Moving from the UK to Australia
Australia is the most searched-for long-haul destination for British movers, and the most expensive to get wrong. The distance is roughly 10,000 nautical miles, everything travels by sea container, and the goods are inspected on arrival by the strictest biosecurity regime in the world. The removal itself is straightforward. The costs that surprise people are the ones at the Australian end.
This guide sets out what a UK to Australia move actually costs door to door, how long it takes, and which paperwork and quarantine rules decide whether your shipment clears in days or sits in a bonded warehouse racking up storage.
How Much Does It Cost to Move from the UK to Australia?
International moves are priced on volume, not distance or bedrooms. The question is how many cubic metres you are shipping and whether they travel in a shared container or one of your own.
| Home size | Typical volume | Shared container (groupage) | Sole-use container |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1-bed | 10 – 20 m³ | £2,500 – £4,500 | — |
| 2-bed | 20 – 32 m³ | £4,000 – £6,500 | £5,500 – £8,500 (20ft) |
| 3-bed | 32 – 50 m³ | £6,000 – £9,000 | £7,500 – £11,000 (20ft / 40ft) |
| 4+ bed | 50 – 65 m³ | — | £9,000 – £14,000 (40ft) |
Indicative 2026 door-to-door figures from a UK mainland address to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, including export packing, sea freight, Australian customs clearance and delivery to room. Perth is typically £500–£1,000 more; regional and inland addresses add delivery mileage at the far end.
A 20ft container holds around 28–33 m³ — a well-packed two- or three-bedroom home. A 40ft container holds around 60–67 m³. Below roughly 25 m³, sharing a container is almost always cheaper; above 40 m³, a sole-use 40ft is usually cheaper per cubic metre than two shared consignments.
Get quotes for your move to Australia from removal companies that run this route.
What Is and Isn't in the Price
The single biggest cause of a bad experience on this route is a quote that stops at the Australian port. Always confirm the price is door to door and includes:
- Export packing in the UK — international moves are packed by the crew, not by you, so the mover carries the insurance liability
- Sea freight and UK port charges
- Australian port and terminal charges, which are billed in AUD and rise every year
- Customs clearance and the customs broker's fee
- Quarantine inspection: the Department of Agriculture inspects household effects and charges for the inspector's time — budget AUD $300–$600 for a shared consignment and more for a full container
- Delivery to room at your new address, including unpacking and removal of debris if you want it
Quotes will exclude — and you should budget separately for — marine insurance (typically 2.5–3.5% of the declared value of your goods), storage at either end, any quarantine treatment ordered by the inspector (fumigation or cleaning of a single item can run AUD $200–$500), and import duty and GST on anything that does not qualify as used personal effects.
How Long Does Shipping to Australia Take?
| Service | Port to port | Door to door |
|---|---|---|
| Sole-use container (FCL) | 6 – 8 weeks | 8 – 12 weeks |
| Shared container (LCL / groupage) | 8 – 10 weeks | 10 – 14 weeks |
| Air freight (small consignments) | 3 – 7 days | 1 – 3 weeks |
Shared containers are slower because the mover waits to fill the box before it sails. Add a week or two around Christmas, when Australian ports are congested, and expect a few days' delay if your shipment is selected for a full quarantine inspection rather than a document check.
Air freight is priced by weight and only makes sense for a handful of boxes of essentials — a few hundred pounds for a small consignment, rising fast. Most people send essentials by air and everything else by sea.
Customs: Unaccompanied Personal Effects
Your household goods enter Australia as Unaccompanied Personal Effects (UPE). Used goods you have owned and used for at least 12 months before departure are free of import duty and GST, provided you hold a visa that allows you to live in Australia and the goods are for your personal use.
You will complete the B534 Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement, normally through your mover's Australian agent, along with a detailed inventory listing every carton and its contents. Clearance normally happens after you have arrived in Australia, so time your shipment to land after you do — your passport and visa are checked against the arrival record.
Anything owned for less than 12 months, still in its original packaging, or clearly bought to sell is dutiable. Keep receipts for recent purchases and declare them; undeclared new goods discovered at inspection are the fastest way to a penalty and a delayed container.
Quarantine: What Not to Pack
Australia's biosecurity rules are the reason this route needs more preparation than any European move. The inspector is looking for soil, seeds, plant and animal material, and anything that could carry pests. Common problems:
- Garden tools, boots, bikes and outdoor furniture with any trace of soil or mud — clean them to showroom standard before packing
- Vacuum cleaners with contents still inside — empty and clean them
- Untreated wood, bark, pine cones and dried flowers, including Christmas decorations
- Cane, wicker and bamboo items, which are frequently ordered for treatment
- Food of any kind, including dried herbs, spices and pet food
- Camping gear and tents with grass or soil
- Feathers, shells, coral and animal products
A shipment that fails inspection is not refused — the item is treated or destroyed at your cost, and the whole consignment waits while that happens. Cleaning everything thoroughly before the packers arrive is the cheapest insurance on this route.
Vehicles, Pets and Alcohol
Cars need an import approval before they ship, must be modified to meet Australian Design Rules, and attract duty, GST and — on most modern cars — Luxury Car Tax. The total often exceeds the car's value. Unless it is a classic or something irreplaceable, sell it in the UK.
Pets can travel from the UK but need a rabies vaccination and blood test well in advance, an import permit, and a minimum 10 days in post-arrival quarantine at the Mickleham facility near Melbourne. Book quarantine space early; it fills months ahead.
Alcohol is dutiable at Australian rates regardless of how long you have owned it, and duty on a modest wine collection can be substantial. Declare every bottle.
Saving Money on This Route
- Take less. Every cubic metre costs money on this route, and Australian second-hand furniture is not expensive. Be ruthless with heavy, low-value items.
- Share a container if you are under 25 m³. The saving is usually thousands of pounds for a wait of a few extra weeks.
- Get three quotes on the same inventory. International quotes vary far more than domestic ones because each mover uses different shipping lines and Australian agents.
- Avoid shipping to arrive in December. Port congestion and holiday closures add weeks and storage charges.
- Clean everything. A quarantine treatment order costs more than the item is worth.
Next Steps
Get quotes for your move to Australia from international movers who run this route, or read our international moving costs guide for how container pricing works in general.