Card, which will be given to you before arriving in Australia. |
|
|
Pack goods to be declared so they are easy to access for Customs examination. This helps speed up your clearance. |
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|
Arrange for sufficient medicines to meet your personal medical needs. Check with the embassy of the country you are visiting to ensure your medicine is legal there. Obtain a doctor’s letter stating who the medicines are for, what they are, the dosage, and leave medicines in their original packaging. For more information, please visit http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au. |
DON’Ts
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|
Carry goods for other people. If you do and the goods are prohibited or restricted, you will be held responsible. |
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|
Believe you are ‘not the type’. Customer offices may select people and their baggage for detailed examination for a number of reasons. Selection should not be seen as a reflection on a person’s integrity or character. |
|
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Provide false or misleading information to Customs. Penalties for false information (such as false receipts) are severe and may result in your goods being taken from you. |
|
|
Break the law in other countries. The power of the Australian Government is limited and you are subject to the laws of that country. |
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Expect your unaccompanied baggage to receive the same duty/tax free concessions as goods you bring with you. |
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take prescription medicines subsidised under Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) overseas, unless they're for your own use or the use of someone travelling with you. A $5000 fine and/or a two-year jail sentence is the penalty for dealing with PBS medicine in a way other than which it was meant. For more information phone Medicare Australia's Travelling with PBS medicine inquiry line: 1800 500 147, or visit http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au. |
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|
bring back pirated and counterfeit goods. Copyright piracy and trade mark counterfeiting are illegal. In some circumstances pirated and counterfeit goods imported into Australia are liable to seizure by Customs and people importing such goods may be subject to civil litigation or criminal prosecution. |
