As Semester 2 approaches more and more international students are getting ready to set off and for first-timers heading to Australia the question that comes up most often is“What can and can’t I bring through customs?”“Does XXX need to be declared?”So today we’ve put together this big Q&A round-up to clear it all up
Honestly, the most direct method is to bookmark the link belowthe official Australian Border Force websitehttps://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/can-you-bring-it-in/overview
The website sets out a very clear category for every item
sorted into 3 groups:
Bring it
Declare it
Don’t bring
For example,freshfruit
absolutely cannot be brought into Australia
not even a single apple
Items like alcohol and tobacco can be brought in within reasonable limits
but you need to choose to declare them on arrival
If you have a chronic condition and need to take medication long term your own personal medication can also be brought in as long as you declare it But take note of all that “mum’s love” things like pickled and preserved foods and hometown specialty producenone of it can be brought in Every year there are a few news stories about people who brought in local specialty produceand were fined at customs and had their visas cancelled
There’s also in-flight meals to watch out for
Maybe you didn’t finish a few snacks and don’t want them to go to waste
so you grab them off the plane and carry them into Australia
But take note!
No food from the plane may be brought into Australia
For anything you’re not sure you can bring open the customs website homepageselect list of itemsand simply type the item you’re unsure about into the search bar and it will show whether you can bring itor whether it needs to be declared
Here are a few of the questions we get asked most often
Foods like biscuits, cakes and bread (not home-made) can be brought straight through on arrival without declaring
Many students carry cash when they arrive
Australia does allow you to bring in cash
and there’s no upper limit
(but for safety reasons we still don’t recommend carrying too much)
However, cash worth more than $10,000 needs to be declared
Also take note When it comes to counterfeit and high-quality knock-off items, customs requires DON’T BRINGthey are banned from entering Australiaincluding fake bags, fake clothing, fake perfume and so on none of it is allowed in Some people might think they can get away with it but once you’re caught it’s a 100% fine
When you’re packing your luggageyou can pull all of the above out and check against itHere’s the link and QR code once morehttps://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/can-you-bring-it-in/list-of-items
Finally, just remember
if you’re not sure whether you can bring something
declare it, every time
otherwise, once you’re caught
a fine is getting off lightly
in serious cases you could even end up in jail
If you have any questions about studying or migrating to Australia
feel free to add our assistant below for a consultation
For more study-in-Australia tips, perks and fun factsremember to follow usand we’ll share them with you first▼▼▼
