Furniture

Unless an employer is paying your moving expenses, most people migrating (or returning) to Australia will want to avoid moving possessions to the extent possible. Ideally, sell all large items such as furniture - you could easily buy new equivalents in Tasmania for the cost of shipping - unless the items in question are of significant quality, value, or sentimentality.

Electrical appliances

Tasmania operates on 240V mains electricity. Those moving from other 240V countries will often only need to replace the plug on their appliances. This can make it economical to bring some small appliances with you.

For people from 110V countries, such as the US, it is a different story. 110V electrical appliances will not work in Tasmania without a voltage converter (or having their internal transformer replaced). This definitely makes bringing small appliances (e.g. hairdryers) impractical. For larger 110V appliances, such as fancy stereo systems, it may be worth bringing the equipment and replacing its power supply.

Televisions from other countries, and often VCR's, generally will not work in Tasmania.

Customs, quarantine and legal issues

Certain items, such as telephone equipment not approved by the regulatory body Austel, are not allowed to be brought into Australia. Many people do, but it is nonetheless illegal. Unless your cordless telephone has 2.4 GHz DSS, it really is best to leave it behind - frequencies commonly used by cordless phones in other countries are used for different purposes in Australia (e.g. the 900 MHz band used by cordless phones in the USA is used by cell phones in Australia).

Customs duty applies even on second hand goods, and is based on the market value of the item. This can be a nasty shock for those who load up on cheap goods before moving to Australia. You do not get charged duty if (a) your goods were originally purchased in Australia and then taken overseas, or (b) the equipment is over 12 months old. Keep receipts to be able to show these things, and acquaint yourself with the lates regulations - they change regularly.

All animals being brought into Australia must spend some time in quarantine. The time required depends on the type of animal and where it is coming from; for dogs and cats from most places (including the US) it is a minimum of 30 days. The owner must pay for the animal's keeping while it is in quarantine. The rate for this again depends on the type and size of the animal, but is likely to be over A$20 per day.

Shipping methods

Professional removal companies can handle overseas moves, but this can cost many thousands of dollars. Other people rent shipping containers (or a share thereof). If it is possible to sell off large items such as furniture, many people end up packing their remaining goods into boxes and sending them via sea mail to their new address.

[Back to Relocating to Tasmania questions]

Last reviewed 2006-08-06 12:44:23