smartraveller.gov.au - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Returning to Australia

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (Customs & Border Protection) and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) are the two main agencies that regulate the movement of people and goods across the Australian border.

When you return to Australia, there are a few basic things you need to know and can do, to make your return a quicker and easier process:

1. Have the correct documents completed and ready
2. Make sure you declare any items that may be restricted or prohibited or carry diseases or pests
3. Know your duty-free concessions

Documents

There are two documents that all travellers returning to Australia must have to enter the country; a valid Passport and a completed Incoming Passenger Card.

SMARTGATE

If you hold an Australian or New Zealand ePassport and are 18 years or over, you may be eligible to use SmartGate when arriving at Australian airports. SmartGate allows you to self-process through passport control using ePassport data and facial recognition technology.

Australia has very strict laws regarding what goods can and can't be brought into Australia. There are strong penalties for not declaring prohibited and restricted goods and/or for making a false declaration on your Incoming Passenger Card.

Every piece of luggage is now screened or x-rayed by AQIS and Customs & Border Protection officers, using detector dog teams and x-ray machines. If you fail to declare or dispose of any items that may be prohibited or restricted, or make a false declaration, you will get caught. In addition to on-the-spot fines, you could be prosecuted and fined and risk imprisonment. All international mail is also screened.

Declaring Quarantine

Be careful when you're returning to Australia that you don't bring in pests and diseases.

You must tick Yes to declare if you are carrying any food, meat, fruit, seeds, plants, plant material including wooden souvenirs, or animal products. If you have items you don't wish to declare, you can dispose of them in quarantine bins in the airport terminal.

In many cases the goods you declare will be returned to you after inspection. Some products may require treatment to make them safe. Items that are restricted because of the risk of pests and disease will be seized and destroyed.

Any item that presents a quarantine risk will be withheld. You will be given a range of options for each item depending on the quarantine risk:

• treating the item to make it safe (e.g. fumigation, irradiation)*;
• holding the item until an import permit is presented*;
• re-exporting the item*; and
• destroying the item.

* These options are subject to fees.

Declaring items at Customs & Border Protection

Examples of items you must declare:

• Firearms, weapons and ammunition
• Performance and image enhancing drugs
• Medicines including prescription medications, alternative and herbal medicines, vitamins and mineral preparation formulas.
• Currency – AUD $10,000 or more in Australian currency or foreign equivalent
• Protected wildlife such as coral, orchids, caviar, ivory and hunting trophies.
• Veterinary products
• Heritage-listed goods – such as works of art, stamps, coins, archaeological objects and specimens.

Declaring plant and animal products - Wildlife

In addition to approval from Customs & Border Protection and AQIS, many wildlife products require permits from the Department of the Environment , Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA).

If you buy wildlife products overseas, contact DEWHA before you return to find out if you need a permit. Without the correct permit, your product will be seized by Customs & Border Protection and stiff penalties could apply.

‘Wildlife' includes (but is not limited to) any whole, part or derivative of a plant or animal, either living or non-living. e.g. wood, seeds, insects, leather/fur, pills/medicines, faeces, teeth, meat, live plants, fresh or dried flowers etc.

Detector dogs

You may see detector dogs at the baggage carousel. AQIS detector dogs are Beagles and screen luggage for food, plant material or animal products. Customs & Border Protection detector dogs are Labradors and screen for drugs and explosives.

If you see a detector dog working close to you, please place your bags on the floor for inspection. Sometimes a dog will sit next to your bag if it sniffs a target odour. Sometimes dogs will detect odours left from food and goods you have had in the bag previously. A Customs & Border Protection or Quarantine officer may ask about the contents of your bag and check you are not carrying items that present a risk to Australia.

Health

If you are sick or feel unwell when you return to Australia, you should visit your doctor for a check up and inform them that you have been travelling or living outside of Australia.

Further information

For more detailed information about bringing in food, animals, plants, animal or plant materials or their derivatives, ring the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) on 1800 020 504.

For further details on Customs & Border Protection processes and requirements, please visit the Travellers section on the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service website, read through the Know Before You Go guide, telephone 1300 363 263 or +61 2 6275 6666.

For further details on the import and export of wildlife products, contact the Department of the Environment and Heritage, on 02 6274 1900 or email: wildlifetrade@deh.gov.au