Looking for the destination side of this lane — duty, importer of record and certification? Open the Australia destination guide.
How long does shipping from China take?
| Mode | Typical time | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight FCL | 15–25 days | Door to door; carrier schedules show Shekou–Melbourne 14 days and Shanghai–Sydney 14–21 days port to port depending on the service |
| Ocean freight LCL | 30–45 days | Door to door; LCL adds CFS handling at each end on top of the FCL transit |
| Air freight | 8–12 days | Standard air door to door; express air with DHL or UPS is 2–4 days |
| Express courier | 2–4 days | DHL or UPS door to door; add about a day for handling |
Typical ranges measured from supplier pickup to signed delivery. They are not a commitment; the binding range is issued with your quotation.
Lane facts
| Loading from | Shekou, Yantian, Nansha, Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao and Xiamen |
| Destination ports | Port Botany (Sydney), Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle and Port Adelaide |
| Direct calls | Weekly direct Australia East Coast sailings (A3X, A3S, A3C and JKN); Fremantle and Adelaide route by transhipment or coastal relay |
| Container options | 20GP, 40GP and 40HQ; LCL accepted from 1 CBM |
| Duty and tax | Import duty is 0% on most goods under ChAFTA where the origin rules are met and typically 5% otherwise; GST 10% on customs value plus duty plus transport and insurance |
| Low value goods | Goods at or below AUD 1,000 generally clear without border duties or taxes; above that an Import Declaration (N10) and processing charge apply |
| Importer of record | The importer, or a licensed customs broker acting as their agent; the Border Force does not complete the declaration for you |
| Biosecurity | Solid-wood packaging must be ISPM 15 treated and stamped with a packing declaration; the stink bug season runs 1 September to 30 April with China treated as emerging risk, and Khapra beetle measures apply to targeted containers |
| Quote turnaround | A formal quotation is issued within one hour once the cargo details are complete |
What does this cover?
Australian clearance is dominated by biosecurity: timber packaging, food, plant and animal products all attract inspection. We confirm the treatment and documentation before the cargo sails rather than after it arrives.
Who is this for?
- Commercial imports for wholesale, retail and distribution
- Factory-to-buyer shipments arranged on a delivered or port-to-port basis
- Consolidated cargo from several Chinese suppliers
- Buyers who need a duty-paid door price rather than a port-to-port rate
What is included in the service?
- China pickup, consolidation and warehouse handling where the scope includes it
- The transport combination quoted — ocean, rail, road, air or express
- Export declaration and shipping document guidance
- Destination clearance under the confirmed arrangement where a door scope is quoted
- Delivery to the agreed address within the quoted delivery area
What do you need from us to quote?
- Product name, material, use and photographs
- Declared value with currency and whether the goods carry a brand
- Piece count, gross weight, volume and package dimensions
- China origin city or the supplier address
- Destination city, full address and postcode
- Address type: commercial, residential, warehouse or free zone
- Whether the consignee can act as importer of record if the destination requires it
- Any battery, liquid, powder, magnet or regulated attribute
- Cargo-ready date and any required delivery window
Who is responsible for what?
| Scope | Company | Customer | Responsibility transfers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door to door |
|
| Responsibility passes on delivery and signature at the agreed destination address. |
What does the quotation cover?
The quotation states the total for the scope described in it. It is built from the cargo data, the origin and destination, the transport mode and the delivery scope agreed at that time.
What is included?
- China pickup and consolidation as quoted
- Export declaration and main transport on the quoted routing
- Destination import clearance under the confirmed arrangement
- Duty and tax for the declared goods where the scope is DDP
- Delivery to the agreed address within the quoted delivery area
What is not included?
- Customs revaluation where the declared value is not accepted
- Certification, registration or testing required by the destination authority
- Storage, demurrage and inspection costs arising at either customs point
- Remote-area delivery outside the quoted area
- Unloading equipment or labour at the destination address
What might cost extra?
- Remote or difficult-access delivery beyond the standard service area
- Customs inspection, holds or revaluation at either end
- Storage where cargo cannot be dispatched inside the agreed free period
- Detention and demurrage when a container or vehicle is held beyond free time
- Oversized, overweight or special loading equipment
- Cargo that arrives without the documents required for the confirmed route
- Special cargo approved after review but requiring extra handling or documentation
- Address change, re-delivery or a failed delivery appointment after dispatch
- Peak-season or fuel surcharges applied by the carrier
- Duty or tax reassessment where customs does not accept the declared value
Freight rates and space change with the market, so each quotation carries its own validity period. Once it expires, or if the rate or space changes before booking, the price is reconfirmed before dispatch.
Cargo is weighed and measured after it reaches the warehouse. If the piece count, weight, volume, packing, cargo attributes or delivery address differ from the original inquiry, the charge is recalculated and sent to you for confirmation before payment and dispatch.
How long does each stage take?
Transit is counted from the stated start point to the stated end point for each stage. Carrier schedules, port and customs conditions, and the destination delivery arrangement all affect the outcome.
- Pickup and warehouse intake: Typically 1–3 days from supplier release (calculated from Pickup arranged from the supplier address to Cargo received, counted, weighed and measured at the warehouse)
- Consolidation and waiting: Typically 2–5 days, plus about five days around Chinese public holidays (calculated from Cargo accepted at the warehouse to Container loaded and sealed, or cargo handed to the carrier)
- Export and ocean transit: Typically 14–24 days port to port on the direct East Coast strings (calculated from Container loaded on board to Vessel arriving at the destination port)
- Import clearance and duty handling: Typically 2–5 days; a biosecurity tailgate inspection adds roughly seven days (calculated from Vessel arrival at the destination port to Customs released and duty or tax settled where the scope includes it)
- Final delivery: Typically 1–3 days inside the metropolitan area (calculated from Customs released to Delivered to the agreed address and signed for)
Estimated total: An estimated total is issued with the quotation, expressed as a range with the calculation start and end points stated. It is an estimate, not a guaranteed arrival date.
Last verified 2026-09-15.
How is the shipment handled?
Illustrations generated for this page, showing the handling stages your cargo moves through. They are not photographs of a specific shipment.


What must be confirmed before booking?
- Biosecurity treatment and inspection are outside a standard quoted scope unless stated: ISPM 15 wood treatment, seasonal stink bug measures and Khapra beetle measures all apply to targeted cargo
- A biosecurity inspection adds three to seven days, and food, plant and botanical cargo carries a higher inspection risk under the imported food inspection scheme
- Fremantle and Adelaide have no published direct transit from South China; they route by transhipment or coastal relay and are confirmed at booking
- A foreign seller without an Australian entity is not an established importer of record, so duty-paid scopes are quoted only where a compliant arrangement is confirmed
- Air and express ranges are door-to-door planning windows from published forwarder data; carrier days are reconfirmed at booking
- Border-hold and examination backlogs have been reported at Port Botany and Fremantle, and Q4 anchorage waits of about five days have been seen in peak season
What mistakes should we avoid?
- Assuming a delivered duty-paid price is available without confirming the import arrangement
- Supplying a declared value that does not match the commercial invoice
- Leaving certification or registration until the cargo has already arrived
- Treating the transit range as a guaranteed arrival date