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Destination guide · Australia

Доставка мебели из Китая в Австралию

Furniture shipped from Foshan reaches Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane in 20–27 days port to port in a full container, or 21–31 days as an LCL consignment. Most furniture enters at 0% duty under ChAFTA with a valid Certificate of Origin, plus 10% GST on the landed value. Below about 15 m³ you ship LCL; above it a 20 ft container is usually cheaper and always safer for stone and solid timber. Source Foshan, a sourcing agent based in Foshan, China, consolidates the order, crates it to ISPM 15, books the sailing and arranges carry-in at the other end.

Page reviewed by the Source Foshan sourcing team in Foshan · freight and duty figures are dated and sourced at the foot of the page.

At a glance

Five numbers to carry into the first conversation.

20–27 daysShenzhen or Guangzhou to Melbourne, port to port, full container
USD 4,275–5,22540 ft high-cube ocean freight, September 2026
0% + 10%ChAFTA duty with a Certificate of Origin, then GST on the landed value
15 m³Where a 20 ft container starts to beat an LCL consignment
ISPM 15Timber packaging treated and IPPC-marked, or the container is held

Before it sails

What leaves Foshan, whatever the destination.

The same three steps stand behind every container we send to Australia. These are our own warehouse photographs, not stock images.

Crated furniture from several factories collected together at the Source Foshan consolidation warehouse
CollectedEvery supplier on your order delivered to one warehouse and checked against the packing list.
A cabinet braced inside a timber crate at the Foshan warehouse before export
ПереупакованоCarton packing is rebuilt into braced timber, treated and IPPC-marked for the destination's biosecurity rules.
Finished timber crates staged at the warehouse door ready for the container
ЗагруженоMeasured per line, photographed, then loaded and sealed. The m³ on the quotation is the m³ that ships.

01 · The one decision

A full container or an LCL consignment?

The single decision that moves the cost of an Australian order is whether your volume justifies a box of its own. It is a volume question before it is a price question.

Ship LCL when
  • Your packed volume is under about 15 m³ — roughly a living room, a bedroom and a dining set.
  • You can accept 21–31 days port to port plus 5–10 days of consolidation and deconsolidation at each end.
  • Nothing in the order is stone, glass or a single heavy slab: LCL cargo is handled loose alongside other shippers' freight.
  • You are comfortable that fixed destination charges — terminal handling, deconsolidation, customs entry — apply whether the consignment is 3 m³ or 12 m³.
Ship a full container when
  • Your packed volume passes about 15 m³: a 20 ft holds roughly 28–33 m³ of crated furniture in practice.
  • The order includes stone tops, marble, glass or solid-timber slabs that should not be handled twice.
  • You are furnishing a whole house: 45–70 m³ once sofas, mattresses and wardrobes are counted, which is a 40 ft high-cube.
  • You want the container sealed in Foshan and opened at your address, with nobody else's cargo in it.
Packed volume, and where the decision flips
LCL territory under 15 m³
One 20 ft container 30 m³ loaded
One 40 ft high-cube 68 m³ loaded

A three-seat sofa carton is 1.6–2.2 m³; four stacked dining chairs 0.6–0.9 m³; a knock-down wardrobe 0.5–0.8 m³. Send the list and we return the packed volume per line.

A 40 ft high-cube offers about 76 m³ and loads to 65–70 m³ once bracing and gaps are counted. Between 15 and 28 m³ the arithmetic is close; we quote both and show you the landed number for each.

02

What does it cost to ship furniture to Australia?

Every line that appears between the ex-works price and the furniture standing in the room. Ranges, not promises.

A 40 ft high-cube of mid-range residential furniture: USD 32,000 ex-works, 65 m³ packed. USD 44,059landed, 1.38× the ex-works price
  • Goods, ex-works Foshan USD 32,000
  • Export packing and consolidationAbout USD 30 per m³ USD 1,950
  • Ocean freight, 40 ft HCMid-point of the September 2026 band USD 4,750
  • Marine insuranceAbout 0.5% of goods plus freight USD 184
  • Customs duty0% under ChAFTA with a Certificate of Origin nil
  • GST (10%)Claimable by a GST-registered business USD 3,675
  • Delivery, unload and assemblyIndicative; access decides it USD 1,500

One basket, priced into all eleven destinations, so the bars are comparable. The duty and tax block is what actually changes — as a share of the goods value, Australia at 11.5%, against 9.2% into Singapore and 50.0% into the United States.

LineIndicativeПримечания
Ocean freight, 20 ftUSD 2,160–2,640Shenzhen or Guangzhou to Melbourne or Port Botany
Ocean freight, 40 ft HCUSD 4,275–5,225The same sailing; about twice the volume for well under twice the price
LCL ocean freightUSD 30–45 per m³Before destination charges, which is where LCL quotes mislead
LCL destination chargesAUD 400–900 per consignmentTerminal handling, deconsolidation, customs entry — fixed, not per m³
Export packing and consolidationAbout USD 30 per m³Re-crating, bracing, labelling, packing list
Marine insuranceAbout 0.5% of insured valueOn goods plus freight
Customs duty0% with ChAFTA Certificate of Origin5% without one, whatever the goods actually are
GST10%On customs value plus duty plus freight and insurance
Biosecurity and fumigationAUD 0–1,000Nil if the timber is correctly treated and marked; fumigation if it is not
Delivery, unload and assemblyQuoted per addressStairs, lifts and kerb access change this more than distance does

Indicative landed cost, Foshan to a Melbourne address, September 2026. Ocean freight moves monthly — confirm at booking.

03 · Use this on us too

The fourteen lines a door-to-door quotation has to show.

Nearly every bad shipping story on this route starts with a quotation that was shorter than this list. Paste it into your next enquiry and ask for a price against each line. A forwarder who will not break the price out is quoting you a number, not a service.

  1. Inland move, factory to warehousePer supplier, or stated as waived. Buyers are caught by this line more than any other.
  2. Warehouse receipt and check-inCounted against the packing list, photographed, with the free storage days and the daily rate afterwards.
  3. Re-packing and cratingWhich items get closed crates, which get open frames, which stay in cartons — and the price for each.
  4. Timber treatment and the IPPC markTreatment, marking and the certificate, priced separately from the crate.
  5. Measured packed volume, line by lineThe m³ you are billed for, with the measurements it came from.
  6. Export declaration and certificate of originIncluding who files it and what it costs if the certificate is issued late.
  7. Ocean freight, with the surcharges namedBase rate plus each surcharge spelled out, and how long the rate is held.
  8. Marine insuranceThe premium, the deductible, and what the fragile-goods exclusion actually excludes.
  9. Destination terminal and deconsolidationTerminal handling, deconsolidation, and the free days before storage starts.
  10. Customs entryWho is importer of record, what value is declared, and whether duty and tax are inside the price or outside it.
  11. ДоставкаVehicle size, kerbside or room of choice, stairs and lifts, waiting time, and the radius the price covers.
  12. Assembly and packaging removalBoth, or neither, but in writing. A container leaves roughly a tonne of crate and carton behind.
  13. Biosecurity inspection and treatmentWhat happens, and what it costs, if the container is selected.
  14. GSTPayable on goods plus freight plus insurance even where ChAFTA takes duty to zero.

Send us the same list. We answer it line by line, in writing, before you pay anything.

04

How long does it take, week by week?

From the deposit to the last crate leaving your drive. The sea leg is the part nobody can compress.

The route20–27 days port to port
  1. Фошань Consolidation warehouse, all suppliers
  2. Yantian / Nansha Load port, Shenzhen or Guangzhou day 0
  3. South China Sea Direct services, no transhipment on most strings day 4
  4. Melbourne Or Port Botany, Sydney day 23
  5. Brisbane Second call on many services day 26

Most China–Australia strings run direct, which is why the band is tighter than the European lanes. Melbourne and Sydney are the usual first calls; Brisbane and Fremantle sit a few days either side depending on the rotation.

  1. Week 0Collected and crated

    Pieces from each factory collected at one Foshan warehouse, checked against the specification and rebuilt into braced timber crates.

  2. Week 6–10Inspection, treatment and certificate

    Every item photographed against the spec. Timber heat-treated and IPPC-marked, and the ChAFTA Certificate of Origin raised with the shipment rather than after it.

  3. Week 10–14At sea

    20–27 days Shenzhen or Guangzhou to Melbourne, Port Botany or Brisbane. Tracking shared weekly.

  4. Week 14–15Customs and biosecurity

    Entry lodged, ChAFTA Certificate of Origin presented, GST paid. DAFF may call the container for a biosecurity inspection.

  5. Week 15–16Delivery and carry-in

    Delivery booked to the address, crates opened, pieces carried in and assembled, packaging taken away the same day.

05

Duty, tax and clearance into Australia

Australia is straightforward on duty and strict on timber. The two things that hold Australian furniture shipments are a missing Certificate of Origin and untreated wood packaging.

Duty: 0% under ChAFTA

Chinese-origin furniture enters free of duty under the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement, but only against a valid Certificate of Origin issued in China. Without it you pay the 5% general rate regardless of where the goods were made. We obtain the certificate with the shipment, not after it.

GST: 10% on the landed value

Charged on the customs value plus duty plus freight and insurance — not on the ex-works price. A GST-registered business claims it back on its next BAS; a private importer does not.

Biosecurity: ISPM 15, not optional

Solid wood packaging over 6 mm must be heat-treated or fumigated to ISPM 15 and carry the IPPC mark. Solid timber furniture can also be inspected. An untreated pallet is enough to have the whole container held, fumigated at your cost (AUD 300–1,000) and delayed by one to two weeks.

Documents that travel with it

Commercial invoice, packing list with packed volume per line, bill of lading, ChAFTA Certificate of Origin, ISPM 15 treatment certificate, and the inspection report. One packing list covering every supplier, so a queried line can be settled at the desk.

06

Clearance is not delivery. What happens at the door.

A container at the kerb is not furniture in the house. What happens in the last hundred metres is scoped before the ship sails, because it cannot be fixed afterwards.

Can the container reach the address?

In much of Melbourne and Sydney it cannot. On our Melbourne delivery the container was worked in the street and the crates transferred to a box truck — planned in advance, not discovered on the day.

Stairs, lifts and floor protection

Two storeys with no lift means a larger crew and a slower day. It goes in the quotation before the order is placed.

Распаковка и сборка

Crates are opened outside, pieces carried in, beds and tables assembled and positioned by room against the packing list.

Packaging removal

Timber, cardboard and wrap leave with the crew the same day. In Australia that matters: you cannot put a container's worth of crating in a kerbside bin.

07 · What arrival looks like

Photographs from the research file.

Other people’s shipments, not ours. In September 2026 we read 20 first-hand Chinese-language shipping notes and their comment threads from buyers who moved furniture from China to Australia, and cleared their photographs for publication. They show what the process actually looks like at the kerb and in the room. Our own delivery photographs are further down, under case notes.

Published with the rights holder’s permission. Faces, house numbers, vehicle plates and third-party company marks have been cropped or redacted; nothing else in these frames has been altered.

08 · Field notes

What goes wrong, in the words of people who have already done it

Compiled in September 2026 from 20 first-hand Chinese-language shipping notes on the China–Australia route and their comment threads, cross-read against our own files. Poster experience, forwarder marketing and our practice are kept apart: the left column is what buyers reported happening, the right column is what we do about it. Every rate, duty and border rule stays with the authorities listed at the foot of this page.

  • The trap

    Low per-m³ quotes that add treatment, wharf, clearance, storage and handling later.

    Что мы делаем

    Take a written, itemised door-to-door quotation. A forwarder who will not break out the lines is telling you something.

  • The trap

    Timber with bark, mould or insect damage, and missing treatment certificates.

    Что мы делаем

    Crates are inspected and treated before loading and the certificates travel with the goods. Check current conditions in DAFF's BICON database for your actual goods, not just the packaging.

  • The trap

    Feather-filled and genuine-leather items held at the border.

    Что мы делаем

    Flag them before you order. Some are importable with conditions and some are not worth the trouble — BICON is the authority, not the forwarder.

  • The trap

    Beds built to Chinese mattress sizes.

    Что мы делаем

    Australian Queen and King dimensions go on the order, in millimetres. A 1.8 m Chinese bed is not an Australian King.

  • The trap

    Nobody budgeted for the packaging.

    Что мы делаем

    One container leaves roughly a tonne of crate and carton. Removal is a quoted line or it is your weekend.

  • The trap

    GST forgotten because duty is nil.

    Что мы делаем

    A Certificate of Origin can take duty to zero under ChAFTA. GST still applies on top of goods, freight and insurance.

09 · The honest version

When an Australian import is not worth it

ChAFTA makes this the cheapest duty position of any lane we run, which means the objections are practical rather than fiscal.

We will tell you not to
  • No Certificate of Origin. Without a valid ChAFTA certificate you pay the 5% general rate instead of nil, and the certificate has to be raised in China with the shipment — not requested afterwards.
  • Untreated timber anywhere in the packing. One unmarked pallet can put the container into fumigation at AUD 300–1,000 and a week or two of delay. Australian biosecurity is the strictest constraint on this route.
  • Under about 15 m³ with no custom content. LCL fixed charges at the destination outweigh the duty-free advantage on a small order.
  • A two-storey house nobody has measured. We carried slab pieces up a staircase near Sydney because it was scoped. Where it has not been, a heavy piece can arrive and have nowhere to go.

At container volume with a written specification and treated timber, Australia is the smoothest route on the site — see the Melbourne delivery.

Часто задаваемые вопросы

Shipping furniture to Australia, answered.

Сколько времени занимает доставка мебели из Китая в Австралию?

От 20 до 27 дней от порта до порта при перевозке полного контейнера из Шэньчжэня или Гуанчжоу в Мельбурн, Порт-Ботани или Брисбен, и от 21 до 31 дня при перевозке сборных грузов (LCL). К этому следует добавить от двух до четырёх недель на подготовку и консолидацию груза до отправления, а также от одной до двух недель на таможенное оформление, проверку на соответствие требованиям биобезопасности и оформление доставки в пункте назначения. С момента внесения задатка до доставки «от двери до двери» типичный заказ занимает от четырнадцати до шестнадцати недель.

Нужно ли мне платить импортную пошлину на мебель, ввозимую из Китая в Австралию?

Как правило, нет. Мебель китайского происхождения ввозится в Австралию по ставке пошлины 0% в соответствии с Соглашением о свободной торговле между Китаем и Австралией при условии, что к грузу прилагается действующий сертификат происхождения. В отсутствие такого сертификата применяется общая ставка 5%. Налог GST в размере 10% взимается отдельно с таможенной стоимости плюс пошлина, транспортные расходы и страхование, и его возмещение может быть запрошено предприятием, зарегистрированным в качестве плательщика GST.

Что такое МСФЗ № 15 и почему он важен для Австралии?

ISPM 15 — это международный стандарт обработки упаковки из массива дерева, обеспечивающий отсутствие в ней вредителей. Любая деревянная упаковка толщиной более 6 мм — ящики, поддоны, крепежные элементы — должна пройти термическую обработку или фумигацию и быть промаркирована знаком МКЗР. Австралийские требования к биобезопасности являются одними из самых строгих в мире: даже один необработанный поддон может привести к задержке контейнера, его фумигации за ваш счет и задержке доставки на неделю или две. Вся древесина в наших грузах проходит обработку и маркировку перед погрузкой, а соответствующий сертификат прилагается к документам.

Что дешевле при отправке в Австралию: сборный груз (LCL) или полный контейнер?

При объёме менее 15 м³ — сборные грузы (LCL). При объёме свыше этого предела 20-футовый контейнер обычно обходится дешевле в расчёте на кубический метр и всегда безопаснее для перевозки камня и массивной древесины, поскольку груз не транспортируется навалом рядом с грузами других грузоотправителей. Подвох в расценках на LCL заключается в том, что морской тариф за кубический метр выглядит небольшим, в то время как фиксированные сборы в пункте назначения — терминальная обработка, деконсолидация и таможенное оформление — взимаются независимо от того, отправляете ли вы 3 м³ или 12 м³.

Can you deliver into the house, not just to the kerb?

Yes, and we scope it before the ship sails. On our Melbourne delivery the container could not reach the house, so it was worked in the street and transferred to a box truck; on a two-storey job near Sydney a three-person crew carried slab pieces up the staircase. Carry-in, stairs, assembly and packaging removal are written into the quotation — a standard freight quote stops at the kerb.

What happens, and what does it cost, if biosecurity selects my container?

The container is held, inspected, and released or treated at your cost, typically adding one to two weeks. On this page we budget AUD 300–1,000 for fumigation, which is the common outcome when timber packaging fails. Selection is partly random, so the only real control is packaging that is correctly treated and marked, and documents that match. BICON and the current DAFF fee schedule are the authorities for your specific goods.

Do feather-filled cushions, leather or rattan need anything special?

Some do, and it is worth deciding before you order rather than at the wharf. Australian buyers report feather and genuine-leather items being held, and rattan, cane and bark-bearing timber all attract conditions. Tell us what is on the list and we check each one in BICON — some are importable with a treatment or a declaration, and some are not worth the delay they cause to the rest of the container.

How much rubbish does one container leave, and who takes it?

Roughly a tonne of crate timber, cardboard and wrap from a 40 ft container, and it goes only if somebody is paid to take it. You cannot put a container's worth of crating in a kerbside bin, and hard-rubbish rules differ by council. Packaging removal is a quoted line on every Australian delivery we run, and the crew clears it on the same day.

Send your list and your Australia address

Quantities, rooms or a rough list are enough. You get compared factory options, the packed volume, the container call and a landed estimate within one business day.

Поля, отмеченные требуются.

    No spam, no obligation. Replies come from the sourcing team in Foshan, usually within one business day.

    Sources & further reading

    Where these figures come from.

    Ocean freight is a spot market and moves monthly; duty and tax rules change without notice. Treat every figure here as a starting point and confirm it at booking with your broker.