Shipping from USA to Australia

Routes and transit times

From the West Coast, ships sail across the open Pacific from Los Angeles–Long Beach or Oakland to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, often calling at Auckland or the Pacific islands on the way. From the East and Gulf Coasts, cargo goes through the Panama Canal, or is railed to the West Coast first. It is a long lane with fewer weekly sailings than the transpacific trades.

Door to door, plan on roughly four to five weeks by sea from the West Coast and five to seven from the East, before allowing for biosecurity treatment. Airfreight takes about a week, express two to five working days. There is no public weekly benchmark for this lane, so enter your quoted rate in the calculator.

The stink bug season

The United States is a target risk country for the brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive pest Australia works hard to keep out. For the 2026–27 season, from 1 September 2026 to 30 April 2027, target high-risk goods shipped from the US, including vehicles, machinery, steel and many manufactured goods, must be treated by an approved provider before arrival or on arrival. Approved treatments are heat, methyl bromide or sulfuryl fluoride fumigation, and since the 2026–27 season ethyl formate is also an approved onshore option. Containers and LCL boxes holding target goods are covered as well as break-bulk.

In practice this means: check whether your goods' tariff classification is on the target list, book treatment with your forwarder before the container sails, and allow extra days and cost. Untreated target goods arriving in season can be exported back or held until treated.

Customs at both ends

• US export filing. An Electronic Export Information filing in AES is needed when a single Schedule B line is worth more than $2,500, or when an export licence is required.
• Duty under AUSFTA. The Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement removed duty on almost all US-origin goods. Keep origin documentation; goods made elsewhere and shipped from the US do not qualify.
• GST. 10 % on the customs value plus duty plus international freight and insurance. Consignments over A$1,000 need a full import declaration.
• Packaging. Wooden packaging must meet ISPM 15, and an import packing declaration goes with every container.

Mistakes on US–Australia shipments

• Shipping target goods in season without treatment. It is the single most expensive mistake on this lane.
• Used machinery and vehicles not cleaned. Soil and plant material on used equipment are refused regardless of season.
• Assuming East Coast cargo should go via Panama. Railing to Los Angeles and sailing from there can be quicker.
• Personal effects mixed with commercial cargo. They are cleared under different rules; ship them separately.