Migration to or from Australia is expensive. However, by making use of our services you can save heaps of money as long as you are prepared to do part of the work yourself. This is how it works:

You pack all your household items yourself. Use only new cartons and purchase industrial size rolls of bubble-wrap. Our local office or agent can assist you with contact details of suppliers of these items. Take your time: the better you pack, the less chance of damage in transit. Crockery should be wrapped in old newspapers before being packed into cartons. If you have valuable or fragile items, it usually is worth the expense to have these professionally crated - again our local office can assist in this respect. Number each outer package and compile a comprehensive packing list: for example: Carton K25: Kitchen Utensils; or Item L3: Lounge Suite 2 seat settee.

Once you have finished packing, estimate the cubic volume your effects take up. The rule of thumb is as follows: if you have ten cubic meters or less, the cheapest option is to go with a groupage container. If you have more than ten cubic meters (cbm), it pays to ship with your own container. If you have less than 10 cbm, our local office will arrange collection, palletising & wrapping and hand-in to the shipping line's local consolidation depot. If you have more than 10 cbm, we will place a 20' or 40' container at your premises for 24 hours for loading by you and your family.

Plan before you load: draw a floor plan of the container and work out where you will place your items. Mattresses against the container walls will provide good protection for furniture. If necessary, use nylon rope to prevent items from toppling over or shifting inside the container. Every container has lashing rings, top and bottom, either side on the inside. Loading the container is a matter of common sense - we have done it a number of times, with the loss of exactly one broken coffee mug!

Once you have finished loading the container, close the doors and seal the right hand door with the numbered seal provided. All the hard work has now been done. We will collect the container, ship to port of discharge, customs clear, unpack the container, and deliver the contents to your new address. The crew of the furniture delivery van will place all items inside your new premises, where you want them. However, they will not unpack the cartons nor will they remove any packing material. There are extra costs for handling heavy items such as a safe or a piano, or placing goods on a second story. But by doing all the above, you will have saved yourself about one third of the cost quoted by most international removals companies.

Most countries are fairly relaxed about used personal effects, allowing the import of household items duty and tax free - as long as the items are genuine used personal effects. No trade goods, new or dutiable or prohibited items please!

When you are relocating to Australia, please bear the following in mind:

• On arrival your container gets unpacked and inspected by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Services (AQIS) for the presence of the following forbidden or offensive goods: drugs, firearms or ammunition, offensive weapons; (spears, swords, machetes, etc.) No perishables whatsoever, no plant or animal materials (such as seeds, untreated wood; untreated animal skins, animal teeth or any form of traditional medicine using animal materials); no pornography or materials offensive to the public norm;
• No soil or dirt or plant or animal material to be present on camping, fishing or golf equipment; shoes, bicycles, garden tools or furniture. These items are all routinely checked and if they are not super-clean and spotless, AQIS will order a "Quarantine Clean", which is both time-consuming (storage costs) and costly by itself.
• Cars, trailers and motorcycles require import approval prior to shipment. Import duties and GST apply. You must be able to provide proof of ownership documents. Vehicles are valued by a sworn valuator upon arrival and this valuation is the basis of all duties and taxes. Left hand drive vehicles cannot be imported. Likewise, boats (and kayaks, canoes, etc.) pay duties and taxes. All items in this category must be very clean, especially the tyres, inside the mudguards and the radiator. The vehicle must be presented for shipment virtually dry of fuel and with the batteries disconnected. Ordinary passenger vehicles are usually not worthwhile importing.
• Fridges, freezers, washing machines, tumble dryers and the like must be very clean, both inside and out. The presence of cobwebs, food remains, soil or dust will virtually guarantee a "Quarantine Clean". A vacuum cleaner is a natural for inspection: please ensure it is spotless and has either no receptacle bag or a new, empty bag fitted.
• You will pay full duties and taxes on any alcohol, tobacco or trade items above the duty free limits as applicable at the time of entry.
• Because you have packed and loaded the container yourself, the contents are not insured for breakages. However, we can arrange marine insurance from door-to-door protecting you from all recognised events (truck collision, overturning, fire, theft after forced entry, sinking of ship, etc) for a most reasonable amount. Please approach us for a quotation.

Adherence to the above guidelines will prevent most normal pitfalls of a household removal to Australia. Please contact us via our enquiry page on this website for a free quotation, either to or from Australia.

The Sebenza World Team.