Our move process, enquiry to delivered
Nine stages, in order, with honest timings. Most process pages tell you the mover handles everything, which is reassuring and useless. This one also says what we need from you and by when — because four of these stages carry a deadline that is yours, not ours, and missing them is what costs money.
In short
It starts with a pre-move survey, because everything downstream depends on the cubic-metre volume it produces. Then a quote against that volume, booking, preparation, packing and collection, six to twelve weeks at sea, Australian customs and biosecurity clearance, and delivery. typically 3–5 months from first enquiry to delivered, on a sea freight move.
The decision that costs the most
Before the stages, the thing worth understanding. Two timelines run on an international move — your visa and your shipment — and they are independent. Neither waits for the other, and both have to land somewhere near the same date.
Our advice is usually to book six to eight weeks before your intended collection date and accept a short period of storage if the visa slips, because storage is cheaper than replacing a household. But it depends on how firm your grant looks, and it is a conversation worth having at the quote stage rather than after.
The nine stages at a glance
| Stage | Typically takes | Needs from you |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Enquiry | Same day | Destination city, and your approximate move date even if it is not fixed. |
| 2. Pre-move survey | 10 minutes to 2 weeks, depending on type | Decide what is NOT going before the survey, not after. Every cubic metre removed comes off the price. |
| 3. Quote and booking | A few working days after the survey | Read what is excluded, not just the headline figure. Customs clearance, quarantine inspection, port charges and final delivery are the usual omissions elsewhere. |
| 4. Before packing day | 1–2 weeks before collection | Clean everything that has been outdoors. Soil on garden tools, bikes and boots holds up more containers than anything anyone would think of as contraband. |
| 5. Packing and collection | 1–3 days on site | Be present, or nominate someone who can make decisions. |
| 6. In transit | Typically 6–12 weeks by sea, depending on corridor and service | Complete and return the B534 statement, accurately. A wrong answer here is a clearance delay, and a false one is an offence. |
| 7. Australian customs and biosecurity | A few days to a few weeks | Be reachable. Clearance questions are time-sensitive and an unanswered email is a container in storage. |
| 8. Delivery and unpacking | Within days of clearance | Be there, and check the inventory off as it comes in. |
| 9. After delivery | First weeks in Australia | Report damage or loss inside the claims window in your policy. Miss it and a valid claim becomes unrecoverable. |
Enquiry
You tell us roughly what and where, and we work out what kind of move this is.
Typically takes: Same day
What we do
- Confirm we serve your origin and destination, and flag anything unusual about the corridor.
- Recommend which survey type suits the size and complexity of your move.
- Answer the questions that decide whether to proceed at all — rough cost band, rough timeline.
What we need from you
- Destination city, and your approximate move date even if it is not fixed.
- Rough size of the property, and whether you have a garage, loft or garden contents.
- Anything awkward — a piano, artwork, a safe, a vehicle, pets.
What causes delay here
Nothing much. This stage only stalls if the destination address is genuinely undecided, because access at the far end affects the quote.
Pre-move survey
Someone lists everything going, which produces the cubic-metre volume your price is built on.
Typically takes: 10 minutes to 2 weeks, depending on type
What we do
- Build an item-by-item inventory, in your home, over video, or against your own self-survey.
- Assess access at origin: parking, street width, stairs, lifts, whether a shuttle vehicle is needed.
- Identify anything needing dismantling or bespoke crating.
What we need from you
- Decide what is NOT going before the survey, not after. Every cubic metre removed comes off the price.
- Open everything — loft, garage, shed, outbuildings, garden. On a video call we can only see what you point the camera at.
- Say if access is difficult at either end.
What causes delay here
Booking an in-home appointment adds a week or two. If you are not at the property, an in-home survey is not an option at all.
Quote and booking
A firm price against the surveyed volume, and the decisions that go with accepting it.
Typically takes: A few working days after the survey
What we do
- Issue a written quote stating the volume, the service level, and what is included.
- Set out the insurance options against declared value, and what owner-packed cartons are and are not covered for.
- Hold a sailing slot once you confirm.
What we need from you
- Read what is excluded, not just the headline figure. Customs clearance, quarantine inspection, port charges and final delivery are the usual omissions elsewhere.
- Decide on insurance and declare a realistic value. Under-insuring to save a little is a poor trade on an irreplaceable shipment.
- Confirm in time to hold the slot — six to eight weeks before collection is comfortable.
What causes delay here
Deciding late in the northern summer peak, when sailings fill and you take whatever space remains.
Before packing day
The fortnight that decides whether your shipment clears biosecurity cleanly.
Typically takes: 1–2 weeks before collection
What we do
- Confirm the collection date and the crew size.
- Send the paperwork you will need to complete, including the B534 statement.
- Advise on anything in the inventory that will attract inspection.
What we need from you
- Clean everything that has been outdoors. Soil on garden tools, bikes and boots holds up more containers than anything anyone would think of as contraband.
- Separate what is not going, and what you are taking in your luggage.
- Gather documents: passports, visa grant, and anything you will need before the shipment arrives.
- Empty and defrost appliances if any are travelling.
What causes delay here
This is the stage where delay is genuinely self-inflicted. Treatment or fumigation on arrival is charged to you and holds the whole container.
Packing and collection
The crew arrives, everything is export-packed and inventoried, and it leaves.
Typically takes: 1–3 days on site
What we do
- Export-pack to a standard built for weeks at sea, not a cross-town move.
- Wrap and crate furniture, artwork and anything fragile, and dismantle what needs it.
- Produce a numbered inventory that you check and sign.
- Load and, on a full container, seal it at your door so it is not opened again until Australian customs.
What we need from you
- Be present, or nominate someone who can make decisions.
- Check the inventory before you sign it. It is the document any later claim is assessed against.
- Keep passports, medication and anything you need in the next two months out of the shipment.
What causes delay here
Access problems that were not flagged — a street the vehicle cannot enter, a lift out of service — which can turn a one-day pack into two.
In transit
The long, quiet part. Weeks at sea, and very little either of us can influence.
Typically takes: Typically 6–12 weeks by sea, depending on corridor and service
What we do
- Raise the Bill of Lading and lodge the export documentation.
- Track the vessel and tell you if the schedule changes.
- Prepare the Australian clearance paperwork ahead of arrival.
What we need from you
- Complete and return the B534 statement, accurately. A wrong answer here is a clearance delay, and a false one is an offence.
- Give us an Australian delivery address and phone number — a full street address, not a PO Box.
- Tell us if your arrival date moves.
What causes delay here
Sailing schedules, port congestion and consolidation on shared containers. These are outside our control and we will not pretend otherwise — what we will do is tell you early.
Australian customs and biosecurity
Two separate assessments on arrival: duty and tax, then biosecurity risk.
Typically takes: A few days to a few weeks
What we do
- Lodge clearance with the Australian Border Force and present the B534.
- Manage the biosecurity process with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
- Arrange and supervise any inspection, cleaning or treatment required, and tell you what it costs before it happens.
What we need from you
- Be reachable. Clearance questions are time-sensitive and an unanswered email is a container in storage.
- Meet the ownership and use conditions for the duty-free concession, which depend on your residency status.
What causes delay here
A proportion of shipments are selected for physical inspection, and selection is not something anyone can predict or influence. Quarantine storage while inspection is scheduled is chargeable.
Delivery and unpacking
To the door, and as far into the house as you want us to go.
Typically takes: Within days of clearance
What we do
- Deliver to your Australian address and place furniture where you want it.
- Unpack and remove debris, where that is in your service level.
- Reassemble what we dismantled.
What we need from you
- Be there, and check the inventory off as it comes in.
- Note anything damaged at the point of delivery rather than a week later — it makes any claim straightforward.
What causes delay here
Access at the destination, and delivery windows in the weeks before the Australian school year starts, which is the busiest arrival period of the year.
After delivery
The parts that only matter if something has gone wrong, or is about to.
Typically takes: First weeks in Australia
What we do
- Handle any insurance claim and the assessment that goes with it.
- Resolve anything outstanding on the shipment.
What we need from you
- Report damage or loss inside the claims window in your policy. Miss it and a valid claim becomes unrecoverable.
- Get the first-month admin done: Tax File Number, Medicare, bank account, school enrolment.
What causes delay here
Nothing on our side. The common regret here is leaving a claim too long.
The freight side of it
This page is deliberately about your journey rather than the mechanics of the shipping. If what you want is how the freight actually works — full container against shared, transit times by route, which Australian port serves your city — that is set out in how shipping to Australia works. For what the whole thing costs and why volume drives it, see what it costs to move to Australia, which includes an estimator you can put your own household through.
Common questions
How long does a move to Australia take from start to finish?
Typically three to five months from first enquiry to delivered, on a sea freight move. Roughly two to four weeks of that is survey, quote and preparation; six to twelve weeks is transit, depending on the corridor and whether you are on a full or shared container; and clearance and delivery take a few days to a few weeks after arrival. Air freight compresses the transit to days but costs several times more.
What is the first step?
A pre-move survey. Everything else depends on it, because the survey produces the cubic-metre volume your quote is priced on. You can have one in your home, over a video call, or complete a self-survey yourself using our volume estimator — which suits you depends mainly on the size of the move and whether you can be at the property.
When should I book, relative to my visa?
This is the sequencing question that costs people the most. Sea freight takes six to twelve weeks in transit, so if you want your belongings to arrive near the time you do, you have to commit to a shipping date while the visa may still be outstanding. Book too early and you may pay storage at the Australian end; too late and you live out of suitcases for two months. Six to eight weeks before your intended collection date is a comfortable booking window.
What do you need from me during the process?
Four things carry real deadlines: decisions about what is not going, made before the survey rather than after; everything that has been outdoors cleaned before packing day; an accurately completed B534 Unaccompanied Personal Effects statement while the shipment is in transit; and a full Australian street address with a contactable phone number. Each stage below lists what is needed at that point.
What is outside your control?
Sailing schedules, port congestion, consolidation timing on shared containers, and whether biosecurity selects your shipment for physical inspection. We will not pretend otherwise. What we control is telling you early when something moves, and managing any inspection or treatment on your behalf rather than leaving you to it.
Can I pack my own boxes?
Yes, and it reduces the labour cost. The trade-off is insurance: many policies will not cover breakage in owner-packed cartons, only in cartons packed by the crew. If something is fragile or valuable, let the packers do it. If it is books and bedding, packing it yourself is a reasonable saving.
Ready to start at stage one?
A survey is free and carries no obligation. It is the only way to get a real price.