How Easy is it to Send a Parcel to Australia?

Australia is one of the most popular countries for UK residents to emigrate to resulting in many of us having friends and family living there. With modern technologies, it’s easier and much cheaper to keep in touch with them, however, receiving a physical item from distant loved ones can sometimes be that little more special. But how easy is it sending parcels to Australia on the other side of the globe?

The answer is in fact quite easy. There are however a few things to be aware of and take into consideration before choosing the best courier service for you. Here at Transglobal Express we are major account holders with the main carriers such as DHL, UPS and TNT where we have been able to negotiate reduced rates on their services, saving you up to 70% of the cost.

What are you sending?

The first thing to consider is what is it that you wish to send. We have a good range of services available for sending parcels to Australia and these come with varied weight and size limits. You will need to have your items packaged up ready to send so you can obtain the correct weight and dimensions required.

There are also certain items that are classed as Dangerous, Hazardous and Prohibited items. You can find a list and more information about those here.

Customs regulations apply for territories outside of the EU. It is always recommended these are checked before sending anything along with any carrier information for Australia regarding any additional fees and customs clearing processes.

How long will it take to get there?

Another thing to consider before choosing your service is the transit time of the delivery. Using an International Courier can mean your parcel will arrive in Australia in a matter of days rather than weeks. Delivery can be as quick as 3 days, and most parcels are delivered within a week depending on the service chosen.

We deliver across Australia including all the major cities so if you wanted to send a parcel to Sydney, book a courier to Melbourne or Perth then we can easily help.

We also provide services that deliver to more remote areas of the county although these will require additional transit times. You can use one of our carrier-specific transit time calculators to get a more accurate estimate using two postcodes.

Sending from Australia to the UK?

Organising a delivery to be sent from Australia to the UK is just as simple to arrange.  Just pick Australia as your “Sending from” address when requesting a quote and we will sort the rest and provide any documentation you may need. Be sure to check UK customs information before booking your service.

If you need any more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Customer Services team.

Australia fights customs corruption

If you send parcels to Australia regularly, you may remember that the discovery of allegedly corrupt customs officers at Sydney airport led to the arrest of four personnel last year. Australian minister for Justice Jason Clare subsequently set up a customs reform board, which published a report outlining recommendations for improvements to the customs service. The report states that, with air cargo traffic shipments expected to rise from 29 million to a massive 95 million a year by 2017, there is an increasing threat of "serious, organised criminals attempting to infiltrate our border agencies and corrupt our officers".

Sydney Customs House

The government have proposed a number of measures in response comprising, changes to employees' terms and conditions, increased partnership working and better use of technology and electronic information. The proposed strategies so far include:

• fixed periods of employment for customs personnel
• a tightening up of the policy relating to second jobs
• working with airlines and forwarders to expedite clearance procedures for trusted and compliant clients
• full electronic data reporting for all Australian imports and exports
• direct access to logistics companies' databases for streamlined shipment and customer profiling. 

The announcements by the Australian government coincide with the publication of one of the largest and farthest reaching public opinion surveys into corruption. the According to the survey carried out by Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International, over 50% of people think corruption has worsened in the last two years. Of the 114,000 participants in 107 countries, 27% said they have paid a bribe when accessing public services in the last 12 months. 

How to address a letter or parcel to Australia? Tips on address formatting

When sending parcels to Australia, there are a few addressing guidelines which you should keep in mind.

For this reason, we have put together a quick guide for addressing parcels/letters to Australia. Here are two formatting options.

I. Traditional Address Format

1st Example

UK address format	U.S. address format
Mr Jack Dooley 120 Hammersmith Grove	Ms Emma Riley 22 Avebury Street
London	West End QLD 4101
W6 7HB
UK	AUSTRALIA

UK and Australian traditional residential addresses have a lot in common. However, there a couple of differences which set them apart.

(1) Firstly, the name of an Australian town / city is directly followed by an abbreviation for the state it is located in. “QLD”, for instance, is short for “Queensland”. 

Other abbreviations are as follows:

    ACT - Australian Capital Territory

    NSW - New South Wales

    NT  - Northern Territory

    SA  - South Australia

    TAS - Tasmania

    VIC - Victoria

    WA  - Western Australia

(2) Secondly, Australian postcodes are displayed after the name of the state.

II. Apartment or Commercial Address

2nd Example

UK address format	U.S. address format
Mr John Smith Apartment 8 120 Hammersmith Grove	Mr Tom Yates Suite 10a Floor 3, 50 Old Burleigh Road
London	Surfers Paradise QLD 4217
W6 7HB
UK	AUSTRALIA

(3) If you would like to send a parcel an apartment or commercial address in Australia, insert the “suite” number below the name of the recipient, followed by the floor number, house number and street name.

Important Notice:

A charge for customs clearance processing of AU$165 payable at the destination may be applied to personal effects consignments shipped with DHL. Please complete an Australian Customs Form, a packing list and provide a photocopy of the photo page of your passport. You can hand all of this to driver on collection. A quarantine charge of approximately AU$45 may also occur.

Should you wish to send a document or parcel to Australia via courier, express or standard parcel delivery, then please visit TransglobalPremium.co.uk.