Importing into Australia: Customs Declarations, the ICS and Biosecurity Explained

Commercial goods entering Australia have to clear two separate gates. The Australian Border Force (ABF) clears them for customs, collecting duty, GST and charges through the Integrated Cargo System (ICS). The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) clears them for biosecurity under the Biosecurity Act 2015. The key takeaway: a consignment worth more than AUD 1,000 needs a full Import Declaration (N10) with duty and GST paid before release, a consignment worth AUD 1,000 or less needs a Self-Assessed Clearance (SAC) declaration, and biosecurity rules apply at any value. Customs release on its own does not free your goods. This guide covers both gates as of October 2026, including the brown marmorated stink bug season that is running now. For the general mechanics of clearance in any country, see our customs clearance explainer.

Who does what at the Australian border

Most of the confusion about importing into Australia comes from treating it as one process. It is three overlapping ones.

• Cargo reporting. The shipping line, airline or forwarder (the cargo reporter) reports the cargo to the ABF in the ICS before it arrives. According to the ABF's cargo reporting guidance, sea cargo reports are generally due 48 hours before the vessel's estimated arrival at the first Australian port (shorter voyages have different timing set by regulation), and air cargo reports 2 hours before the aircraft's estimated arrival.
• Customs clearance. The importer, or a licensed customs broker acting for them, lodges a declaration in the ICS: an Import Declaration (N10) for home consumption, a Warehouse Declaration (N20) to move goods into a licensed warehouse, or a SAC for low-value consignments.
• Biosecurity clearance. Goods that carry biosecurity risk are referred to DAFF, which assesses documents, may order inspection or treatment, and releases the goods from biosecurity control. DAFF's import conditions live in BICON (covered below).

The ABF states plainly that the importer is responsible for completing and submitting the Import Declaration, and that the ABF will not complete it for you. That responsibility stays with the importer even when a broker does the lodging.

Full Import Declaration vs Self-Assessed Clearance: the AUD 1,000 line

As of October 2026, the ABF's import declaration guidance sets the dividing line at AUD 1,000 of consignment value. Value here means the customs value, which in Australia is generally the FOB value (more on that below).

The figures come from the ABF's Import Processing Charge table (page last updated 13 August 2026) and Australian Customs Notice 2026/23, which raised the biosecurity charge on full import declarations from AUD 46 to AUD 48 for air and from AUD 68 to AUD 71 for sea, effective 1 July 2026. A documentary (paper) Import Declaration costs more: AUD 90 or AUD 192 depending on the value band.

The three kinds of SAC

A SAC is not a blank exemption. The ABF describes three formats:

• Cargo Report SAC: made by the cargo reporter alongside its cargo report. It is only allowed when the value is AUD 1,000 or less, the goods description does not trip the ABF's SAC Thesaurus (or the goods are not alcohol, tobacco or restricted), and the goods are not being referred to DAFF. If your forwarder or carrier does not make one, they should tell you that you must lodge your own.
• Short format SAC: minimal information, lodged by anyone with an ICS digital certificate and registration (the importer, a SAC service provider or a broker). It can also be used to pay duty and GST on tobacco and alcohol.
• Long format SAC: the only SAC format allowed when the goods need an import permit (the other option in that case is a full N10).

Common misconception: "under AUD 1,000 means no paperwork and no checks." The opposite is true for anything with biosecurity risk. A low-value parcel of seeds, timber goods, food or used equipment is still subject to DAFF's import conditions, and a Cargo Report SAC cannot be used if the goods are being referred to DAFF.

How duty and GST are calculated

Customs value is FOB, not CIF

Under Division 2 of Part VIII of the Customs Act 1901, the customs value is usually the transaction value: the price actually paid or payable, converted to Australian dollars. The ABF's own guidance is that this value does not include freight and insurance from the place of export to Australia. Inland freight and insurance incurred before the goods leave the place of export are included. That is the reverse of the CIF basis used in the EU, the UK and many other markets, so do not copy a European landed cost model across. For the general rules on what goes into dutiable value, see how customs value is calculated.

Duty is then the tariff rate for the goods' classification in the Customs Tariff applied to that value. Many lines carry a general rate of 5% or are free, and a valid free trade agreement claim can reduce the rate further, but the only reliable answer is the rate against your exact tariff classification. Getting the code right matters more than anything else on the declaration: see how to find the right HS code and how to use FTA origin documents.

GST on the value of the taxable importation

GST is 10%, but not 10% of the invoice. According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), it is 10% of the value of the taxable importation, which adds together:

1. the customs value (FOB, as above);
2. any customs duty payable;
3. the cost of transporting the goods to their place of consignment in Australia;
4. the insurance for that transport; and
5. any wine equalisation tax payable.

So the international freight that is left out of the customs value comes back in for GST. A simple illustration: goods with a customs value of AUD 20,000 at a 5% duty rate (AUD 1,000), with AUD 2,000 of freight and AUD 300 of insurance, give a taxable value of AUD 23,300 and GST of AUD 2,330. GST is payable whether or not the importer is GST-registered; a registered business can usually claim it back as an input tax credit, and eligible registered importers can apply to the ATO's deferred GST scheme to pay import GST through their activity statement instead of at the border.

The low-value goods GST regime

Since 1 July 2018, GST has applied to sales of goods valued at AUD 1,000 or less to Australian consumers. It is not collected at the border. Instead, overseas merchants, electronic distribution platforms (marketplaces) and re-deliverers with Australian turnover of AUD 75,000 or more register with the ATO and charge GST at the point of sale. This is why a SAC consignment shows no border GST even though the consumer paid GST at checkout. For business-to-business purchases, a GST-registered buyer who gives the seller its ABN and states that it is registered should generally not be charged this GST, because it is accounted for through the business's own GST reporting. If your importing is B2B, make sure suppliers have your ABN.

The biosecurity layer: BICON, permits and packaging

Check BICON before you buy, not when the goods land

BICON (the Biosecurity Import Conditions system) is DAFF's database of import conditions, and DAFF describes it as the same information its border staff use when clearing goods. A BICON search tells you whether a commodity is permitted, whether it is subject to conditions, which documents and treatments it needs, and whether you need an import permit. Two points trip importers up:

• No permit does not mean no conditions. Many goods need no permit but still need a treatment certificate, a manufacturer's declaration or an inspection.
• Permits come first. Goods that need a BICON import permit must not be shipped to Australia until the importer holds a valid one. DAFF's stated service standards are about 20 business days for a standard application and 40 for a non-standard one, counted from payment of a complete application. Since 16 May 2026, BICON permit applications also ask whether the applicant is an agent and require confirmation that the importer authorised them.

For plant products that also need an exporting country's certificate, see phytosanitary certificates and plant import permits.

Packing declarations, timber and straw

For sea freight, DAFF requires a packing declaration from the packer of the container for both FCL and LCL shipments (not for air or breakbulk). It states what packaging was used, including whether timber, bamboo or straw is present, and for FCL it must also address container cleanliness. If the declaration is missing or incomplete, the container is directed to an approved site for inspection, with the delay and charges falling on the importer. Annual packing declarations are accepted and are valid for 12 months from issue.

Solid timber and bamboo packaging must be declared and must be ISPM 15 compliant, treated before export by an approved method, or treated on arrival. Bark must be removed. Plywood, veneer and other reconstituted wood packaging is not treated as timber packaging. Straw is prohibited as packing, as are materials such as hay, chaff, rice hulls and used tyres. See ISPM 15 wood packaging rules for the marking and treatment detail.

The 2026-27 brown marmorated stink bug season

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a serious agricultural pest that hitches a ride in cargo, containers and vessels from the northern hemisphere autumn onward. As of October 2026, DAFF's seasonal measures apply as follows:

• Dates: goods shipped between 1 September 2026 and 30 April 2027 inclusive. "Shipped" means the shipped-on-board date on the ocean bill of lading; terminal gate-in dates are not accepted. Vessel measures run on a longer window.
• Target risk countries: industry summaries of DAFF's 2026-27 measures report the list as unchanged from 2025-26. It covers most of continental Europe, the United States, Canada, Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, among others. Check the full list on DAFF's BMSB page before relying on any summary.
• Emerging risk countries: the United Kingdom, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Goods from these countries are not subject to mandatory treatment, but may face random onshore inspection, and DAFF reports heightened vessel surveillance for China, Japan and Korea.
• Target high risk goods: goods in specified tariff chapters (including timber, stone and ceramic articles, iron and steel and other base metals, plus machinery and vehicles) from target risk countries need mandatory treatment, either offshore by a DAFF-approved treatment provider or, where the pathway allows, onshore. Target risk goods face increased random inspection rather than mandatory treatment.
• Treatments: heat, methyl bromide and sulfuryl fluoride, with ethyl formate approved as an onshore option from August 2026 (it was previously offshore only).
• What has gone: the Safeguarding Arrangements Scheme, which let some importers avoid treatment of containerised goods, is no longer available from 2026-27, and approvals from earlier seasons are not valid. The Rolled Goods Policy, which gave rolled breakbulk an extra 48 hours, has also been removed, so the standard 120-hour window from treatment to shipment applies.

The practical consequence: a machinery shipment from Germany booked for a late-August sailing but rolled to a vessel that loads on 2 September is shipped inside the season, and the seasonal treatment rules apply to it even though it was planned outside them. Containers with target high risk goods must be treated at container level, so plan LCL and mixed loads with your origin forwarder before cargo cut-off, not after.

Licensed customs brokers: when you need one

Australian customs brokers are licensed by the ABF under Part XI of the Customs Act 1901. Licences come in three types: corporate brokerages, sole traders and nominees (individuals who must hold a recognised qualification, usually the Diploma of Customs Broking, and work for a brokerage). Licences run for up to three years and carry ongoing conditions, including continuing professional development, and the ABF publishes a list of licensed brokers.

You are allowed to lodge your own declarations if you register for the ICS and hold a digital certificate, but the ABF itself encourages first-time and infrequent importers to use a licensed broker. A broker handles tariff classification, valuation, FTA claims and the DAFF referral, and answers the biosecurity questions that drive inspections. Many freight forwarders in Australia either employ licensed brokers or partner with a brokerage. For the trade-offs between broker, forwarder and self-filing, see do you need a customs broker.

Documents to have ready

• Commercial invoice showing price, currency, Incoterm and any inland costs to the place of export
• Bill of lading or air waybill (the ocean bill's shipped-on-board date matters in BMSB season)
• Packing list and, for sea freight, the packing declaration
• Treatment certificates (ISPM 15, BMSB or fumigation) where BICON or the seasonal measures require them
• Any BICON import permit, plus the exporting country's certificates it names
• Certificate or declaration of origin for an FTA preference claim
• Your ABN and, if registered, deferred GST details

What to do next

1. Classify the goods and confirm the duty rate and any FTA preference before you agree a price, then model GST on the value of the taxable importation, not the invoice.
2. Run every product through BICON and apply for any import permit before the goods are shipped.
3. If you ship from a BMSB target or emerging risk country between now and 30 April 2027, confirm with your origin forwarder whether the goods are target high risk and book treatment against the shipped-on-board date.
4. Decide who lodges: register for the ICS yourself, or appoint a licensed customs broker and give them complete documents early.

If you need an Australian broker or a forwarder at origin who handles BMSB treatment, more than 29,300 logistics companies are searchable by country and service in the CargoLinked directory, and our overview of logistics companies in Australia is a starting point. You can also post your shipment on the public requests board, which lists freight that shippers have posted for forwarders to quote on directly.

This guide is general information as of October 2026, not legal, tax or customs advice. Charges, thresholds and biosecurity measures change, sometimes mid-season. Confirm current requirements with the Australian Border Force, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (including BICON), the Australian Taxation Office or a licensed customs broker before you ship.