The UK-to-Australia corridor is one of the oldest and busiest migration routes in the world, and it is also one of the most heavily regulated at both ends. A successful move has two halves governed by entirely separate authorities: the British export side, run by HM Revenue & Customs and Border Force, and the Australian import side, run by the Australian Border Force with biosecurity controls from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. This guide walks through both halves in order, plus pets, vehicles, money and a short note on the reverse journey. It is written for a UK resident — a citizen, a settled resident, or a departing worker — relocating household goods and family to Australia in 2026.

Key takeaways

• To ship household goods out of Great Britain you need a GB EORI number and a full export declaration filed through HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service (CDS); your remover usually files it for you.
• Tell HMRC you are leaving by filing a P85 — but your actual tax residence is decided by the Statutory Residence Test, not the form.
• Your Australian visa status determines the customs concession you can claim on arrival (ABF unaccompanied personal effects).
• Unaccompanied household goods entering Australia require Form B534, signed by the owner, and may enter free of duty and GST if the goods were owned and used (ABF).
• The UK is a Group 3 country for pet import; cats and dogs need a microchip, rabies vaccination, an RNAT blood test, a 180-day wait, a DAFF import permit and minimum 10 days quarantine in Melbourne (DAFF).
• Importing a car requires a Vehicle Import Approval before it ships, applied for through the ROVER portal.
• AUD 10,000 or more in physical currency must be declared to Australian authorities (AUSTRAC).

1. Your Australian visa decides everything

Before a single box is packed, your immigration status in Australia sets the rules for how your goods are treated at the border. The Australian Border Force grants the duty- and GST-free concession on unaccompanied personal effects to people such as returning Australian residents, new migrants and certain visa holders, provided the goods were owned and used by them before arrival (ABF). A short-stay visitor does not get the same treatment, and new or unused goods can attract duty and GST regardless of who is moving. So confirm your visa subclass first — permanent skilled visa, partner visa, working holiday, or otherwise — because it dictates both the concession you claim on Form B534 and, for pets and vehicles, the length of stay that makes the effort worthwhile.

2. The UK export side: HMRC, Border Force and leaving cleanly

The United Kingdom’s customs authority is HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), and physical controls at the frontier are enforced by Border Force, part of the Home Office. Great Britain has been outside the EU customs union since Brexit, so a shipment to Australia is a full third-country export.

Export declaration. To move goods out of England, Wales or Scotland you need an EORI number starting with GB, and the consignment must be covered by a customs export declaration (GOV.UK). Declarations are filed electronically into HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service (CDS), the system that has replaced the older CHIEF platform. In practice, a professional international remover or freight forwarder holds the software and files the declaration on your behalf, using a detailed valued inventory of your effects. There is no "transfer of residence" form to submit to HMRC on the way out — ToR relief is an import mechanism for goods coming into Great Britain, not for departures. Your obligation on the UK side is simply to satisfy the export process; the concession you claim is on the Australian side.

Tax exit. Tell HMRC you are leaving by submitting form P85, "Get your Income Tax right if you’re leaving the UK" (or, if you file Self Assessment, report the departure on your return instead). Filing P85 lets you reclaim overpaid PAYE, but it does not by itself make you non-resident. Your UK tax residence is determined by the Statutory Residence Test, which counts days of presence and UK ties. If you leave part-way through a tax year you may qualify for split-year treatment; the broader rules on income and gains after you go are set out in HMRC’s guidance on leaving the UK to live abroad. Because pensions, property and investments left behind in Britain can stay within the UK tax net, this is the part most people underestimate.

3. Ports and transit times

Household goods to Australia almost always travel by sea container, and the UK has several major deep-sea container ports handling this trade — most commonly Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway and Tilbury. Your remover consolidates and loads at or near one of these, and the container sails via the Suez Canal or around the Cape depending on routing and conditions.

Transit times below are freight-industry estimates, not official government figures, and they vary with sailing schedules, transhipment and congestion:

• Sea freight (full or shared container): roughly 6 to 10 weeks port-to-port to the main Australian ports (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Fremantle/Perth), before customs and quarantine clearance.
• Air freight: a matter of days in transit, though still subject to declaration and clearance on arrival.

Treat any quoted date as an estimate and build in a buffer, especially around peak seasons.

4. The Australian import side

On arrival, two agencies are in play: the Australian Border Force for customs and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) for biosecurity. Australia’s biosecurity regime is among the strictest in the world, and it is the biosecurity inspection — not the duty calculation — that most often delays or costs UK movers.

The form. Unaccompanied personal effects must be declared on Form B534, the Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement. It must be completed, signed and dated by the owner of the goods — it cannot be signed by an agent on your behalf — and it must reach the clearance point, typically 7–10 days before the goods land (ABF). Where the concession applies, effects you owned and used can clear free of customs duty and GST; new goods, alcohol, tobacco and certain restricted items are treated differently.

Biosecurity. Expect scrutiny of anything that has touched soil, plants, animals or food: garden tools, outdoor furniture, bicycles, vacuum cleaners, wooden items and camping gear are common targets for inspection, cleaning or treatment. Declaring these items honestly on the B534 and cleaning them thoroughly before packing is the single best way to avoid inspection fees and delays.

5. Pets: rules at both ends

Moving a cat or dog is a long project — allow at least six months — and it is regulated at both ends.

Leaving the UK. For a non-EU destination like Australia your pet needs an Export Health Certificate, issued by an Official Veterinarian and endorsed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), confirming the animal meets Australia’s specific import conditions (GOV.UK).

Entering Australia. The UK is a Group 3 approved country. According to DAFF’s step-by-step guide, the process for a dog or cat runs broadly as follows (DAFF dogs, DAFF cats):

1. ISO microchip implanted before any other step.
2. Rabies vaccination, followed by a Rabies Neutralising Antibody Titre (RNAT) test meeting the required threshold (DAFF).
3. A 180-day waiting period, which (for permit applications lodged on or after 20 January 2020) commences on the date the approved laboratory receives the blood sample — not the date the sample was drawn — before the animal can enter Australia.
4. A DAFF import permit, applied for through the BICON system (DAFF permit).
5. Parasite treatments and the endorsed veterinary certification in the days before departure.
6. On arrival, transport to the Mickleham post-entry quarantine facility near Melbourne for a minimum of 10 days quarantine.

Because the RNAT test and 180-day clock have to be completed before travel, starting late is the most common reason pet moves slip.

6. Vehicles, money and things people forget

Vehicles. You cannot simply ship a car and register it. Under the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 it is an offence to import a road vehicle without approval, so you must obtain a Vehicle Import Approval before the vehicle is shipped, applied for through the government’s ROVER portal. If a vehicle arrives without approval, the Australian Border Force will not release it and storage costs fall on you. Right-hand-drive UK cars are mechanically suited to Australia, but approval, biosecurity cleaning, duty/GST and compliance can still make importing an ordinary car uneconomic.

Money. You may bring any amount, but AUD 10,000 or more (or the foreign-currency equivalent) in physical currency must be declared using a Cross-Border Movement report; failing to declare is an offence and the currency can be seized (AUSTRAC).

Commonly forgotten: prescription medicines (some UK-legal drugs are controlled in Australia), firearms and knives, food and plant products, and unused or new goods that lose the personal-effects concession. Keep a valued inventory and proof of ownership for higher-value items.

How Flyto handles your UK-to-Australia move

Flyto runs strong in-house European operations — our own offices, warehouses, trained teams and vehicles across Northern, Central and Southern Europe — which lets us control packing, collection and export documentation directly on the UK side. For the deep-sea leg and the Australian arrival we combine a carefully chosen network of vetted freight partners and subcontractors with trusted local partners on the ground in Australia, so your goods, customs clearance and delivery are handled by specialists at each stage. We coordinate the whole corridor for you rather than claiming to do every mile ourselves.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay Australian duty or GST on my household goods?
If you qualify for the personal-effects concession and the goods were owned and used by you, they can enter free of duty and GST. New goods, alcohol and tobacco are treated differently. Eligibility is confirmed on Form B534.

How long does the whole move take?
Sea freight is commonly a 6–10 week industry estimate port-to-port, plus clearance. Pets need at least six months of lead time because of the 180-day rule. Plan around the slowest element.

Do I need to tell HMRC I’m leaving?
Yes — file a P85 (or report it on Self Assessment). Remember your residence status is set by the Statutory Residence Test, not by the form.

Can someone else sign my customs form in Australia?
No. The B534 must be signed and dated by the owner of the goods personally.

Is it worth importing my UK car?
Only sometimes. You need a Vehicle Import Approval before shipping, and duty, GST, biosecurity cleaning and compliance often make it cheaper to sell in the UK and buy locally.

What about moving back — Australia to the UK?
The reverse journey mirrors this one. You would export from Australia and, to bring belongings into Great Britain duty- and VAT-free, apply for Transfer of Residence (ToR1) relief (GOV.UK); the broader process is covered in moving personal belongings to the UK.

Sources

• Border Force — GOV.UK
• Export goods from the UK: step by step — GOV.UK
• Get access to the Customs Declaration Service — GOV.UK
• Get your Income Tax right if you’re leaving the UK (P85) — GOV.UK
• Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad — GOV.UK
• RDR3 Statutory Residence Test — GOV.UK
• Taking your pet abroad — GOV.UK
• ABF — Unaccompanied Personal Effects (UPE)
• DAFF — Group 3 step-by-step guide for dogs
• DAFF — Group 3 step-by-step guide for cats
• DAFF — Import permits for cats and dogs
• DAFF — Rabies vaccination and tests
• Infrastructure — Importing a road vehicle into Australia
• ABF — Importing a motor vehicle
• AUSTRAC — Money brought into or out of Australia
• Transfer of residence to Great Britain (ToR1) — GOV.UK
• Moving personal belongings to the UK — GOV.UK