Written by Bertrand Théaud, Statrys Founder
20+ years in Asia as a corporate lawyer, investor, and fintech founder. I've sat on both sides of the table and seen the same avoidable mistakes hit founders again and again. The reviews and articles I write are for founders who'd rather skip the mistakes.
Key takeaways
Air and sea cargo worth AUD 1,000 or less uses a Self-Assessed Clearance declaration, while anything above needs a full import declaration with duties, taxes and charges paid.
Most Chinese-made goods enter duty-free under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, but only with valid proof of origin from AUD 1,000. GST of 10% applies either way.
Maersk’s peak season surcharge from Asia to Australia adds USD 500 per 20-foot and USD 1,000 per 40-foot container for departures from 1 November 2026, on non-spot bookings.
Payment-redirection scams cost Australian businesses AUD 166.8 million in reported losses in 2025, so verify any change of bank details by a trusted phone number or in person.
The duty rate is the least important number when you import from China into Australia. For most Chinese-made goods it is zero.
That sounds too good for a guide about import costs. But the numbers that move your landed cost sit elsewhere: whether your supplier sends a certificate of origin, and who is named as the importer. Then there's what your forwarder adds to the freight bill from November, and the part nobody quotes for you, which is getting paid in Australian dollars without losing a slice to conversion.
Miss one of those and a duty-free shipment still costs you more than it should.
This guide is written for a Hong Kong or Singapore trading company that buys from Chinese suppliers and sells into Australia. It covers who acts as importer, the AUD 1,000 threshold, duty and GST, freight surcharges, payment-redirection scams, and how to pay the supplier and collect AUD.
It is based on research conducted in October 2026 using guidance from the Australian Border Force (ABF), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). We also drew on Maersk's surcharge notice, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) scam guidance, and the payment flows we see from Statrys clients trading between China and other markets.
Who Is the Importer: You or Your Customer?
The importer is whoever owns the goods when they are cleared, and that is decided by the sales terms you agree with your Australian customer. Settle this before you quote, because it decides who pays duty and GST at the border.
Under DAP (delivered at place), you deliver the goods to your customer's door and the customer clears them and pays the import charges. Under DDP (delivered duty paid), your company is the importer and pays everything before the goods are released. Our guide on how to import from China explains how these terms shift cost and risk.
If your company is the importer, two things follow:
- Registration with the ABF. An organisation without an Australian Business Number (ABN) registers as a client in the ABF's Integrated Cargo System on form B319, so declarations can be made in its name. In practice, a licensed customs broker often lodges the declaration.
- GST registration. The ATO says a non-resident business must register for GST once its GST turnover from sales connected with Australia reaches AUD 75,000. A company that imports goods and holds them in Australia before selling them can't use simplified GST registration. It needs standard registration, which also lets it claim back the GST paid at the border.
The AUD 1,000 Threshold: Self-Assessed Clearance or Import Declaration
The value of the consignment decides which declaration it needs. The ABF's import declarations page sets the line at AUD 1,000.
| Consignment value | Declaration | What you pay at the border |
|---|---|---|
| AUD 1,000 or less (air or sea cargo) | Self-Assessed Clearance (SAC) declaration | No import processing charge; duty and taxes still apply to tobacco and alcohol |
| Over AUD 1,000 | Full import declaration (N10) | All relevant duties, taxes and charges, including an import processing charge, paid before release |
For anything over AUD 1,000, the ABF's wording is direct: "you must pay all relevant duties, taxes and other charges, including an import processing charge." International mail follows a separate process and can't use a SAC declaration.
A low-value shipment isn't automatically tax-free if you sell to consumers. The ATO applies GST to goods worth AUD 1,000 or less sold to Australian consumers, collected by the seller once it is registered. That rule targets online sales to individuals, not wholesale shipments to GST-registered businesses.
Separately, some products need biosecurity clearance whatever their value. The Department of Agriculture's BICON database lists the import conditions by product, so check it before you place the order.
Duty and GST on Goods From China
Australian duty on most Chinese goods is zero under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), and GST is 10%. The catch is paperwork: the zero rate only applies to goods that qualify as originating in China, and you have to prove it.
Duty Under ChAFTA
DFAT's guide to using ChAFTA says Australian tariffs on Chinese goods were fully eliminated by 1 January 2019, for goods that meet the agreement's rules of origin. Goods that don't qualify pay the general rate set in Schedule 3 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995.
To claim the zero rate, you need a certificate of origin issued by an authorised body in China, or in some cases a declaration of origin from the exporter. DFAT notes that neither country requires one for goods with a total customs value under AUD 1,000. Above that, ask your supplier for the certificate before the goods ship, not after they land. You can check the rate for your product's tariff code on DFAT's FTA Portal.
GST at the Border
GST on imports is 10% of the value of the taxable importation. The ABF calculates it on the customs value of the goods plus any duty, plus the cost of transporting and insuring them to Australia.
Freight therefore carries GST too. Every dollar of international freight, surcharges included, raises the GST bill by ten cents. If your company is registered for GST, it can usually claim that GST back as a credit; if it isn't, the GST is a straight cost.
Import Processing Charge
The ABF charges an import processing charge on every full import declaration. For electronic lodgement, its published rates are AUD 50 for consignments over AUD 1,000 and under AUD 10,000, and AUD 152 for consignments of AUD 10,000 or more. Documentary lodgement costs more (AUD 90 and AUD 192). Customs broker fees come on top and vary by broker.
Worked Example: One Container From China
The example below shows the border charges on one shipment, with and without a certificate of origin. The figures for the goods and freight are illustrative, not quotes; the GST rate and import processing charge are the ABF's published rates.
Assume goods with a customs value of AUD 20,000, and sea freight and insurance to Australia of AUD 3,000. For the "no certificate" column, assume the product's general tariff rate is 5%.
| Line | With certificate of origin (ChAFTA) | Without certificate (general rate 5%) |
|---|---|---|
| Customs value | AUD 20,000 | AUD 20,000 |
| Duty | AUD 0 | AUD 1,000 |
| Freight and insurance to Australia | AUD 3,000 | AUD 3,000 |
| Value of the taxable importation | AUD 23,000 | AUD 24,000 |
| GST at 10% | AUD 2,300 | AUD 2,400 |
| Import processing charge (electronic) | AUD 152 | AUD 152 |
| Paid at the border | AUD 2,452 | AUD 3,552 |
On this shipment, the certificate of origin is worth AUD 1,100: the AUD 1,000 duty plus the AUD 100 of GST charged on that duty. A GST-registered importer would usually recover the GST as a credit, which leaves the duty as the real cost of missing paperwork.
Freight: Forwarders and the 1 November Surcharge
Many importers book through a freight forwarder, a company that arranges the shipping and the paperwork. Ask every forwarder whether their quote includes peak season surcharges, because from November it may not.
Maersk has announced a peak season surcharge from Asia to Oceania of USD 500 per 20-foot container and USD 1,000 per 40-foot container to Australia. It applies from 17 Asian origins, including China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, for shipments with a price calculation date from 1 November 2026. Maersk says the surcharge does not apply to spot bookings.
That surcharge flows straight into the worked example above. On a 20-foot container, USD 500 more in freight also means 10% more GST on the converted amount, so check the final freight invoice against the quote before you pay it.
Payment-Redirection Scams: Check Before You Pay
A payment-redirection scam is an email, often from a hacked or look-alike address, telling you your supplier's bank details have changed. Pay it, and the money lands in the scammer's account instead of your supplier's.
The AFP reports that payment-redirection scams, also called business email compromise, caused AUD 166.8 million in reported losses in 2025, citing the National Anti-Scam Centre. Its October 2026 release advises businesses to "always verify payment or changes in bank account details using a trusted phone number or in-person", and never to use contact details provided in the email itself.
In practice, that means a few habits:
- Call before you send payment to new details. Use a number you already held for the supplier, not one from the email requesting the change.
- Compare against past invoices. A new account name, a new bank, a new country or a small change in the sender's email domain is a reason to stop.
- Treat urgency as a warning sign. Pressure to pay today, or to skip your usual approval step, is how these scams work.
- Report it fast. If money has gone, contact your payment provider through its official channel straight away and report it to police.
Our guide on how to pay Chinese suppliers includes a checklist for verifying supplier bank details. If you're still choosing suppliers, our China sourcing guide covers how to vet them first.
Paying the Supplier and Collecting AUD
A trading company in this flow usually pays out in Chinese yuan or US dollars and gets paid in Australian dollars. The cost hides in the conversions between the two, so it pays to hold each currency where you need it.
On the supplier side, Statrys's Hong Kong pricing page lists CNY among the currencies a business account can send. Paying in yuan rather than US dollars removes one conversion on the supplier's side, and the supplier payments guide linked above compares the methods in detail.
On the customer side, Statrys now offers Australian local currency account details to eligible clients with a Hong Kong business account. Once approved, the account comes with a BSB and account number, so Australian customers can pay you in AUD through Australia's domestic payment rails, as they would pay a local supplier. You request it from your existing dashboard by opening an additional account and selecting Australia. Clients with only a Singapore account need to open a Hong Kong account first.
Statrys accounts are for companies incorporated in Hong Kong or Singapore. If your company qualifies, you can open a Statrys business account online. 96% of clients opened their accounts within 3 business days, and FX fees start from 0.1%.
If you also sell into the UK, our guide to importing from China to the UK follows the same structure for GBP.
FAQs
Do I Pay Import Duty on Goods From China to Australia?
Usually not, if the goods qualify under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Tariffs on Chinese-origin goods were eliminated by 1 January 2019, but the zero rate needs a certificate of origin, or a declaration of origin in some cases, once the consignment's customs value reaches AUD 1,000. Goods that don't qualify pay the general rate in Schedule 3 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995. Check your product's tariff code on DFAT's FTA Portal.
How Much Tax Do I Pay When Importing From China to Australia?
GST is 10% of the value of the taxable importation, which is the customs value plus duty plus transport and insurance to Australia. For consignments over AUD 1,000, the ABF also charges an import processing charge of AUD 50 or AUD 152 for electronic lodgement, depending on value. A GST-registered importer can usually claim the GST back as a credit.
What Is the AUD 1,000 Import Threshold in Australia?
AUD 1,000 is the line between the two ways goods are cleared. Air and sea cargo worth AUD 1,000 or less goes through a Self-Assessed Clearance declaration with no import processing charge, though tobacco and alcohol still attract duty and taxes. Above AUD 1,000, the rules require a full import declaration and payment of all duties, taxes and charges before the goods are released.
Do I Need a Customs Broker to Import Into Australia?
Not by law. The ABF allows the importer or a licensed customs broker to lodge an import declaration, and importers who lodge themselves need access to the ABF's Integrated Cargo System, which has costs. Many importers use a broker anyway, because it also handles tariff classification and origin claims, which is where missing paperwork turns into duty.
Can an Overseas Company Import Goods Into Australia?
Yes. A company without an Australian Business Number registers as a client in the ABF's Integrated Cargo System using form B319, and a customs broker can lodge declarations on its behalf. If the company then sells the goods in Australia, the ATO requires GST registration once GST turnover from Australian sales reaches AUD 75,000, and standard registration if it holds stock in Australia before selling.
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