Shipping from China to Australia
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Table of Contents
1. Top 10 Chinese freight forwarders for shipping from China to Australia
Freight forwarders are shipping agents who can ship your cargo from one country to another country.
DAKA International Transport Company belongs to one of top 10 Chinese freight forwarders who specialize in door to door shipping from China to Australia/USA/UK by sea and air.
Top 10 Chinese freight forwarders for shipping from China to Australia
- Sino Shipping
- DAKA International Transport Company
- AMASS Global Network Group Co.,Ltd
- Charter Link Logistics Ltd
- Seabay International Freight Forwarding Ltd
- Anda Shun International Logistics Co., Ltd
- Winsky freight
- Super International Shipping
- Foresmart Forwarding Ltd
- Basenton Logistics
DAKA International Transport was founded in 2016, and we specialize in international shipping from China to Australia/from China to USA/from China to UK all the time. Our target customers are buyers in Australia/USA/UK. When these buyers need to import products from China to Australia, we can ship these products from their Chinese factories to consignee’s door in Australia/USA/UK.
As a professional freight forwarder China to Australia, DAKA International Transport cooperated with main vessel owners, including MSC, MSK, COSCO, EMC, etc. And we cooperated with main airline companies, including SQ, MU, CA, CZ, etc. Besides, we also cooperated with express company like DHL/UPS/FedEx.
DAKA Transport has professional and experienced team in handling customs clearance in both China and Australia/USA/UK. We can make customs clearance in each main seaport and airport of China. In Australia/USA/UK, we cooperated with local customs brokers so that we can make customs clearance in Australia/USA/UK too. When you import products from China to Australia, we can deliver the cargo from door to door with customs clearance included
We have warehouse in each main ports of China and in Australia/USA/UK. We can provide shipping related services including warehousing/palletisation/labelling, etc.
2. What can we do for shipping from China to Australia?
Sea freight from China to Australia
Air freight from China to Australia
Customs clearance in both China and in Australia
Shipping to Amazon warehouse
Warehousing
Insurance
3. Sea freight from China to Australia
Sea freight is the main China to Australia shipping way. More than 90% of products from China to Australia were shipped by sea.
Sea shipping means we ship your products by vessels. Nowadays, sea shipping is mainly by containers. We put your cargo in a 20ft/40ft container, and then we load the container onto a container vessel for shipping from China to Australia.
Below are are container sizes of 20ft/40ft containers :
| Container type | Length*width*height(meter) | Weight(kgs) | Volume(cubic meter) |
| 20GP(20ft) | 6m*2.35m*2.39m | About 26000kgs | About28cubicmeter |
| 40GP | 12m*2.35m*2.39m | About 26000kgs | About60cubicmeter |
| 40HQ | 12m*2.35m*2.69m | About 26000kgs | About65cubicmeter |
Shipping by sea can be divided into FCL and LCL shipping.
FCL shipping means Full Container Load shipping. It means that we ship your products in a whole container and no one share the container with you.
LCL shipping means Less than Container Load shipping. It means we load your products and others’ via sharing a container with others.
You can check below video to see how we organize sea freight from China to Australia.
FCL shipping from China to Australia
FCL is short for Full Container Load shipping.
FCL means that we ship your products in a whole 20ft or 40ft container. All products in the container are yours. No one else put their products in and no one share the container with you.
FCL Shipping Process
Booking space:
We get cargo information from customers and book a 20ft/40ft space with vessel owner.
Container loading:
We pick up the empty container from Chinese port and send the empty container to factory for container loading .( This is main container loading way. Another way is that factories send products to our Chinese warehouse, and we load products there). After container loading,we will truck the container back to port.
Chinese customs clearance:
We will prepare Chinese customs documents and make Chinese customs clearance.
Getting on board:
After Chinese customs release, the port will get the container onto vessel.
Australian customs clearance:
After vessel depart from China, we will coordinate with our AU team to prepare AU customs clearance docs. Then our AU colleagues will contact consignee to make AU customs clearance.
AU inland delivery to door:
After vessel arrive,we will deliver the container to consignee’s door in Australia. Before we deliver, we will confirm the delivery date with consignee so that they can prepare for unloading. After consignee unloaded the cargo, we will truck the empty container back to AU port.
How much is FCL sea shipping cost from China to Australia?
FCL shipping cost from China to Australia: Door to door and port to port costs differ. From port to port is much easier.
Door to door cost = Charges in China + ocean freight from port to port + charges in Australia
A: Charges in China
a: Pickup fee from Chinese factory: This depends on Chinese factory address.
b: Chinese customs fee: This will depend on if the Chinese factory have export license and what kinds of products, etc. Some products may need special license or quarantine.
c: Chinese port charges: Different ports in China has different port charges. Also, different vessel owners charge different port charges.
B: Ocean freight (from port to port):
This is decided by vessel owners. And in different month the ocean freight is different.
C: Charges in Australia
a: Australian port charges: This depends on which vessel owner and which Australian port
b: Australian customs clearance fee:It depends on what kind of products and how many. Some products may need special quarantine certificate or permit which will cause extra charges.
c: Australian inland delivery from AU port to consignee’s door: It depends on the detailed address and if the address is business or residential or rural areas. Some residential address can not support a container delivery. And when we deliver a container to Australian rural area we may need tailgate inspection fee.
d: Australian duty/GSTpaid to AU customs government: This is based on cargo value.
Above is the guide how we calculate FCL shipping cost from China to Australia.
Would like to fill below form to get a detailed shipping quotation from China to Australia?
FCL shipping cost from China to Australia
LCL shipping from China to Australia
LCL shipping means we load your products together with others in one container. Your products and others share a container. After vessel arrives at Australia, we will unpack the container and separate cargo in our AU warehouse, and then make delivery to consignee’s door.
Normally, when we use LCL shipping, we charge customers according to cubic meter, which means how much space your shipment takes up in the container.
LCL is very suitable for small shipments when you do not want to pay very high air shipping cost. DAKA Transport start from LCL shipping, so we are very professional and experienced.
LCL shipping process
Cargo entry into warehouse:
We get products from different customers into our Chinese warehouse. For each customer’s products, we will have a unique entry number so that we can distinguish.
Chinese customs clearance:
We make Chinese customs clearance for each customer’s products separately.
Container loading:
After we got Chinese customs release, we will pick up the empty container from Chinese port and load different customers’ products in. Then we send the container back to Chinese port.
Vessel departure:
The Chinese port staff will coordinate with vessel operator to get the container on board.
Australian customs clearance:
After vessel departs, we will coordinate with our AU team to prepare for AU customs clearance for each shipment in the container.
AU container unpacking:
After vessel arrives at AU port, we will get the container to our AU warehouse. My AU team will unpack the container and separate each customer’s cargo.
AU inland delivery:
Our AU team will contact consignee and deliver the cargo in loose packages.
Below Video show how we ship by LCL
How much is LCL sea shipping cost from China to Australia?
We calculate LCL shipping cost according to the weight (kgs) or volume(cubic meter) of your products, whichever is greater. Usually 1CBM is equal to 1ton (1000KGS). For example, if the cargo is 5cubic meter 2000kgs(2 tons), we charge as 5cubic meters. If the cargo is 5cubic meters, 10000kgs, we charge as 10000kgs(10 tons).
Also, we need to know what are the products/ the detailed address in China and in Australia to calculate exact door to door shipping cost from China to Australia by LCL.
Would you like to fill below form so that we can calculate LCL shipping cost from China to Australia?
LCL shipping cost from China to Australia
4. Transit time by sea from China to Australia
Port to Port Transit time
Transit time from main ports in China to main ports in Australia is about 12 to 25 days, depending on the port location.
For example, from Shenzhen port in China to Sydney takes about 12 to 15 days.
From Shanghai port in China to Melbourne, it takes about 15 to 18 days.
From Qingdao port in China to Brisbane, it takes about 20 to 27 days.
If you ship products from China to remote ports in Australia like Fremantle, Adelaide, Townsville or Hobart or Darwin, it takes longer.
Door to Door Transit time
How we calculate the door to door transit time by sea?
Door to door transit time will depend on the detailed address in China and in Australia.
For example, if the Chinese factory address and the Australian delivery address are within 50 kilometers from the port, for FCL shipping, you can calculate door to door transit time by adding one week on top of port to port transit time.
If you choose LCL shipping via sharing a container with others, you can add 10 days on top of port to port transit time.
Below is the transit time by sea from China to Australia:
| From | To | Port To Port | Door To Door by FCL | Door To Door by LCL |
| Shenzhen | Sydney | 12-16 days | 19-23 days | 22-26 days |
| Shenzhen | Melbourne | 12-16 days | 19-23 days | 22-26 days |
| Shenzhen | Brisbane | 14-20 days | 21 -27 days | 24-30 days |
| Ningbo | Sydney | 14-17 days | 21-24 days | 24-27 days |
| Ningbo | Melbourne | 14-17 days | 21-24 days | 24-27 days |
| Ningbo | Brisbane | 17-23 days | 24-30 days | 27-33 days |
| Shanghai | Sydney | 15-18 days | 22-25 days | 25-28 days |
| Shanghai | Melbourne | 15-18 days | 22-25 days | 25-28 days |
| Shanghai | Brisbane | 17-23 days | 24-30 days | 27-33 days |
| Qingdao | Sydney | 18-20 days | 25-27 days | 28-30 days |
| Qingdao | Melbourne | 18-20 days | 25-27 days | 28-30 days |
| Qingdao | Brisbane | 20-27 days | 27-34 days | 30-37 days |
This video show the transit time from China to Australia.
5. Air freight from China to Australia
There are two air shipping ways from China to Australia. One way is called shipping by express like DHL/FedEx/UPS. Another way is called shipping by airline.
Shipping by Express
Shipping by express means that DAKA International Transport Company open an account in DHL/FedEx/UPS express company, and then we ship our customers’ products via DAKA’ account.
As a freight forwarder China to Australia, DAKA have large quantity so, we can enjoy very cheap contracting rate from DHL/FedEx/UPS. That is why our customers say it is cheaper to ship via DAKA’s account than via their own account. Also, we can save a lot of time and efforts for our customers to open an account with the express company by themselves
When we ship by express, we can pick up the cargo from the Chinese factory and then deliver the cargo to the Chinese airport warehouse of DHL/FedEx/UPS, etc. Then DHL/FedEx/UPS will deliver the cargo to consignee’s door. At the same time we will prepare shipping and customs docs required by express company.
Shipping by Airline
Shipping by airline means that we book a separate space on the airplane to ship your cargo from China to Australia. Normally, when your cargo is more than 200kgs, it is cheaper to ship by airline than by express.
Below are the steps of how we organize shipping by airline from door to door
Booking space：
We get cargo information from our customers and book air shipping space with airline company in advance.
Cargo entry:
We will get the products to our Chinese airport warehouse.
Chinese customs clearance:
We coordinate with your Chinese factory to make Chinese customs clearance.
Airplane departure:
After we got Chinese customs release, the airport will coordinate with airline company to get the cargo onto airplane.
AU customs clearance:
After airplane departure, DAKA coordinates with our Australian team to prepare for AU customs clearance.
AU inland delivery to door:
After airplane arrive, DAKA’s AU team will pick up the cargo from airport and deliver to consignee’s door as per instruction from our customers.
The difference between by express and by airline
Shipping by express is good for products less than 100kgs. For example, if you have 1kg or 10kgs of products, it is impossible to book a separate space on the airplane. For products less than 100kgs like small samples, we suggest to ship by express.
Shipping by airline is suitable when your air shipment is more than 200kgs. For example, if you have 500kgs of clothes to be shipped by air from China to Australia, I would suggest you to ship by airline which is much cheaper than by express.
Transit time by air from China to Australia
Transit time by air from China to Australia is about 3 to 5 working days. This is from the airplane departure date to the date that cargo arrives at consignee’s door.
The two air shipping ways (by express and by airline) can have almost same transit time.
How to calculate chargeable weight for air shipping from China to Australia?
By express
When we ship by express, we charge on actual weight and volume weight, whichever is larger. 1CBM is equal to 200kgs.
For example,
A: If your cargo is 50kgs and the volume is 0.1CBM, the volume weight is 0.1CBM*200KGS/CBM=20kgs. The chargeable weight is according to actual weight which is 50kgs
B: If your cargo is 50kgs and the volume is 0.3CBM, the volume weight is 0.3CBM*200KGS/CBM=60KGS. The chargeable weight is according to volume weight which is 60kgs
By airline
When we ship by airline, we charge on actual weight and volume weight whichever is larger. 1CBM is equal to 167kgs.
For example,
A: If your cargo is 500kgs and the volume is 1CBM, the volume weight is 1CBM*167KGS/CBM=167kgs. The chargeable weight is according to actual weight which is 500kgs
B: If your cargo is 500kgs and the volume is 4CBM, the volume weight is 4CBM*167KGS/CBM= 668KGS. The chargeable weight is according to volume weight which is 668kgs
You can check this video to easily understand air freight from China to Australia
Air shipping cost from China to Australia
To calculate air shipping cost door to door from China to Australia, we need to know the detailed Chinese factory address, Australian address, what are the products and what is the weight and volume(cubic meter) etc.
Would you like to fill below form to get an exact air shipping cost from DAKA International Transport Company?
Air shipping cost from China to Australia
6. Customs clearance for shipping from China to Australia.
When we ship from China to Australia, we need to make export customs clearance in China and import customs clearance in Australia.
Export customs clearance in China
For general products’ exporting from China, we need the Chinese factory to provide exporting license, commercial invoice , packing list, contract and fill in the Chinese customs entry form. If a Chinese factory do not have export license, we need to export under the name of a trading company.
Usually, there is no export duty/tax charged by Chinese government when you ship products out from China.
Import customs clearance in Australia
For general products’ importing into Australia, we need below documents for AU customs clearance :
- Bill of lading
- Commercial invoice
- Packing list
- Packing declaration
- FTA certificate
FTA certificate is also called COO certificate. It is used to demonstrate the products were made in China. As China signed a free trade agreement with Australia, with FTA certificate Chinese products can enjoy duty concession in Australia. We can also make AU customs clearance without FTA certificate, but you need to pay more duty to AU customs.
Australian customs/government will impose duty/tax on the importing products, and we call it AU duty/GST invoice.
AU duty/GST invoice is issued by Australian government/customs and it consists of three parts which are duty, GST, entry charge.
Duty is normally 5% but with FTA certificate, it can be zero for most Chinese products.
GST is 10% of the cargo value.
Entry charge is about AUD75 to AUD300, which is also charged by AU customs/government, and the exact amount is related to cargo value.
However, according to AU customs law, if your cargo value is less than AUD1000, we can apply for zero AU duty, GST, and entry charge. You pay nothing to AU customs/government.
7. Australian inland trucking way to consignee’s door
Container trucking way
When we deliver a 20ft/40ft container to consignee’s door in Australia, we can use standard trailer and sideloader.
Standard trailer means we deliver the container to consignee’s door, and the container will stay on the truck. The driver will wait there and consignee have about one hour free to empty the container. After unloading driver will go back with empty container.
Sideloader trucking means we deliver the container to consignee’s door and will drop the container onto ground for consignee’s unloading. The driver will go back immediately. Consignee has about two days to empty the container. After the container is empty, we will ask the driver to come back to pick up the empty container. If consignee use sideloader trucking, there should be enough space in their address to hold a container.
Loose cargo trucking way
When we truck loose cargo to consignee’s door in Australia, there are three types of trucking ways in Australia that is standard truck, tail lift truck and crane(HIAB truck).
Standard truck: We require consignee to provide forklift or other unloading facilities
Tail lift truck: We can put the cargo onto ground via the tail lift platform in the end of a truck.
Crane(HIAB) truck: This is usually used when we deliver oversized package
8. How to calculate total cost of shipping from China to Australia?
The total cost you need to pay when you import products from China to Australia consist below three parts :
- Product cost paid to Chinese factory
- Shipping cost from China to Australia paid to shipping agent like DAKA International Transport Company
- Australian duty/GST paid to AU customs/government
1. Product cost paid to Chinese factory :
For example, if you buy some furniture from China, you can find a Chinese factory on Chinese online selling website like Alibaba or Made in China. You can let the Chinese factory quote the product price. I suggest you to ask the Chinese factory if the product price is under FOB or EXW.
For example, you get USD10000 for the sofa under FOB.
2.Shipping cost paid to shipping agent
After you get the product price, you can let the Chinese factory estimate the weight (kilograms) and volume (cubic meter) of your product.
You can tell your Chinese factory that you need the weight and volume to get shipping cost from China to Australia, then you can decide if you will put an order. Most Chinese factories would be happy to provide.
For example, you get shipping cost from DAKA International Transport, that is USD1500 from Chinese factory to your door in Australia
3.AU duty/GSTpaid to AU customs/government
AU duty/GST invoice is charged by AU customs/government which is based on cargo value.
AU duty/GST consist of three parts which are duty, GST and entry charge. Duty can be zero if we provide FTA certificate. GST is 10% of cargo value. Entry charge is from about AUD75 to AUD300 depending on the cargo value.
For example, if the sofa is USD10000, AU duty/GST invoice is about USD1100 with FTA certificate
So total cost for you to import from China to Australia for this sofa is :
product cost + shipping cost + AU duty/gst = USD10000+ USD1500+USD1100= USD12600
You paid USD12600 and you can get the sofa from the Chinese factory to your door in Australia.
Below video also show how we calculate total cost for shipping from China to Australia :
9. How to reduce shipping costs and shorter transit time?
The shipping cost from China to Australia and transit time will affect your importing from China to Australia a lot. One reason why many companies or individuals do not buy products from China is because they don’t know how to organize international shipping from China to Australia and customs clearance.
How to reduce shipping cost and transit time from China to Australia? How to optimize your shipping from China to Australia?
1.Make a shipping plan in advance.
Shipping cost and transit time are mainly decided by shipping way.
When you choose shipping by sea, it usually means cheaper shipping cost and longer transit time. Shipping by air will be more expensive but with shorter transit time.
Before you import the products from China to Australia, you can tell your shipping agent when you need the products at your door in Australia, then your shipping agent like DAKA International Transport Company will advise when the cargo needs to be finished by Chinese factory, when the cargo should get onto vessel or airplane and the delivery date to your door in Australia.
During peak shipping seasons, a shipping plan can let us book vessel or airplane in advance so that we can avoid waiting after factories finish production. Also, Chinese factories can better organize production according to vessel/airplane schedule.
2. Peak seasons and off-seasons in international shipping
There are peak seasons and off-seasons in shipping from China to Australia. Peak seasons is usually before Christmas and Chinese lunar new year which is usually from September to February. Off-seasons is from February to August. Each year is a little different. If you can organize international shipping from China to Australia in off-seasons, you can save shipping cost. Sometimes shipping cost in peak seasons can be thousands of USD higher than off-seasons.
3. consolidate different products in one shipment
When you buy products from different suppliers in China, it will be cheaper to consolidate different factories’ products in one shipment. It will be much cheaper than separate shipping from China to Australia.
DAKA International Transport Company has warehouse in China. You can let your different suppliers send products to our Chinese warehouse. After we get all products into our warehouse, we will ship all together in one shipment from China to Australia by sea or air.
Below video is an example of how we consolidate products from different Chinese factories into one container.
4. Find a reliable shipping agent China to Australia
Normally, we would not suggest Australian buyers let the Chinese factory organize the shipping from China to Austalia. As the Chinese factories is only professional in producing production. They are not professional and experienced as a shipping agent China to Australia. Just like a shipping agent is not professional in producing products.
DAKA International Transport Company is a professional and experienced shipping agent China to Australia. We specialize in door to door shipping by sea and air from China to Australia. DAKA Transport is your reliable freight forwarder China to Australia.
10. What are the main ports in China and Australia?
China and Australia are two big countries. When we ship from China to Australia, we need to choose the nearest container port from the Chinese factory and the nearest Australian port from consignee.
Below are the main container ports in China (from south China to north China)
- Shekou port and Yantian port in Shenzhen city
- Nansha port in Guangzhou city
- Xiamen port
- Ningbo port
- Shanghai port
- Qingdao port
- Tianjin port
Below are the main ports in Australia :
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Brisbane
- Adelaide
- Fremantle
- Townsville
- Darwin
DAKA International Transport Company can ship your products from all main ports in China to all main ports in Australia.
You can just tell DAKA Transport the Chinese factory address and Australian address, we will suggest the most suitable container port.
DAKA can also make a door to door shipping solution by sea or air from China to Australia including customs clearance in both China and Australia.
11. Two Key points when importing from China to Australia
DAKA International Transport Company cooperated with many buyers in Australia/USA/UK. When they import products from China to Australia, they usually forgot to talk about the trade terms and packing requirements with their Chinese factories.
1.Trade term
Trade terms between buyer and seller decide how much shipping cost from China to Australia buyer or seller needs to share.
Trade terms include EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP, etc.
EXW means buyer needs to pick up the products from Chinese factory and pay all shipping cost from China to Australia from door to door.
FOB means the seller will pay for Chinese customs fee and ship the products to Chinse port and under FOB buyer pay shipping cost from Chinese port to consignee’s door.
As we worked with many overseas Buyers in Australia/USA/UK, we think FOB is the best trade term when you import from China to Australia. Under FOB, you can use your own shipping agent and control the shipping from China to Australia. Actually more than 80% of exporting from China is under FOB.
Below video explain how trade terms will affect shipping cost.
2.Packaging notes
Some Chinese factories don’t understand how to pack the products to meet the requirements of international shipping from China to Australia and Australian rules. Also, most Australian buyers only focus on the product quality and payment terms and forget to talk about the packaging requirements with their Chinese factory
First, raw wood can not be used in the packaging material. Australia is very strict in raw wood as raw wood may contain pests, pathogens, and microorganisms.
Australia is an island country; when we bring the oversea pests or pathogens into Australia, it may cause biosecurity risk to local environment.
For each shipment AU customs requires us to provide packing declaration to demonstrate there is no raw wood. In case there is raw wood, we need to make fumigation, and the fumigation cost is usually higher than replacing the raw wood packaging
Secondly, for overweight and oversized packages, we would suggest the Chinese factory to add a forklift feet. Most Chinese factories think they can let 3 or 4 workers to carry the package together to move the cargo so they did not add a forklift feet. Yes, we can do that in China. But in Australia, it is illegal to move them like this way as it is not safe for the AU workers. That is why for overweight/oversized package, we need a forklift feet which should not less than 10 centimeters.
12. FAQ
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1. commercial invoice 2. packing list 3. packing declaration 4. Bill of lading 5. FTA certificate.
Seaport to seaport is about 2 to 3 weeks. Door to door by sea is about 4 to 5 weeks; airport to airport is about 1 to 3 days; Door to door by air is about 5 to 7 days
Yes, we can pick up the products from your Chinese supplier. And we can deliver the cargo to your door in Australia, including customs clearance in Australia.
FTA certificate is also called as COO certificate. It is used to demonstrate that the products were made in China. It is usually provided by your Chinese factory. If your Chinese factory can not do it, DAKA Transport can get the FTA certificate for you from our trading company.
If your cargo value is less than AUD1000, you have no need to pay AU duty and tax. If your cargo value exceeds AUD1000, you need to AU duty and GST and Duty can be free if we provide FTA certificate. Using a reliable freight forwarder China to Australia ensures smooth shipping from China to Australia, including managing import tax from China to Australia.