International removals from West London to Australia
Australia is the long one. A container leaving a South Coast port has half the planet to cross before it reaches Fremantle, Melbourne or Sydney, so an Australia move is planned months ahead, not weeks. The West London families we move out are usually going for good — a skilled-migration visa, a partner’s job, or family already settled in the suburbs of Perth or the Gold Coast.
Sea freight
Sole-use container for a house; shared groupage for flats — the standard for the long haul south.
Air freight
A small allowance for essentials, where the long sea transit makes waiting impractical.
Storage in between
Not ready at the far end? We can hold your things in secure storage at our West London base and ship when the timing works.
Almost everything goes by sea. The distance makes air freight sensible only for a small allowance of clothes and documents you cannot be without. The thing that catches people out is not the shipping — it is Australian biosecurity, which is the strictest in the world and the single biggest reason a container gets held on arrival.
Biosecurity: the reason we pack Australia differently
The Department of Agriculture inspects incoming household goods hard. Soil, seeds, plant material, food, animal products and even a dirty pair of walking boots can trigger an inspection, a clean, or a treatment charge at your expense. Anything that has been outdoors — garden tools, bikes, camping gear, the lawnmower, the kids’ football boots — gets cleaned and dried before it goes anywhere near the container.
We go through the loft and the shed with you, not just the living room. Wicker, wooden carvings, pine cones in a decorative bowl, an unwashed BBQ — these are the things that get a container pulled apart in Melbourne. Declaring honestly and packing clean is far cheaper than a quarantine treatment on the quay.
- Vacuum-clean and dry anything used outdoors before loading
- Declare food, plant and animal products — do not hide them
- Wooden and cane items checked for the biosecurity risk they carry
- A full, honest inventory that matches what is in the box
The route and the ports
We collect across west and south-west London, consolidate in Acton, and route the container out of a UK port to your nearest Australian city — Fremantle for Perth, then Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as the ship works east. Your delivery city determines the sailing, so tell us early whether you are landing in WA or on the east coast.
On arrival the shipment clears customs and biosecurity before it can be delivered. We work with agents in the main Australian ports who handle the inspection and the final run to your address, whether that is an apartment in inner Melbourne or a house out in the Perth hills.
Visas, customs and what you can bring
Australia lets returning residents and new migrants bring used personal effects without duty, provided you have owned and used them and you hold the right visa. New goods, and anything bought specifically for the move, can attract duty and GST — so keep receipts for genuinely new purchases and tell us.
Some things simply cannot go: certain timbers and plant materials, some foodstuffs, and firearms without the right permits. We will not load anything that risks the whole container, and we would rather have that conversation in your Acton living room than by email once the ship has sailed.
We collect right across west London — Acton, Chiswick, Ealing, Shepherd’s Bush and out to Brentford — as well as the wider west, south-west and north-west London catchment. Everything is packed and consolidated at our Acton base before it leaves the country.
Moving from West London to Australia
Why is Australian biosecurity such a big deal?
Australia protects its agriculture and ecosystems aggressively, so incoming household goods are inspected for soil, seeds, food, and plant or animal material. A dirty garden tool or an unwashed pair of boots can trigger a treatment charge or hold your whole container. Packing clean and declaring honestly is the way to avoid it.
Can I ship my car to Australia?
Vehicle import to Australia is heavily regulated and rarely worth it for an ordinary car — the compliance and duty usually outweigh the value. We can talk you through it honestly, but for most West London movers we would advise selling here and buying there.
How far ahead should I book an Australia move?
Earlier than any other route we run. The long sea transit and the planning around your visa and arrival date mean the best moves are scoped well in advance. Get your inventory to us early and we build the shipping plan around when you actually need to land.
Do you cover Perth as well as the east coast?
Yes. Fremantle serves Perth and is often the first Australian port a ship reaches, so WA moves can be quicker on the water than east-coast ones. Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are all covered — your city sets the routing.
What about the things I need on arrival?
Because the container takes a long time on the water, a small air-freight allowance for clothes, chargers and documents is worth considering. We will size it so you are comfortable for the first stretch without paying to fly a whole home across the world.
Other destinations we run from West London
Get a quote for your move to Australia
Tell us what you’re moving and where from and to. We’ll come back with a written quote and the paperwork it needs — no obligation.