China to Door to Door Sea Freight (Duty Paid)

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 12.34 per KG
• 11-49 — USD 11.84 per KG
• 50-99 — USD 11.33 per KG
• 100-299 — USD 9.82 per KG
• 300-499 — USD 9.31 per KG
• 500-999 — USD 8.81 per KG
• 1000+ — USD 8.30 per KG

Last refreshed 2026-08-06.

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.