I was told i would need the assistance of a custom broker to get my motorbike out of the customs in Melbourne.

Is it really necessary? Or is it possible to do it on my own? (In Peru this was horrible and almost impossible without a broker)

Any recommendations availble??

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Gerd
Duesseldorf, Germany

If you're travelling under cover of a carnet - which presumably you are - then the whole process is relatively straightforward. No need to pay a third party.

I brought my motorbike, from New Zealand, by air into Melbourne-Tullamarine Intn'l Airport back in March this year .. and dealt with everything myself. I encountered no real problems; just a couple of niggling frustrations, which aren't even worth mentioning here.

Make sure your bike is as sparkly clean as you can get it. AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) can be quite fussy, so I understand. But I went through my inspection with .. "No Worries Mate" ..

Good luck .. Oz is definitely worth visiting. Good bunch of folks too, even though they can't play cricket! ..

..


KEITH (the pom)

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Right Way Round ...

Melbourne is fine to do your own customs clearance. I've done it myself 3 times now without problem.

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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman

However....
If you don't have a carnet, it can be very difficult without a broker. I reimported an Australian bike last year without a carnet, tried briefly to do it myself, but gave up. The system is designed to be difficult for the average person so the customs agents can deal with online documents from experienced customs agents rather than a thousand questions from the general public.
I talked to Ross Coats at JWI (Johnson Wills International) who have an office at Melbourne airport. It cost me around 600 bucks i think with agent's fees, quarantine inspection, handling, warehouse fees etc. Took 2 or 3 days from when it landed to when i could ride it away.
Sean

Folks,

many thanks for your replies.

Well, of course i wll have a carnet since wherever i asked i was told it's mandatory. When i got all of you right you brought your bikes by air rather than by a container vessel what will be the way i must do it (due to horrible costs, and even the costs for shipping by boat seem to have risen by 30 % (!!) during the last 6 months ).

Sean mentioned already the fee for his broker, does anybody have an idea what fees have to be paid to the authorities in addition? I try to find it out on the official websites of customs and AQIS but that's sometimes quite confusing.....

Regards,

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Gerd
Duesseldorf, Germany

Hey Gerd - here's a link to a breakdown of what I paid, in total, from Auckland to Melbourne (by air): <<LINKY>>

I'm not saying that I necessarily struck the cheapest deal out there .. BUT I know, for sure, that it could have been even more expensive .. had I not shopped around.

Good luck

KEITH

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Right Way Round ...

Hey Keith,

thanks for the link. It's helpful for me to get a rough idea of the estimated costs.


BTW - nice webpage with nice pics , hope to see some of those in "real life" when i am "down under"...

Regards,

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Gerd
Duesseldorf, Germany

You dont need a customs agent - you can see $$$ in their eyes as soon as you say you are a tourist.

The process by sea is really simple, air is similar.

Your shipping company will issue you a "Bill of Lading", this is your proof of ownership of the bike and it wont be released to you without it.

You take the Bill of Lading to the shipping company offices in Melbourne where you will pay some fees based on the cubic size of your bike - these are fees related to the ship using the dock. The shipping company will stamp the bill of lading and issue a "Release Authority" or something worded similar.

You then goto the Customs office with your bill of lading, passport/visa and the Carnet. The Customs and AQIS work out of the same offices so you will get the customs formalities and the AQIS inspection booked at the same time. I'm not sure what the fees are for the Carnet being stamped ($55???)and checked. The AQIS inspection fees were about $180 last year for a complete vehicle.

With no Customs Agent/Broker you must attend the inspections by AQIS so dont forget to have the address details, also if Customs insist on an inspection you must be present for that. The docks in Melbourne are all close by the City, but little (if any) public transport.

Once you have the time(s) for the inspections you can be at the freight inspection area (Stevedores). You need to comply with appropriate footwear - boots only, nothing with open toes or sides is allowed. You will need to sign in, be given a fluro jacket, etc etc. Usually an AQIS inspector and someone from the Stevedores will escort you all the time. If the bike fails the inspection it will be transported at your cost to the cleaning station, cleaned and returned for another inspection - you maybe allowed to push/ride the bike if its not far. If the cleaning station is not inside the Stevedores then it will be loaded onto a truck for cleaning, cleaned and returned for another inspection - maybe the following day.

If the AQIS inspection is passed, the bill of lading will be stamped and another "Release Authority" will be issued.

You will be required to pay fees to the Stevedores - varies on time spent with you. They will issue yet another "Release Authority" and this time its for real - last year Patrick Stevedoring charged about $30 for less than 20 minutes escort.

You can now push the bike to the gate, hopefully a friend will be there with a jerry can of fuel so that you can ride away. Some Stevedores allow jerry cans into the inspection areas - it will vary.

Most stevedores will not like the idea of a crate being left behind and you may get charged for disposal of the crate, if you decide to have the bike transported from the stevedores you will need to repack the bike and book a transport company to collect and deliver - they will need the copies of the release authorities to get the crate out of the docks.

Prior to doing all of this you need to buy the compulsory third party insurance - personally I'd use the RACV (like ADAC) as they administer Carnets in Victoria on behalf of the AAA so are more likely to understand a vehicle under carnet and the rules that apply.

That was simple?

Hey Roger,

well, it sounds simple. In fact i've never got such a comprehensive and good information before. Thank you very much indeed. I guess it will help other travellers as well when they search the HUBB .

What may turn into a small problem is the storage of the crate. For the time beeing i am planning to build up a crate based on a metal rack from my BMW dealer with a wooden lid and side parts. If AQIS or the stevedores like to get rid of the wooden parts i'll possibly get in trouble on my way back since i have to (re-)build the crate again. So i hope i find a place where i could store the whole stuff. I haven't decided yet but most likely the bike in the crate will have the front wheel disassembled to reduce the height of the crate. However, it would be great to get the box transported out of the inspection area to storage place....

So i see there are still some things to think about.

But anyway your description is very helpful. Again many thanks also for the hint for the insurance. I will contact the RACV and ask them for some info and so on.

As it seems that you quite experienced in this business i hope you don't mind if i come back to you again ?(well - if really necessary...)

@ all the other helpful people: any other advice or hint is still welcome!!

Regards,

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Gerd
Duesseldorf, Germany

That,s the information I need,because I will come to Australia with my own bike next year in September,from Belgium, doing a trip of 6 or 7 months around Australia. I still have one more question,I have 2 bikes,a 1994 BMW R1100RS and a 2008 Harley-Davidson Electra-Glide.Is it diffecult to get the BMW through customs, because of it,s age?Or is it easier to take the Harley with me? (What I prefer because more comfort on long,strait roads) I was in Australia in 2005, I bought a BMW R80,and went from Sydney to Perth and to Coral Bay. 13.000km in 2,5 months. I was there again this year in February,only for 6 weeks,I have to come home,because I get troubles with the nerves in my shoulder and left arm, but I told the Aussies, I wil be back,next year with my own bike.
Maybe see some of you there.
So long.
Chris.

If possible do not use wood in your crate. If you do use wood it needs a stamp or certificate of treatment. I decided it would be easier just to use only steel & cardboard.

I don't think the age of the vehicle matters for Oz customs, all they want to see is your carnet.

Cheers
Clint

As said avoid wood as it must be treated for all sorts of bugs. Plywood is usually ok because of the phenolic glues they use when pressing it together. To show AQIS how serious you are about stopping bugs, put a few bug strips inside the crate.

If you want to store the crate then think about building it so that it can be unbolted and laid flat, a wrap of strapping and it wont take up any room at all - easy for a transport company to store for you and it wont cost as much either. Also think about how a forklift can be used to lift the bike on and off a truck easily - also tyne pockets stop the bike being put into a container on its side/upside down.

Maybe a Melbourne based Hubber can store it for you for the cost of a "slab of ".

You can pack the crate with as much gear as you like.

I would strongly advise you to use no wood in the container as advised above. I import a number of cars and spare parts from the UK each year and whilst they are packed into crates (they are small race cars) I learned very early on that having any wood leads to problems (they will allow it in but it has to be fumigated at a large cost and if you want to leave it behind they charge a fortune to destroy it). It is much better to build a metal crate from right angled material with flat metal sheets tech-screwed on to the angle iron frame. As suggested above, ensure that the box has spaces built in for the fork lift tangs. With a little thought you can come up with a frame that can be dismantled and stored quite easily. I have a small factory where you could store the broken down crate. I am in St.Kilda (Melbourne) and would be quite happy to assist as required. St.Kilda is perhaps 10 minutes from the docks.

David

Something I should have added to this post originally.

You are advised to always land a vehicle on a carnet in New South Wales - there are a few posts on here explaining the details in full - basically you can just drive the vehicle out of the docks as NSW does not require any nonsense about "overseas registered vehicle permits" that some of the other States have. One of the few occasions its actually worth visiting NSW

Folks,

many thanks for all your replies. In the meantime i am already travelling through Australia on my R1200GS Adventure. Currrently i am in Broken Hill and will be going to Adelaide in a few days or so before i head back towards Melbourne at the end of November. Unfortunately my vacation will be over then.

@ David: if possible may i come back on you when i have to ship my bike back to Germany? I possibly need some mechanical help ...

Regards to everyone

Gerd
BTW: stations of my trip can be seen on Location of DJ4KH-15 - Google Maps APRS It shows the last registered postion over ham radio (APRS) and on the right you can find older ones as well clicking on the folder 2010 and so on...

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Gerd
Duesseldorf, Germany