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🚢 Sea Freight

China to Private Add… Sea Freight (Duty Paid)

Door-to-door transit 25-45 calendar days. Duty and final delivery are inside the published rate.

Sea freight operations on the China to Australia lane
Sea freight — China to Australia

Sea Freight from China to Private Add… runs 25-45 calendar days door to door, clearing through the destination customs authority. Rates shown are indicative freight estimates; duty, tax and customs handling depend on the commodity and are quoted separately. Send weight, dimensions and product details for a firm figure.

Transit time
25-45 calendar days
Destination
Private Add…, Australia
Customs authority
the destination customs authority
Duty-free threshold
AUD 1,000

Indicative published channel rate for planning, not a quotation. What you actually pay depends on the product and its HS code, chargeable weight, declared value, duty and tax at destination and the exchange rate on the day — it can come in above or below this.

Current Freight Rates

Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.

Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP and seven more — see which costs sit with us and which sit with you

The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Australia is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.

  • Seller — Cost and arrangement sit with the seller / shipper.
  • Buyer — Cost and arrangement sit with the buyer / consignee.
  • Negotiable — Not fixed by the rule — agree it in the contract.
Responsibility for each shipment stage under each Incoterms rule
Term 1 Loading on truck 2 Export customs declaration 3 Carriage to port of export 4 Unloading at port of export 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft 6 Main carriage 7 Cargo insurance 8 Unloading at port of import 9 Loading on truck at import 10 Carriage to destination 11 Import customs clearance 12 Import duties & taxes
EXW Ex Works Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft Buyer Buyer — Main carriage Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
FCA Free Carrier Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft Buyer Buyer — Main carriage Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
FAS Free Alongside Ship Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft Buyer Buyer — Main carriage Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
FOB Free On Board Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft Buyer Buyer — Main carriage Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
CFR Cost and Freight Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft Seller Seller — Main carriage Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft Seller Seller — Main carriage Seller Seller — Cargo insurance Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
CPT Carriage Paid To Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft Seller Seller — Main carriage Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import Seller Seller — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft Seller Seller — Main carriage Seller Seller — Cargo insurance Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import Seller Seller — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft Seller Seller — Main carriage Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
DAP Delivered At Place Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft Seller Seller — Main carriage Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import Seller Seller — Carriage to destination Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes
DDP Delivered Duty Paid Seller Seller — Loading on truck Seller Seller — Export customs declaration Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft Seller Seller — Main carriage Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import Seller Seller — Carriage to destination Seller Seller — Import customs clearance Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes

EXW Ex Works

Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.

FCA Free Carrier

Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.

FAS Free Alongside Ship

Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.

FOB Free On Board

Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.

CFR Cost and Freight

Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.

CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight

As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).

CPT Carriage Paid To

Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.

CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid

As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.

DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU)

Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.

DAP Delivered At Place

Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.

DDP Delivered Duty Paid

Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.

Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.

Service Details

China → Australia Sea Duty-Paid – Private Address Duty Paid

Sea freight rates from China to Australia. We publish the actual tier structure rather than a single headline number, because the price per kilo on this lane changes materially with consignment size and the tier you land in decides your landed cost more than the headline rate does.

Cargo on this service moves through Sydney (Port Botany), Melbourne and Brisbane. The rate covers the leg to the discharge port; inland delivery beyond the quay is costed against the delivery address, not the country. Expect 3–7 days of dwell at destination before release.

This channel is quoted duty paid, which means the figure below already carries import duty and tax for Australia — you are not asked for a second payment at the border. For reference, the underlying regime is: GST 10%; duty 0–5%. Duty-paid pricing is worth comparing carefully against a duty-unpaid quote, because the cheaper headline number is frequently the one that excludes the tax.

Space on this lane tightens through Sep–Nov, which is peak season for Australia. Rates published outside that window are not a reliable guide to what you will pay inside it, so if your order lands in peak, book earlier rather than budgeting from an off-peak figure.

Current Rate Card

  • 1-10 — USD 18.40 per KG
  • 11-49 — USD 17.90 per KG
  • 50-99 — USD 17.39 per KG
  • 100-299 — USD 15.88 per KG
  • 300-499 — USD 15.37 per KG
  • 500-999 — USD 14.87 per KG
  • 1000+ — USD 14.36 per KG

Last refreshed 2026-08-06.

The per-kilogram rate above applies to chargeable weight, not to what the scale says. At 166.7 kg per cubic metre, a carton of light goods can be billed at several times its actual weight, so send dimensions with the weight when you ask for a quote into Australia — a rate quoted without them is only ever provisional.

In practice the cargo we move on this lane clusters into a few recognisable shapes — restaurant furniture (HS 94 / 39 / 76), where clearance turns on cE on electrical assemblies and fire classification on display materials, injection molded parts (HS 39 / 40) and bolts (HS 73 / 82 / 83). Each behaves differently against the rate: one fills the payload before it fills the space, the next does the reverse, and the packing brief we send back with the quote is written to the one you are actually shipping.

Discharge for Australia on this service is at Sydney (Port Botany), Melbourne and Brisbane. Transit time in the rate table is measured to the port, not to the door: the inland days on top depend on which gateway the box clears through and how far inland the delivery address sits.

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Additional Information

Scope, Exclusions and What to Check Before Booking

LCL cargo on this lane bills on the greater of weight and volume, so a dense pallet and a light bulky one of the same size do not cost the same. Past roughly 15 CBM it is worth asking us for an FCL comparison — a full container usually undercuts consolidation at that point, and it removes the co-loading risk that comes with sharing a box.

  • General commercial cargo. Battery, magnetic, liquid and powder content must be declared at booking, not on arrival
  • Rates are quoted against the current sailing or departure; peak-season surcharges apply where the carrier levies them
  • Routing on this lane is via Sydney (Port Botany), Melbourne and Brisbane — inland delivery beyond that point is quoted against the delivery address
  • Clearance at destination is handled by Australian Border Force (ABF)
  • Australia de-minimis: AUD 1,000 — commercial consignments sit above it and are dutiable in full
  • Destination conformity: RCM mark; biosecurity inspection for timber/packaging

On the duty side, the applicable regime is: GST 10%; duty 0–5%. Those are planning references rather than a ruling: the rate that binds is the one assessed against your declared HS code at the moment of entry, and classification is where most landed-cost surprises actually originate. Duty and tax are settled in AUD at destination.

Before you book, confirm two things with your consignee: that they are registered to import into Australia, and that whoever is named as importer of record accepts the duty liability. Those are dull questions and they are also the two that most often surface only after the cargo has already sailed.

Where these numbers come from

We publish these figures so you can budget, but the assessment that binds is the one Australian Border Force makes on your declaration. Where a shipment is large enough that a percentage point matters, check their current tariff guidance rather than ours.

Classification drives everything downstream: the same carton can attract very different duty depending on the heading it lands in, and the structure those headings come from is the World Customs Organization Harmonized System. If your product sits near a boundary between two headings, resolve it before shipping rather than at the border.

For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.

For a wider view of how importing into Australia actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Australia customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.

China to Australia — Shipping Reference Data

Main sea gatewaysSydney (Port Botany), Melbourne, Brisbane
Destination customs authorityAustralian Border Force (ABF)
De-minimis / duty-free thresholdAUD 1,000
Import tax & duty regimeGST 10%; duty 0–5%
Local currencyAUD
Typical clearance / dwell time3–7 days
Peak / busy seasonSep–Nov
Conformity & certificationRCM mark; biosecurity inspection for timber/packaging

Thresholds and duty bands are buyer-planning references, not formal customs rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.

Free 3D Loading Tools for This Sea Route

This page covers a Sea freight service from China to Australia. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.

🚢

3D Container Loading Planner

Maximize every CBM on this route: load your carton list into the 3D container planner, check space and payload utilization, and download the loading plan for your forwarder.

Open Container Planner →

Australia Sea Freight Checklist

  • Confirm whether your Australia rate is per CBM or per container before comparing quotes.
  • Verify the receiver's customs import capability in Australia for DDP terms before booking.
  • Declare accurate gross weight — VGM misdeclaration delays vessels and triggers fines.
  • Check pallet vs floor-loading: floor loading typically fits 8-12% more cartons per container.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Sea DDP – Private Address Duty Paid from China to Australia take?

Sea freight on this route runs about 25–45 calendar days door-to-door, plus roughly 3–7 days of clearance/dwell once it reaches the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP terms.

What duties and taxes apply when importing into Australia?

Clearance is handled by Australian Border Force (ABF). The regime is: GST 10%; duty 0–5%, with a de-minimis position of AUD 1,000. Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.

Which ports or airports does this route use into Australia?

Sea cargo to Australia clears through Sydney (Port Botany), Melbourne, Brisbane; air freight clears via SYD (Sydney), MEL (Melbourne), BNE. We route through whichever gateway gives the fastest onward delivery to your address and build it into the DDP price.

Can you ship special cargo (batteries, branded goods) to Australia?

Yes — battery goods by sea follow UN3480/UN3481 rules with an MSDS; we prepare the dangerous-goods paperwork as part of DDP into Sydney (Port Botany), Melbourne, Brisbane. Surcharges apply.

What does DDP shipping to Australia include on this route?

DDP means we quote the freight, the customs entry with Australian Border Force (ABF) and last-mile delivery in Australia together, so you settle once. The duty and tax portion depends on your product's HS code, declared value and the exchange rate at entry, so it is confirmed against your actual goods — the figures on this page are indicative and can move either way.

What documents are required for customs clearance in Australia?

Australian Border Force (ABF) typically requires a commercial invoice with HS codes, a packing list, the bill of lading/air waybill, a certificate of origin (may lower duty), and any product certification (RCM mark; biosecurity inspection for timber/packaging). We file these under DDP.

Shipping Australia cargo by industry

This rate is for the lane. What decides whether the cargo arrives intact is the commodity — how it prices, how it must be packed and loaded, and which compliance step holds it at the border. These guides cover that per industry.

All 60 industry guides →

Get a quote — Australia

Send the cargo details below and we price your actual shipment. Weight, dimensions and what the goods are is everything we need to come back with a firm number.

Answer these and you get a real price, not a range. These are the exact figures a carrier needs before it will quote. Fill them in once and we can price your cargo the same day — leave them out and we have to come back and ask, which is what turns an hour into a week.

kg
ctn
Carton sizeoptional
× × cm
m³
ctr
Built-in battery?* Lithium cells are dangerous goods.
Someone else's brand?* Logos you are not authorised to ship.
Magnetic product?* Speakers, motors, magnets.
Why these three decide everything

They determine whether your cargo can fly, and on which service. A declared battery changes the price; an undeclared one grounds the shipment at the airport and you pay storage while it sits. Unauthorised brands are seized at customs and the freight is lost with them. Magnetic goods need a field test — routine, but it has to be booked ahead. Telling us now costs a click; telling us later costs the shipment.

Sea or air?*
Tick both and we quote both.
When should it move?optional
Photographs of the goodsoptional
    Your details are used to prepare this quotation and nothing else.

    Customs clearance in Australia

    Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.

    Australia clearance requirements →