Key takeaways
- Biosecurity is the main risk for wooden goods: check the BICON case for each product and the packaging before you ship.
- Wardrobes, chests of drawers and bookcases 686 mm or taller, entertainment units, and hall tables, display cabinets and sideboards 686 mm or taller need permanent toppling warning labels.
- Country-of-origin labelling is not required for non-food goods under the ACL, but any “Made in” claim must not be false or misleading.
- The Australia–India ECTA has been in force since 29 December 2022; claim it with a valid certificate of origin.
Customs basics: the ABF import declaration
The Australian Border Force (ABF) clears imports. Goods with a customs value above A$1,000 need a full import declaration, lodged through the Integrated Cargo System (ICS) by the importer or a licensed customs broker. Lower-value sea and air goods use a self-assessed clearance declaration.
| Step | What you need |
|---|---|
| Classification | The tariff classification in the Customs Tariff for each line; it decides duty and any biosecurity questions. |
| Duty and GST | Customs duty, unless reduced by a preference such as ECTA, plus goods and services tax (GST) and charges. |
| Biosecurity | The declaration also triggers biosecurity assessment for goods and packaging, run with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). |
Biosecurity for timber and wooden articles
Import conditions are published in BICON, DAFF's Biosecurity Import Conditions system. The conditions differ by product, material and processing, so look up the case for each item before you order. At a high level:
- Clean goods. Wooden, bamboo and cane articles must be free of bark, live insects, soil and other contamination. Holes or fresh sawdust can be signs of insects.
- Treatment and declarations. Some wooden articles need an approved treatment before export, with a treatment certificate, and a supplier's or manufacturer's declaration. Others, such as goods on BICON's low-risk wooden products list, do not. BICON gives the current requirement.
- Packaging. Solid timber or bamboo packaging must be treated. Australia accepts ISPM 15 marked packaging, approved pre-export treatment or treatment on arrival. Plywood and other reconstituted wood packaging need not be declared as timber.
- Container declarations. Each sea container needs a packing declaration and a cleanliness declaration. Missing or unreliable declarations lead to inspection.
Non-compliant timber packaging is treated, exported or destroyed at the importer's expense.
Product safety: ACL and toppling furniture
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) requires goods to be safe and gives the ACCC power to set mandatory safety and information standards. Some furniture-related products, such as bunk beds and household cots, have mandatory safety standards. See Australian furniture standards.
The Consumer Goods (Toppling Furniture) Information Standard 2024 has applied since May 2025.
| Category | Furniture |
|---|---|
| Category 1 | Clothes storage units (with drawers or doors) and bookcases 686 mm or taller |
| Category 2 | Entertainment units designed to hold or support a television |
| Category 3 | Hall tables, display cabinets, sideboards and buffets 686 mm or taller |
Each item needs a permanent, durable warning label visible when the furniture is empty, for example inside a door or drawer. The label carries an alert word such as WARNING, the safety alert symbol, a crossed-out pictogram of a child climbing, a statement that children have died from furniture toppling over, and the category's anchoring messages. The same warnings must appear in the instructions, in stores and in online listings.
Origin labelling and the Australia–India ECTA
Origin labels. Country-of-origin labelling is mandatory for most food sold at retail. For non-food goods the ACL does not require it, though other laws may apply to some goods. If you make a claim such as “Made in India”, it must not be false or misleading. See product labelling and country of origin.
ECTA. The Australia–India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement entered into force on 29 December 2022. To claim the preferential rate, you need a certificate of origin issued in India that shows the minimum information set out in the agreement, and the goods must meet its rules of origin. Check the certificate carefully before lodging; Australian trade bodies have reported certificates that did not meet the agreement's format.
Documents to collect from your supplier
- Commercial invoice and packing list with materials and tariff classification per line.
- ECTA certificate of origin, if you will claim the preference.
- Treatment certificates and manufacturer's or supplier's declarations required by BICON for wooden goods.
- Packing declaration and container cleanliness declaration from whoever packs the container.
- Toppling-furniture label and instruction artwork, and test reports for any product under a mandatory standard.
Where inspection fits
Biosecurity problems are usually visible: bark on legs, insect holes, soil in packaging or untreated pallets. A pre-shipment inspection looks for them on sampled units and checks toppling labels, origin claims and ISPM 15 marks. Container loading supervision checks container cleanliness and packing materials, so your packing declaration matches what was loaded.
Clear To Load reports reach you within 24 hours with a verdict of Cleared to load, Hold or Not cleared. See home décor and handicrafts inspection, pricing, or book an inspection.
Sources
- ABF: Importing goods
- DAFF: BICON, Biosecurity Import Conditions
- DAFF: Packing declaration fact sheet (Dec 2024)
- DAFF: ISPM 15 timber packaging
- Federal Register of Legislation: Consumer Goods (Toppling Furniture) Information Standard 2024
- ACCC: Country of origin claims
- DFAT: Using ECTA to do business with India
- DFAT: ECTA Annex 4A, minimum information requirements