Tourists Entering Australia
Anyone
wishing to travel to and
enter Australia must have a
valid passport and the
appropriate Australian visa.
The type of
visa required depends upon
the purpose of the visit.
For people
wishing to participate in or
attend international events
held in Australia, note
that:
●
airlines may refuse to allow
travellers to board their
aircraft without valid
visas/ETA's (estimated time
of arrival) and passports;
●
it is recommended intending
visitors obtain a visa/ETA
before purchasing airline
tickets or entering into any
other financial commitments
dependent upon entry to
Australia;
●
visas/ETA's are issued
subject to a range of
conditions; and
●
tourists are not allowed to
work during their visit to
Australia. Penalties apply
to tourists who breach the
'no work' condition.
Don't
overstay your visa! If your
visa is about to expire, you
should leave Australia or
seek advice from a
Department of Immigration
and Multicultural and
Indigenous Affairs office.
Visa/immigration information
is available from Australian
embassies, high commissions
and consulates and travel
agents, or visit the website
www.immi.gov.au. Phone
131 881 (inside Australia).
Visa/taxation information is
available from the
Australian Taxation Office.
If you intend to seek
employment or commerce
business in Australia, you
must register for taxation
purposes.
Australian
Tax Office Website:
www.ato.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 6216 1111, or
contact your local
Australian embassy, high
commission or consulate.
Arriving in Australia
Documents
required for entry
The
following documents are
required for entry
clearance:
●
passport and
●
completed Incoming Passenger
Card (or Advance
Passenger Clearance Card)
Yellow fever
vaccination is the only
health requirement for
travellers entering
Australia if you have
visited Africa or South
America during the previous
six days.
On arrival,
please present your passport
and your completed Incoming
Passenger Card to the
Customs officer.
These
documents will be returned
to you after immigration
processing. Customs officers
no longer stamp Australian
passports, but if you
require evidence of travel
you may ask the officer to
do so.
Security
measures are in place in
Customs controlled areas at
airports. You should be
prepared to respond to
requests by Customs officers
in these areas, which are
clearly identified by signs.
The
Australian Customs service
has a comprehensive and
informative website for
travellers
www.customs.gov.au
Australia's
heightened border protection
policies mean tighter
quarantine regulations,
including tougher
on-the-spot fines for
deliberate concealment or
non-declaration of items of
quarantine concern.
Customs and
Quarantine officers may
question travellers at any
time, selecting people and
baggage for detailed
examination for a number of
reasons. Detector dogs might
also be used to search for
illegal drugs, prohibited
exports and imports
including food, plant or
animal material.
People
arriving by air will be
screened and most baggage
will be inspected or x-rayed
by Quarantine officers.
Greater
volumes of cargo and mail
entering Australia will also
be screened and, where
necessary, inspected.
Declare all
food, plant and animal items
on your Incoming Passenger
Card and you will be
directed to the red channel
processing outlets in the
baggage halls.
A Quarantine
officer will arrange to have
your items inspected to
ensure they will not harm
Australia's environment or
plant, animal or human
health.
Goods may be
returned to you (some items
may need treatment before
they are returned). However,
some items identified as
prohibited imports will be
confiscated and either
re-exported or destroyed.
Use
quarantine bins in the
airport arrivals area or on
the way to baggage
collection to dispose of
items of quarantine risk.
Declare all
food, animal and plant items
(including wooden
artefacts), camping and
sporting equipment.
In instances
where sporting equipment is
contaminated, for example
with soil or plant (grass)
debris, quarantine officers
will remove the offending
item for cleaning.
To avoid
unnecessary delays or the
potential imposition of
fines on your arrival, you
should ensure that the item
is free from all soil and
plant material and
thoroughly cleaned.
If you do
not declare items of
quarantine concern you risk
an on-the-spot fine of $220.
More serious cases can lead
to more significant
penalties or even
imprisonment.
A current
list of prohibited imports
or goods that require some
form of treatment (including
application for the
appropriate import permit)
prior to entry into
Australia is available from
the Australian Quarantine
and Inspection Service.
For more
information, contact the
Australian Quarantine and
Inspection Service:
Phone: 1800
020 504 or + 61 2 9364 7222
Fax: +61 2
9364 7340
Website:
www.aqis.gov.au
Quarantine
information in languages
other than English: Arabic -
Chinese - Dutch - French -
German - Greek - Hindi -
Indonesian - Italian -
Japanese - Korean -
Malaysian - Portuguese -
Spanish - Thai - Vietnamese
Duty-free concessions in Australia are different to those in other countries
Most personal items such as new clothing, footwear, and articles for personal hygiene and grooming (excluding fur and perfume concentrates) may be brought into Australia in your accompanied baggage, free from duty and tax.
Personal goods are free from duty and tax if they are
●
owned and used by you overseas for 12 months or more
●
imported temporarily (a security may be required by Customs)
For other goods, limits apply. These include goods that are purchased overseas and goods that are purchased in Australia duty or tax free (that have been previously exported), or from an inwards duty free shop on arrival into Australia. Also included are goods for which a TRS claim has been made.
Duty free concessions do not apply to commercial goods.
General goods
If you are aged 18 years or over, you can bring up to A$900 worth of general goods into Australia duty-free. If you are under 18 years of age there is a A$450 limit. General goods include gifts, souvenirs, cameras, electronic equipment, leather goods, perfume concentrates, jewellery, watches and sporting equipment.
Alcohol
If you are aged 18 years or over, you can bring 2.25 litres of alcohol duty-free into Australia with you. All alcohol in accompanied baggage is included in this category, regardless of where or how it was purchased.
Tobacco
If you are aged 18 years or over, you can bring 250 cigarettes, or 250 grams of cigars or tobacco products duty-free into Australia with you. All tobacco products in accompanied baggage are included in this category, regardless of where or how they were purchased.
Families travelling together can pool their duty-free concessions. Contact Customs for the definition of family.
Be aware that if you exceed Australia's duty-free concession limits you will be charged duty and tax on all items of that type (general goods, alcohol or tobacco), not just the items which exceed the limits.
If you have anything in excess of your duty free concession, declare the goods and provide proof of purchase to Customs for calculation of any duty and tax to be paid.
Failure to declare goods in excess of your concession could result in the application of penalties. If in doubt, contact a Customs officer or call 1300 363 263 (Australia only) for information. If overseas, call +61 2 6275 6666 or email
information@customs.gov.au
Payment of customs duty/taxes
Payment of Customs duty and/or other taxes may be made in cash or by travellers cheque in Australian dollars or by personal cheque drawn on an Australian Bank or by Credit card (American Express, Mastercard or Visa) - only available at international airports or by electronic funds transfer (EFTPOS) from an Australian bank account only available at international airports.
This information is intended as a guide only and is current at March, 2010.
We recommend confirming relevant details directly with Customs at the time you travel.
For more information, contact Customs:
Phone: 1300 363 263 (inside Australia) or + 61 2 6275 6666 (outside Australia)
Website: www.customs.gov.au
●
Medicinal products
Therapeutic
Goods Administration
Phone: 1800 020 653 (inside
Australia) or + 61 2 6232
8610 (outside Australia)
Fax: + 61 2 6232 8605
Website:
www.health.gov.au/tga
●
Quarantine (Biologicals
Unit)
Phone: + 61
2 6272 4578
Website:
www.aqis.gov.au
Other languages:
www.affa.gov.au/content/languages.cfm
●
Australian Sports
Drug Agency
Phone: 1800
020 506
Website:
www.asda.org.au
●
Veterinary products
National
Registration Authority
Phone: + 61 2 6272 5158:
Fax: + 61 2 6272 4753:
Website:
www.nra.gov.au
●
Currency
You must
declare amounts of A$10 000
in foreign or Australian
currency that you bring into
or take out of Australia.
Contact:
AUSTRAC
Phone: 1800 021 037 (inside
Australia) or + 61 2 9950
0827 (outside Australia)
Fax: + 61 2 9950 0071
Website:
www.austrac.gov.au
●
Firearms, weapons and
ammunition
Contact:
Customs Australia
Phone: 1300 363 263 (inside
Australia) or + 61 2 6275
6666 (outside Australia)
Fax: + 61 2 9213 4043
Website:
www.customs.gov.au
●
Protected wildlife
Australia
has strict laws controlling
the import and export of
protected wildlife and
products made from protected
wildlife (including some
medicinal products).
Contact: Environment
Australia
Phone: + 61 2 6274 1900
Fax: + 61 2 6274 1921
Website:
www.ea.gov.au
●
Heritage items
It is
illegal to take or send out
of Australia without a
permit items identified as
important to Australia's
cultural heritage. These
include works of art,
stamps, coins,
archaeological objects,
minerals and specimens etc.
Contact: Environment
Australia
(Movable Cultural Heritage
Unit)
+ 61 2 6274 1810 (ph)
+ 61 2 6274 2731 (fax)
Website:
www.ea.gov.au/heritage/awh/movable/index.html
Before you
arrive in Australia, you are
advised to check if your
communications equipment (eg
mobile and cordless phones,
fax machine, wireless
microphone, laptop computer)
is safe to operate in
Australia. Australia
operates on 240V and this
may not be compatible with
international appliances,
you should check with the
manufacturer.
For more information,
contact the Australian
Communications Authority
Website:
www.aca.gov.au
Imports of
firearms into Australia are
prohibited unless
appropriate permission to
import them has been
obtained.
Written
confirmation from the State
Police stating that the
competitor is licensed or
authorised to possess
firearms for competition
purposes is required for
some firearms.
Other
firearms, including some
pump action and
semi-automatic firearms will
require Attorney Generals
permission.
You should
contact Customs prior to
your travel to ensure that
an appropriate permission
for the type of firearm
being brought to Australia
is obtained.
Controls on
weapons are also
administered in each State
of Australia .The Minister
will not consider any
application lodged until the
competitor has additionally
obtained the written
confirmation from the State
police stating that the
competitor is licensed or
authorised to possess such
items in that State.
For more
information, contact the
Australian Customs Service.
Website:
www.customs.gov.au
For
information on weather and
climate go to the Bureau of
Meteorology website. This
site contains an extensive
range of information
including current weather
and warnings and average and
extreme climate conditions
across Australia.
Bureau of
Meteorology
Website:
www.bom.gov.au
On
departure, you will need to
present your passport, your
completed Outgoing Passenger
Card and your boarding pass
to the Customs officer.
Fireworks,
flammable liquids,
corrosives and/or gas
cylinders are not permitted
on aircraft or in your
baggage.
Knives,
sharp objects, cutting
implements, knitting needles
and sporting goods may be
carried in hold baggage but
are not permitted in your
carry-on baggage.
Tourist Refund Scheme
Under the
Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS),
you may be entitled to a
refund of the goods and
services tax (GST) on
purchases made from
Australian retailers within
30 days of departure.
For
conditions applying to the
refund, see the TRS brochure
available from Customs or
visit
www.customs.gov.au . If
you do claim a refund on
departure, you must declare
the goods on re-entry to
Australia if the value of
the goods exceeds the duty
free allowance.
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Fax:
+61 2 9319 7195