Shipping Heavy Equipment to Australia

The four ways to ship machinery to Australia

Container, flat rack, RoRo and breakbulk, with where each one lands. RoRo availability is by U.S. coast; the other three are booked on the services that run when the cargo is ready.

Published sailings to Australia

One carrier service in our trade lane guides calls in Australia. Each row links to the carrier schedule it was read from; transit is from the U.S. load port to the port named.

What the U.S. ships to Australia

U.S. exports to Australia by machine class, 2025 against 2024, as reported by the United States to UN Comtrade^[1]. Units are as declared; the average is customs value divided by units.

A dash means the quantity was not reported for that year. Classes the U.S. did not ship here in either year are left out.

Import duty on machinery in Australia

The most-favoured-nation (MFN) duty applied to each machine class, as a simple average of the national tariff lines under its HS subheading^[3]. Preferential rates under trade agreements can be lower.

The range shows the lowest and highest line within the subheading; a dash means every line has the same rate.

Worked example: a $100,000 excavator

Import duty: 2.5% of $100,000 CIF is $2,500 (HS 8429.52, 2023 tariff)^[3].

GST: 10% of the duty-inclusive $102,500 is $10,250 (Australian Border Force / ATO, checked June 2026)

Total duty and tax: $12,750, or 13% of CIF.

• Excise, port charges, broker fees and any registration tax are extra. The final rate depends on the exact tariff line your broker declares.

Vehicles and other taxes

Most vehicles attract 5% customs duty on the CIF value, then 10% GST on the duty-inclusive value. High-value vehicles also attract Luxury Car Tax above the annual threshold.

Source: Australian Border Force / Australian Taxation Office, checked June 2026.

• Import duty: 5% of CIF (concessions or trade agreements may reduce this)
• VAT: GST 10%
• Other charges: Luxury Car Tax of 33% on value above the LCT threshold (≈ A$80,567, or ≈ A$91,387 for fuel-efficient vehicles, FY2025–26)
• Age limits: There is no simple age limit, but a Vehicle Import Approval (VIA) obtained through the ROVER portal is mandatory before shipping — vehicles arriving without one are not released by the Australian Border Force. Asbestos-containing components are prohibited.

Rules for used machinery in Australia

Used machinery must arrive free of soil, seeds and plant material and faces mandatory DAFF inspection. Earthmovers generally are not road vehicles, but road trucks need import approval before shipping. Asbestos is prohibited. AUSFTA preference needs no certificate of origin.

• Inspection: Used machinery for mining, earthmoving, construction or agriculture must arrive clean and faces mandatory on-arrival inspection: break-bulk at a wharf, containers at an approved site. If contaminated, it is cleaned, exported or destroyed at the importer's expense.^[4]
• Inspection: Used earthmoving machinery must enter free of biosecurity risk material, which may require partial or full dismantling to clean. Low-level contamination is cleaned at an approved arrangement site; heavily contaminated machines may be ordered exported.^[5]
• Licence or permit: Earth-moving machines (dozers, loaders, backhoes, excavators, graders, dumpers, etc.) may qualify as non-road vehicles needing no road-vehicle import approval. An advisory notice can be requested via ROVER.^[6]
• Licence or permit: Road vehicles, including road trucks, need an RVSA import approval (type approval, concessional RAV entry or non-RAV entry) before transport to Australia. Importing without one is an offence, and customs will not clear the vehicle.^[7]
• Conformity: Asbestos and goods containing it are prohibited imports. Brake and clutch linings, gaskets and seals are high risk. ABF may detain goods and require accredited sampling and testing at the importer's cost, and overseas 'asbestos-free' certificates may not suffice.^[8]
• Trade agreement: AUSFTA requires no certificate of origin. The importer claims preference (code 'U') based on its own knowledge or information that the goods originate, and must provide supporting evidence on ABF request, either at entry or later.^[9]

Documents for Australia

The papers a machinery shipment to Australia usually needs at destination. Your consignee and their customs broker confirm the list for the exact cargo.

• Commercial Invoice
• Packing List
• Bill of Lading
• DAWE Import Permit
• Cleaning Certificate
• Equipment Specifications
• Quarantine Declaration

U.S. export rules

What every shipment from the U.S. has to clear before it sails, whatever the destination.

Electronic Export Information (15 CFR 30)U.S. Census Bureau

Electronic Export Information is filed in AES for each Schedule B number worth more than $2,500 going to one consignee on one conveyance, and for every vehicle whatever its value. For vessel cargo it is due at least 24 hours before loading; the Internal Transaction Number (ITN) goes to the carrier with the booking.^[10][11]

Applies to: Any Schedule B line over $2,500, and every vehicle

Used self-propelled vehicles: 72-hour ruleU.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. regulations count self-propelled construction and agricultural machinery as vehicles. A used one must be filed in AES at least 72 hours before export, whatever its value or destination, and the ITN, the VIN or serial number and the ownership documents go to CBP at the port of export. Filing after departure is not allowed.^[12][13][11]

Applies to: Used machines that drive: excavators, loaders, dozers, tractors, trucks

ISPM 15 wood packagingIPPC, administered in the U.S. by USDA APHIS

Wood packaging and dunnage must be heat-treated to a core temperature of 56 °C for at least 30 minutes, or fumigated, and carry the IPPC mark with the US country code, the facility number and HT or MB. Marked wood can be reused; repaired or remanufactured wood must be treated and marked again.^[14]

Applies to: Crates, skids, blocking and dunnage

Export classification under the EAR (ECCN or EAR99)BIS (U.S. Department of Commerce)

An item subject to the EAR is either listed on the Commerce Control List under an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) or classified EAR99, the basket for items not listed. The ECCN’s reasons for control, read against the Commerce Country Chart, decide whether the destination needs a license. An EAR99 item rarely needs one, but no item, EAR99 included, may go to a person under a denial order or to a prohibited end use or end user without BIS authorization.^[15][16][17]

Applies to: Every export of goods subject to the Export Administration Regulations

Used machinery cleanliness: AustraliaAustralian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Used machinery must arrive free of soil, seeds and plant or animal material, which can mean partly dismantling the machine to clean hollow and concealed sections. Every consignment is inspected on arrival; a machine with low contamination is re-cleaned at an approved site at the importer’s cost, and a heavily contaminated one can be ordered out of the country.^[18]

Applies to: Used machinery and parts shipped to Australia

Brown marmorated stink bug season: AustraliaAustralian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Target high-risk goods shipped from the United States between 1 September and 30 April need mandatory treatment, judged by the shipped-on-board date. Flat rack, open top and breakbulk cargo must be treated before it leaves; if untreated, it is refused discharge or sent back. Heat treatment holds 56 °C at the coldest surface for 30 minutes, and for break bulk pieces under 6,610 lb (3,000 kg) 60 °C for 10 minutes.^[19]

Applies to: Machinery, vehicles, steel and other listed goods (HS chapters 84, 85 and 87 among them) shipped from the U.S. by sea, 1 September to 30 April

Clearance notes for Australia

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) seasonal measures (roughly September–April) require offshore treatment for vehicles, machinery and break-bulk shipped from target risk countries.

• A Vehicle Import Approval (VIA) must be granted before the vehicle is shipped — there are no exceptions.
• Australia enforces a strict asbestos ban; older vehicles and machinery may require accredited asbestos testing before release.
• Vehicles and equipment must be steam-cleaned to remove soil and biosecurity risk material before arrival.
• Import approval (VIA) and asbestos assurance must be arranged before loading, not on arrival.
• Biosecurity (DAFF) inspection is strict — contaminated machinery can be held, cleaned at your cost, or re-exported.

Questions buyers ask

Export checklist (PDF)

A one-page checklist with the facts on this page for shipping Australia: methods, duty, rules and documents. Give it to your customs broker.

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