When you ship a household to Australia separately from your own flight, those goods arrive as Unaccompanied Personal Effects (UPEs) and must be cleared through the Australian Border Force (ABF) on an Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement — form B534. Get it right and your effects come in free of the standard 10% GST and roughly 5% customs duty that would otherwise apply; get it wrong — or fail to declare an item of biosecurity concern to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) — and you face duty, GST, inspection fees, treatment costs or prosecution. This guide walks through the concession conditions, exclusions, the B534 itself and the two-agency clearance process, using current official Australian sources.

Key takeaways

• UPEs are household and personal items you owned overseas and are importing not as part of your accompanied luggage; to use the concession you must be an arriving person from a place outside Australia and the goods must be your own personal property (ABF).
• The duty and GST-free concession requires three things together: you have recently travelled or intend to travel to Australia, the goods are your own personal property, and you have owned and used them for 12 months or more (ABF).
• Permanent residents get a break on the clock: personal clothing, footwear and grooming items (excluding fur apparel and perfume concentrates) do not need to have been owned and used for 12 months (ABF).
• Motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts and commercial goods are not UPEs, and the duty-free allowances for alcohol and tobacco do not apply to unaccompanied goods — alcohol and tobacco arriving with your effects attract duty, GST and/or Wine Equalisation Tax (ABF).
• Clearance is a joint declaration to ABF and DAFF: the B534 is read for both customs and biosecurity, and your shipment may be physically examined by either agency before release (ABF; DAFF).
• You must present 100 points of Evidence of Identity, a detailed packing list and the arrival/waybill document alongside the completed B534 (ABF).
• Australia runs one of the strictest biosecurity regimes on earth — undeclared wood, food, plant material, soil or animal products on the B534 can lead to prosecution (DAFF).

1. What counts as an Unaccompanied Personal Effect

Unaccompanied Personal Effects are the household and personal items you are importing that are not part of the luggage you carry through the airport when you arrive. In practice that means everything moved by sea freight in a container or by air freight after your flight — furniture, kitchenware, books, clothing, tools, electronics and the like (ABF).

The ABF lists five categories of people who can import goods as UPEs:

• a migrant coming to Australia to take up permanent residence for the first time;
• a person returning to resume permanent residence;
• a temporary resident;
• a returning Australian citizen; and
• an Australian citizen who has been residing overseas and has returned to Australia temporarily.

Certain other items — non-motorised caravans and trailers, some powered and non-powered boats, and some aircraft — can be brought in under the UPE concession but carry additional conditions; the ABF asks you to contact them directly for those (ABF). Bequeathed items and goods purchased over the internet are not covered by the standard UPE fact sheet and are treated differently.

2. The concession conditions — owned and used for 12 months

Australian customs and tax law provides a duty and GST-free concession for UPEs provided all of the following are met (ABF):

1. you must have recently travelled or intend to travel to Australia; and
2. the goods must be your own personal property; and
3. you must have owned and used the items for 12 months or more.

All three conditions apply at once. The 12-month test is about genuine prior ownership and use overseas — it is what separates a lived-with household from a fresh consignment of newly bought goods. Items you have owned for less than 12 months will be subject to a duty and GST assessment (ABF). Brand-new purchases, boxed and unused, are the classic trap: a newly bought television or sofa shipped in your container is assessable even though everything around it clears free.

The permanent resident clothing exception. If you are a permanent resident, personal clothing, footwear and grooming items do not need to have been owned and used for 12 months — with two carve-outs from the carve-out: fur apparel and perfume concentrates are excluded and still assessed (ABF).

If you are arranging shipment before you have actually arrived, be ready to show your intention to travel within a reasonable time — an airline ticket, employment contract or university acceptance letter are the usual proofs. The concession is not a licence to import a household long after settling in; keep your shipment and your arrival close in time.

3. What the concession does NOT cover

Three things are explicitly not UPEs and cannot ride in on the concession (ABF):

• motor vehicles;
• motor vehicle parts; and
• commercial goods.

Importing a car is a separate regime entirely — it needs an import approval before shipping and is assessed for duty, GST, Luxury Car Tax where relevant, and must meet biosecurity cleaning standards. Do not put a vehicle on a B534.

Alcohol and tobacco. The generous duty-free allowances you get on alcohol and tobacco carried in your accompanied baggage do not apply to unaccompanied goods. Alcohol, and tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars or anything containing tobacco) shipped with your effects, will be subject to duty, GST and/or Wine Equalisation Tax (ABF). A cellar or a carton in the container is a taxable import — declare it and expect a bill.

New goods and anything owned under 12 months, as above, are assessed rather than free. Where duty and GST do apply, expect roughly 5% customs duty on the customs value and 10% GST on the value of the taxable importation (which includes the customs value, international transport and insurance, and any duty payable) (ABF; ATO).

4. Biosecurity — the DAFF half of the B534

The B534 is a joint declaration: one side is customs (ABF), the other is biosecurity (DAFF, formerly AQIS). Australia’s quarantine regime is among the strictest in the world, and DAFF is interested in any item that originated from an animal or a plant (including timber) or contains part of an animal or a plant, plus anything that has been in contact with animals, plants, water, food or soil (DAFF).

Prepare your shipment accordingly:

• Clean every risk item so it is free of soil, seeds, plant and animal material and insects — this especially means shoes, hiking boots, sporting and camping gear, garden tools, bicycles, lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners.
• Do not use plant-based packing — no straw, sawdust, wood shavings or similar as filler, and do not reuse boxes that previously held fruit, meat, eggs, flowers, pot plants or fertiliser (DAFF).
• Declare goods of concern on the B534 — wooden articles, food, plant material, animal products and used outdoor equipment. DAFF reads the B534 and your packing list to decide how much of the consignment to inspect.

Failure to declare risk items on the B534 can lead to prosecution under Australian biosecurity legislation (DAFF). If an item cannot be adequately cleaned or treated it may be exported or destroyed at your cost, and inspection and treatment (fumigation, gamma irradiation, steam cleaning) carry fees. When in doubt, declare — declaring a permitted item costs you nothing; hiding a prohibited one is an offence.

5. The B534 form and the clearance process

The owner of the goods must complete the B534. You can nominate a representative — a freight forwarder, customs broker, friend or relative — to act on your behalf, and if you have already arrived in Australia but cannot attend in person you still complete and sign the B534 and record your nominee’s details (ABF). The form must be completed in English, though it is published in a number of languages to help you understand it.

To clear your UPEs you must present (ABF):

1. a completed Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement (B534);
2. 100 points of Evidence of Identity, including at least one primary document (passport, Australian citizenship certificate or full birth certificate) and one photo ID, all originals;
3. a detailed packing list of the goods; and
4. the Arrival Notice or Delivery Advice (sea cargo) or Air Waybill (air cargo).

There is no fee for the Evidence of Identity check at ABF counters. If you nominate a family member or friend to clear the goods for you, they must produce the completed B534, packing list and shipping documents and provide their own 100 points of identity. Note that if you engage a commercial agent — forwarder, broker or removalist — a service fee may apply for their work, though that is the agent’s charge, not an ABF one.

Contact your shipping line, airline or freight forwarder before attempting clearance to confirm their requirements, operating hours and where the goods are held. UPEs may also be physically examined by ABF and DAFF, and revenue liabilities such as duty, taxes or fees may need to be paid before release (ABF).

6. Common mistakes that cost money and time

• Shipping brand-new goods in the container — assessed for duty and GST because they fail the 12-month test.
• Treating alcohol or tobacco as duty-free because it "came with the household" — it is taxable as a UPE.
• Leaving soil on hiking boots or a bike, or reusing a fruit box for packing — triggers biosecurity inspection, treatment fees or export/destruction.
• A vague packing list — DAFF and ABF read it to target inspection; "sundries, 40 boxes" invites a full unpack.
• Not declaring wood, food or plant items to avoid hassle — this is the one that leads to prosecution, not just a fee.
• Shipping long before you arrive without proof of intention to travel — the concession can be refused.

Rules, fees and forms change. Always confirm the current B534 and conditions with the ABF and biosecurity requirements with DAFF before you pack.

How Flyto handles this

Flyto runs a single door-to-door PLATINUM service for moves to or from Australia — the only tier we operate on intercontinental corridors, because the ocean leg, the B534 concession and Australia’s biosecurity screening leave no room for a stripped-back option. We prepare and lodge your B534 with the correct 12-month declarations, build a biosecurity-ready packing list that reads cleanly for DAFF, brief you on cleaning and packing so risk items pass inspection first time, and coordinate with our Australian customs broker so duty and GST-free clearance is claimed correctly and any assessable items (new goods, alcohol, tobacco) are flagged before they become a surprise at the wharf. Whether you are moving to Australia from Europe, Asia or the USA — or heading the other way — one team owns the shipment end to end. See our Australia relocation overview and the international moving pillar guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to have already arrived in Australia to lodge the B534?
No. You can arrange shipment and lodge before arrival, but you must show intention to travel within a reasonable time — an airline ticket, work contract or university offer. If you have already arrived but cannot attend in person, you still complete and sign the B534 and nominate someone to clear the goods (ABF).

Does the 12-month rule apply to my clothes?
If you are a permanent resident, no — personal clothing, footwear and grooming items are exempt from the 12-month requirement, except fur apparel and perfume concentrates, which are still assessed (ABF).

Can I ship my wine collection duty-free with the household?
No. The alcohol and tobacco duty-free allowances apply only to accompanied baggage. Alcohol and tobacco arriving as UPEs are assessed for duty, GST and/or Wine Equalisation Tax (ABF).

What happens if I don’t declare a wooden carving or some food?
Undeclared biosecurity risk items on the B534 can lead to prosecution, on top of inspection and treatment fees or destruction of the goods. Declare anything made of wood or plant/animal material — declaring permitted items costs nothing (DAFF).

How much are the taxes if something doesn’t qualify?
Assessable goods generally attract around 5% customs duty on the customs value plus 10% GST on the value of the taxable importation (customs value, transport, insurance and any duty). Confirm current rates with the ABF and ATO.

Can my removalist complete the B534 for me?
The owner must complete it, but you can nominate a freight forwarder, customs broker, removalist, friend or relative to act on your behalf. A commercial agent may charge a fee; ABF’s identity check itself is free (ABF).

Can I import my car on the B534?
No. Motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts are not UPEs and follow a separate vehicle import approval and assessment process (ABF).

Sources

• Australian Border Force — Unaccompanied Personal Effects (UPE)
• Australian Border Force — Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement (form B534)
• Australian Border Force — GST and other taxes on imports
• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry — Moving to Australia or importing personal effects/household goods
• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry — Preparing your personal effects for shipment to Australia
• Australian Taxation Office — GST and imported goods