Hi. My bike is due to arrive next week and I was told by the shipping company here that I am not allowed to do the clearing of my shipment myself and need to get it done through an agent.

Does anyone know of an agent that can assist me in clearing my bike here in Melbourne harbour (Sea Freight from Chile).
I would obviously be looking for someone that wont charge an arm and a leg.

Thanks
Johan

that's crap, Johan.
i brought my bike into melbourne, also from chile, about a year ago. did it all myself, and in fact it wasn't hard at all.
i still have the paperwork. where are you?
andy.

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www.outforaspin.blogspot.com

You can do it yourself and it's easy. I have mine cleared within 2 hours.

Just make sure the bike is super clean. Clean you gear and tent pegs etc. paperwork side is easy but they will inspect the bike to make sure its clean. If it's not they will charge you to clean it.

Cheers

As the others have said - you can do it all yourself.

Basic process is;

Pay the shipping company's port fees and get a release form, they will also advise where the bike is. You'll need to get the "Voyage Number" from the shipping company and the ship's first port of call in Australia for dealing with Customs later.

Take the release form to Customs and present your carnet and the release form, pay any Customs fees (if any for a carnet), pay and book the Quarantine inspection at the same time. Its unusual to get an inspection the same day as you pay so get onto that now.

Be present at the Bond area for the Quarantine inspection and Customs inspection (if directed to have one).

If the bike fails the Quarantine inspection thats when it can get tricky if the Bond area does not have cleaning facilities and you have to re-crate and get the bike moved still under bond restrictions to an approved cleaner.

Pay the Stevedores fees and hey presto the bike is yours to ride.

Allow yourself a full working day for some running around. Take cash for the shipping company and stevedores as they may not accept credit cards - usually dealing with businesses so may not have retail facilities. Customs takes credit cards and EFTPOS.

Thank you Roger and others.
I thought that I must be able to do it myself, so will call the shipping company this morning to clear up the misunderstanding.
That is great news for me and sure will save me a few $.

Yes, bike is as clean as when it was new, we spent 3 full days cleaning it (2 people), so is all the camping gear etc.

Desert Dweller, I'm currently in Croyden North, staying with friends untill end September, and is hoping to move over to Tasmania in October and spend the summer there and then move up to Queensland and Cape York for the winter. Wife will be riding alongside from now on on her own Suzuki DR200, should be fun.

Johan

onya johan.

well done for full info, roger.

i'm in brunswick. pm me or email andy_longmire(a)yahoo.com.au if you feel like catching up.

cheers,
andy.

__________________
www.outforaspin.blogspot.com

Read Import Conditions Database - ICON - AQIS

so that you can answer any AQIS questions,

Q. "What did you wash the bike with?"

A. "A chlorine solution, about 1 litre of chlorine into a 10 litre bucket of water"