The Australia Quarantine Inspection
What is AQIS looking for when shipping a car to Australia?
When shipping your car to Australia it must be thoroughly cleaned both inside and outside of the vehicle before it can be exported out of the UK to meet with AQIS high inspection standards. It is the Importers responsibility to ensure that every vehicle that they are importing is clean and free of all quarantine risk material (QRM). This includes seeds, soil, mud, clay, animal faeces and animal material, live insects and plant material such as straw and leaves for example.
An officer from the Department of Agriculture will inspect all areas of your vehicle once it has arrived in to Australia. If your vehicle was shipped in via container shipment, then the inspection must occur within a Quarantine Approved Premises (QAP). Your agent in Australia should have a full list of approved premises for you to access if this is required – either you or your shipping agent must inform the department of your chosen Quarantine Approved Premises. Please be aware that charges may apply for the unpacking and storage of your items at the Quarantine Approved Premises while your vehicle is undergoing inspection.
If your vehicle is found to be contaminated, the department will direct your vehicle to be cleaned at your own expense; after the cleaning has been completed the vehicle will then undergo a further inspection by the department. If the vehicle is found to be heavily contaminated it may be declined entry into Australia and then re-exported back to your original port of departure at your own expense.
Thorough Cleaning of your car before shipping it to Australia is a must and cannot be ignored. AQIS are very thorough in their approach to how clean and rust free your vehicle is and they will not go easy on anyone whatsoever if any dirt or rust is present at all.
Importing your vehicle in to Australia
- Your vehicle must be thoroughly clean from soil and road grime as mentioned above. Important points to check are:
- Wheels/wheel guards, mud guards
- Spare tyre and boot
- Engine bay – make sure to remove the water from the windshield reservoir
- Radiator – make sure that your cooling fans are free of debris
- The underside of the vehicle
- Around all areas of the fuel tank
- Inside the chassis
- Under the seats
- If a Quarantine Entry is lodged, and appointment to inspect the vehicle will need to be made. This will need to be done by either you or your agent.
- The Importer is responsible for all costs that are tied to the quarantine inspection.
- You will need to contact the regional office in the port at which the vehicle is arriving to arrange your inspection. The regional office will then be able to provide you with any further information you require prior to your vehicles inspection.
If you are unsure of any reputable steam cleaning companies, First Base Freight work with a company who offer this service in Southampton where rates can be requested at any time. For further information on how clean your vehicle should be to avoid any unwanted fines, please contact us today.
