When shipping parcels from China to Australia, nothing causes more headaches than customs quarantine inspection (AQIS). A poorly worded item description can get your parcel held for weeks, rack up hundreds of dollars in clearance fees, or even see it destroyed. This guide covers the AQIS high-risk item names you’re most likely to run into, how the actual clearance process works, and how declaring correctly reduces your chances of being inspected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) is the quarantine arm of Australia’s agriculture department (now the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), responsible for keeping foreign pests, diseases and invasive species out of the country. Because Australia is an island ecosystem, its biosecurity standards are extremely strict \u2014 anything that could carry soil, seeds, animal or plant material, or untreated natural materials can trigger an AQIS check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once a parcel arrives in Australia, customs first runs a document review and X-ray scan. If the declared item name is vague, contains a sensitive keyword (such as “wood”, “herbal”, or “food”), or customs suspects the declared value doesn’t match the actual contents, the parcel is routed into formal customs entry \u2014 AQIS staff will open and inspect it, or send it to a lab for testing.<\/p>\n\n\n
Based on real operating experience, parcels entering Australia typically run into one of the following scenarios:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freight itself varies a fair amount by weight and route. Before you ship, use the Ebaoguo freight calculator<\/a> to enter your origin, destination and weight for an instant quote across all routes, so you can budget ahead of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on past clearance experience, the item names below are the ones most likely to trigger an AQIS check. Adding material, specific use, or a more precise description to your declaration reduces the chance of being inspected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that the following items fall under categories Australian customs explicitly prohibits or heavily restricts, and we don’t recommend mailing them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the full list of prohibited and restricted items, see the Australian Department of Agriculture’s official site: https:\/\/www.agriculture.gov.au\/biosecurity-trade\/travelling\/bringing-mailing-goods<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shipping through Ebaoguo lets you consolidate multiple parcels, pick the shipping line that suits you best, and get professional packing and declaration support. Here’s how it works:<\/p>\n\n\n\nHigh-Risk AQIS Declaration Names & How to Declare Them Correctly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Common Chinese Declaration<\/th> Common English Declaration<\/th> Suggested Fix<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> \u7f6e\u7269\u67b6<\/td> Shelf \/ Shelves<\/td> Add the material, e.g. “Stainless steel shelf”<\/td><\/tr> \u88dd\u98fe\u54c1<\/td> Ornaments \/ Decorations<\/td> Be specific, e.g. “Ceramic ornament”, “Metal pendant”<\/td><\/tr> \u652f\u67b6<\/td> Support \/ Bracket<\/td> Add material and purpose, e.g. “Aluminum phone stand”<\/td><\/tr> \u588a\u5b50<\/td> Mat \/ Pad<\/td> Specify material, e.g. “Cotton floor mat”, “Silicone heat pad”<\/td><\/tr> \u6e6f\u934b<\/td> Soup pot<\/td> Drop the food association, use “Stainless steel pot”<\/td><\/tr> \u8abf\u6599\u74f6<\/td> Seasoning bottle<\/td> Use “Glass bottle” or “Plastic container”<\/td><\/tr> \u6298\u758a\u7c43\u5b50<\/td> Folding basket<\/td> Add material, e.g. “Plastic folding storage basket”<\/td><\/tr> \u6ac3\u5b50<\/td> Cabinet<\/td> Specify material, e.g. “Metal storage cabinet”<\/td><\/tr> \u76f8\u6846<\/td> Photo frame<\/td> Give a full description, e.g. “Aluminum photo frame”<\/td><\/tr> \u6cb9\u756b\u68d2 \/ \u7e6a\u756b\u677f<\/td> Oil painting stick \/ Drawing board<\/td> Use “Art supplies” or “Plastic drawing board”<\/td><\/tr> \u76d2\u5b50 \/ \u5305<\/td> Box \/ Bag \/ Package<\/td> Be specific, e.g. “Paper storage box”, “Fabric tote bag”<\/td><\/tr> \u8336\u51e0<\/td> Tea table<\/td> Drop the food word, use “Metal side table”<\/td><\/tr> \u91d1\u5c6c\u51f3\u817f<\/td> Metal stool leg<\/td> Avoid body-part words, use “Metal table leg” or “Iron support part”<\/td><\/tr> \u7a4d\u6728<\/td> Building blocks<\/td> Use “Plastic assembly toy”<\/td><\/tr> \u5c0f\u7c73\u76d2\u5b50<\/td> Millet case<\/td> Avoid the brand name, use “Electronic device case”<\/td><\/tr> \u9910\u6905<\/td> Dining chair<\/td> Drop the food association, use “Metal chair” or “Plastic chair”<\/td><\/tr> \u73a9\u5177<\/td> Toy<\/td> Add material and type, e.g. “Plastic doll”, “Fabric toy”<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n \n
How to Ship to Australia with Ebaoguo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n