What kind of things did people find were rejected by AQIS

[Dave9876]

Im about to ship stuff to Oz and was just wondering...What kind of things did people find were rejected or flagged by AQIS ? Ive tried cleaning shoes and bikes and always found a tiny bit of mud still left in the corner of something or a bike wheel has picked up a tiny bit of dried grass after cleaning  from the garage floor ! Just wondering how paranoid we should be !?! I can spray with Jeyes fluid to convince customs but not sure if the smell will last 5 months or however long it can take.

Regarding bringing bicycles, anyone any advice on this one or anyone have problems with shipping theirs ? Wondering if older bikes with rust etc are worth bringing as rust maybe looks a little like mud ? Grease/oil doesnt cause a problem does it on chains or other bits ?

I hear bad things about xmas decorations. Plastic tinsel should be ok, though right ? We've not used a real tree in years and have been plastic all the way. But they still destroy things anyway, I hear ?

Anything else that got people caught out ? (Work tools, i guess will be checked.)

When they check things but find nothing, they charge extra anyway, right ? Is it a large amount ?

Thanks all ! (Man, moving is stressful !)

[Nemesis]

Boxes labelled as Christmas decorations always get checked as they are paranoid about pine cones and will destroy any they find. Similar for any decorations made from bark and that kind of thing. 

They only destroyed one item of mine - a big floppy hat with artificial linen flowers on the front. They reckoned the imitation flowers contained real live seeds, which was just ridiculous, but they refused to listen and wouldn't release the rest until I paid for the destruction. 

[Dave9876]

19 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

Boxes labelled as Christmas decorations always get checked as they are paranoid about pine cones and will destroy any they find. Similar for any decorations made from bark and that kind of thing. 

They only destroyed one item of mine - a big floppy hat with artificial linen flowers on the front. They reckoned the imitation flowers contained real live seeds, which was just ridiculous, but they refused to listen and wouldn't release the rest until I paid for the destruction. 

I have heard stories like that ! Can i ask roughly how much they charge for destruction !?! Im just wondering whether its worth risking bringing things i dont really use that much like certain shoes or oldish kids bikes ? Guess its a risk to rewards gamble...?

[Nemesis]

5 hours ago, Dave9876 said:

I have heard stories like that ! Can i ask roughly how much they charge for destruction !?! Im just wondering whether its worth risking bringing things i dont really use that much like certain shoes or oldish kids bikes ? Guess its a risk to rewards gamble...?

Mine was a few years ago, $160 for destruction, can't remember the fee for treating it but I think it was higher and the hat would've ended up useless anyway!

I would say if you don't use the stuff in the UK it may not be worth the hassle of trying to clean it.

Be careful with the Xmas decorations for sure, and if bringing wooden things like kitchen stuff, put it all in one box together - they are less likely to open lots of boxes if they think you are aware of what might need inspection.

[InnerVoice]

11 hours ago, Dave9876 said:

Im about to ship stuff to Oz and was just wondering...What kind of things did people find were rejected or flagged by AQIS ? Ive tried cleaning shoes and bikes and always found a tiny bit of mud still left in the corner of something or a bike wheel has picked up a tiny bit of dried grass after cleaning  from the garage floor ! Just wondering how paranoid we should be !?! I can spray with Jeyes fluid to convince customs but not sure if the smell will last 5 months or however long it can take.

Regarding bringing bicycles, anyone any advice on this one or anyone have problems with shipping theirs ? Wondering if older bikes with rust etc are worth bringing as rust maybe looks a little like mud ? Grease/oil doesnt cause a problem does it on chains or other bits ?

I hear bad things about xmas decorations. Plastic tinsel should be ok, though right ? We've not used a real tree in years and have been plastic all the way. But they still destroy things anyway, I hear ?

Anything else that got people caught out ? (Work tools, i guess will be checked.)

When they check things but find nothing, they charge extra anyway, right ? Is it a large amount ?

Thanks all ! (Man, moving is stressful !)

I'd take a big, deep breath - you sound stressed!

If you follow the advice given by your shipping agent then you should be fine. I used PSS International at the time and they were very specific about what I should and shouldn't bring, and because they packed everything they picked up on a few things here and there. For example, the wicker laundry basket and the Christmas garland for the front door. I sold the basket and got rid of the garland, but shipped the rest of the Christmas decos without issue.

I'd definitely sell those old rusty bikes. Bikes are no more or less expensive here than they are in the UK, so that's one less thing to worry about.

Work tools and garden tools are expensive to replace here, so I'd bring those if they don't take too much cleaning but I wouldn't bother with the lawn mower - that will definitely set of alarm bells!

If like me you have a first aid kit full of old/half-used medicines then you'll need to get shut of that. I'd suggest bringing any medication you actually need in your luggage, and don't put anything that sounds like 'drugs' in the container.

When everything is packed there'll be a manifest that customs will receive at this end. If there's something suspicious on that manifest they'll open your container and you'll be charged an inspection fee. It's worth noting that they don't open the majority of containers, so you'll probably be fine. If, having opened your container, they find something they don't like then you'll be charged a cleaning or destruction fee (as Nemesis mentioned), so it's good if you don't give them a reason to open your container in the first place. As I said at the start, follow the advice of your shipping agent and you should be fine.

[rammygirl]

6 hours ago, InnerVoice said:

I'd take a big, deep breath - you sound stressed!

If you follow the advice given by your shipping agent then you should be fine. I used PSS International at the time and they were very specific about what I should and shouldn't bring, and because they packed everything they picked up on a few things here and there. For example, the wicker laundry basket and the Christmas garland for the front door. I sold the basket and got rid of the garland, but shipped the rest of the Christmas decos without issue.

I'd definitely sell those old rusty bikes. Bikes are no more or less expensive here than they are in the UK, so that's one less thing to worry about.

Work tools and garden tools are expensive to replace here, so I'd bring those if they don't take too much cleaning but I wouldn't bother with the lawn mower - that will definitely set of alarm bells!

If like me you have a first aid kit full of old/half-used medicines then you'll need to get shut of that. I'd suggest bringing any medication you actually need in your luggage, and don't put anything that sounds like 'drugs' in the container.

When everything is packed there'll be a manifest that customs will receive at this end. If there's something suspicious on that manifest they'll open your container and you'll be charged an inspection fee. It's worth noting that they don't open the majority of containers, so you'll probably be fine. If, having opened your container, they find something they don't like then you'll be charged a cleaning or destruction fee (as Nemesis mentioned), so it's good if you don't give them a reason to open your container in the first place. As I said at the start, follow the advice of your shipping agent and you should be fine.

Then again one shipping agent told me I couldn’t ship my goose down duvet!!  Needless to say we didn’t use them. 

[Jon the Hat]

When the packer come they are like a whirlwind - so make sure anything you are not bringing is already gone or locked away somewhere else it ends up packed before you can say DONT PACK THAT!  Or even after you have.

[Drumbeat]

1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

When the packer come they are like a whirlwind - so make sure anything you are not bringing is already gone or locked away somewhere else it ends up packed before you can say DONT PACK THAT!  Or even after you have.

We've recently moved interstate and had the removal company pack up the house. We thought it was crazy that they packed the plugs from the kitchen sink but today hubby unpacked the bag from the kitchen rubbish bin, carefully wrapped in paper .

[InnerVoice]

2 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

When the packer come they are like a whirlwind - so make sure anything you are not bringing is already gone or locked away somewhere else it ends up packed before you can say DONT PACK THAT!  Or even after you have.

 

1 hour ago, Drumbeat said:

We've recently moved interstate and had the removal company pack up the house. We thought it was crazy that they packed the plugs from the kitchen sink but today hubby unpacked the bag from the kitchen rubbish bin, carefully wrapped in paper .

They even unscrewed stuff from the walls like the key-hanger thingy you have by the door, which left a big mark on the wall. The people who bought my house must've thought I'm a right tight arse! I did leave the Aga for them though - I didn't see that fitting in here in Australia.

[Nemesis]

6 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

When the packer come they are like a whirlwind - so make sure anything you are not bringing is already gone or locked away somewhere else it ends up packed before you can say DONT PACK THAT!  Or even after you have.

I was advised to put everything not going in the container (including stuff going as luggage) into one room and just close the door and put up a sign saying Do Not Enter! It worked  

[Marisawright]

9 hours ago, Nemesis said:

I was advised to put everything not going in the container (including stuff going as luggage) into one room and just close the door and put up a sign saying Do Not Enter! It worked  

This is common practice and removalists should be used to it HOWEVER you'll get the odd one who barges in without noticing the sign, because they're under pressure.    Therefore I'd suggest two more measures:

1. Take the supervisor to the door before you start, show him the notice and say "don't pack this room".
2. Put a couple of strips of packing tape (or some such) diagonally across the doorway, à la police tape.

[Skani]

18 hours ago, InnerVoice said:

I did leave the Aga for them though - I didn't see that fitting in here in Australia.

I've known people with Agas in Australia - Tasmania though, not Cairns.