Removals to Australia: DIY or not?

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MooPoo

251 posts

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#78750 7-Mar-2011 21:04

Ok, to start with we are in Christchurch and are sick of the earthquakes and the schools are not up to looking after my 15 year old in her year 11 because of all the moving around etc they will have to do, and my youngest daughters don't feel safe anymore etc etc etc so we are moving back home to Oz.

I have had a couple of removalist firms in to quote on taking our worldly possessions over the ditch for us and the quotes are not small.

My boss said to me "why don't you do it yourself?". I work for a company that has a global logistics wing, although I have never had anything to do with it.

He tells me that they can organise for a container to be put at my property, I load it up with all my stuff and they send it to where I am going.

he says it would save me a lot of money doing it this way, IF, i wanted to pack up my whole house, deal with the paperwork when it gets to Australia (apparently they are lets say, difficult to deal with), and unpack it at the other end.

The removalists tell me it will take around 5 or 6 weeks to get the container there. My boss tells me it will take about 10 days max.

I have never even attempted to do this sort of thing before so I have a few questions and I hope someone out there can help.

1. Is it possible for me to do this as I am not MAF qualified (whatever that is).

2. Is there any specific regulations I would need to adhere to in the method used to pack the goods in the container?

3. I figure I can use an agent or something in Australia to do the paperwork for me. I know they will charge me. would it be worth it?

4. Is there somewhere affordable I can buy all the packing boxes, tape, bubble wrap and paper etc I will need to wrap everything I own?

5. Are there people I can hire to do the wrapping/packing for me (not the removalists!)

I see there may possibly be huge savings doing it this way and possible time benefits as well, but is it really worth the stress?

has anyone actually done this and have any pointers?

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nigelj

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#446550 8-Mar-2011 09:55

I haven't done it DIY, but I certainly have dealt with the professional campanies (in my case Crown Relocations from Australia to NZ).

Some things to consider:
* The paperwork required is tedious the MAF forms to get stuff over here are a headache to get done properly.
* Insurance: Your container is going to going to get a good shake in many places, on the road, at the port getting shifted around, maybe on the boat, Aussie Ports, and Aussie roads. In my case a bed was slightly damaged (slightly ripped) they guys taking off the truck just said, claim in on insurrance they'll fix it. New bed as a result, even though the damage was livable.
* Dealing with duty etc - newish items (NZ defines this as within 18 months old IIRC) are going to be charged Australian GST/Import Duty, a professional company is going to be a massive help in getting that correct.

Now to answer your questions...
2) I don't think there are, however most companies that do it professionally normally adhere to ISO standards, and have done it for a very long time.
5) I'm sure they are, but the really good ones I think are snapped up by the removal companies.

Also, I'm pretty sure Grace Removals operate in New Zealand (they at least do in Australia and were above to quote a move to NZ that was competitive)

Lastly, most of the removal companies quote "up-to 6-7 weeks" unless you've just missed the container, it's likely to be much less, in my case, I had the removals guys in on Tuesday, an urgent phone call on the Thursday saying "if you pay today, it can be on the ship tomorrow afternoon" and arrived in NZ in under a week.

(no, I don't work for the removal companies, but have just had a reasonable experience with them)

SepticSceptic

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#446863 9-Mar-2011 09:34

Went this way when I moved from Oz to NZ - hired a 40ft container, packed the whole house and a car into it.

Not too much paperwork on the sending side, but be prepared to travel to at least two places when it arrives - the entry port / customs port for inspection, and the govt offices where you pay all the import dues, etc. It wasn't difficult, but was time consuming.

The container will take exactly the same amount of time as it does for a removalists - they all travel on the same boat ...:-)

I think it was around $2500 ? all up back in 2000. It was around 1/3rd the price of getting removalists to do it.

1. Is it possible for me to do this as I am not MAF qualified (whatever that is).
Yes, anything is possible - don't need to be qualified, but WRITE down, and possibly photograph EVERYTHING that goes in, all the way to the smallest item, especially any outdoor stuff. Empty vacuum bags.

2. Is there any specific regulations I would need to adhere to in the method used to pack the goods in the container?
Not really. Stuff that is MAF sensitive should be readily on top - outdoor stuff, kids bikes, etc becuase that carries dirt and organisms. Dump dried flower arrangements, and other natural kind of stuff.

3. I figure I can use an agent or something in Australia to do the paperwork for me. I know they will charge me. would it be worth it?
Nah. Just patience .... don't worry about agents - just ask the shipping / container company what is involved.

4. Is there somewhere affordable I can buy all the packing boxes, tape, bubble wrap and paper etc I will need to wrap everything I own?

Usually the storage places have good quality boxes. and bubble wrap. And buy the tape from $2.00 shops. You will need lots. 10 rolls at least. No need to wrap everything, just teh delicates. Throw it all into boxes, and put clothes, etc around the stuff to stop from shifting around.

5. Are there people I can hire to do the wrapping/packing for me (not the removalists!)

Why bother. 3-4 days is all it will take on a piecemeal basis. You should be able to fit it all in a 20ft container - std 3 br house with beds, etc + 2 kids worth of stuff.
Sometimes it's easier to get rid of lounge suites rather than shifting them, unless it's pretty new.

I see there may possibly be huge savings doing it this way and possible time benefits as well, but is it really worth the stress?

Yes, definitely !

My thoughts are no longer my own and is probably representative of our media-controlled government

itxtme

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#446881 9-Mar-2011 10:10

SepticSceptic:
4. Is there somewhere affordable I can buy all the packing boxes, tape, bubble wrap and paper etc I will need to wrap everything I own?

Usually the storage places have good quality boxes. and bubble wrap. And buy the tape from $2.00 shops. You will need lots. 10 rolls at least. No need to wrap everything, just teh delicates. Throw it all into boxes, and put clothes, etc around the stuff to stop from shifting around.

When we did our move we got all of our boxes from http://packagingproducts.co.nz/ in Lower Hutt (wgtn based). Maybe there is something similar in your area? They come flat but you can get all sorts of sizes. They sell bubble wrap as well. I found them to be slightly cheaper than the storage companies.

SepticSceptic

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#446933 9-Mar-2011 12:58

Just a quick note about packagaing - it's not so much a side-by-side motion, it's the up and drop-down that breaks things. There is quite a bit of vertical motion during handling, and the abrupt stops on the trucks/boats/concrete floors that does the damage. Even bubble-wrapped ornaments etc will jostle quite badly together, get squashed by stuff immediately on top of them, even in the same box. Plan for a 30cm drop at any point :-)

And get insurance - not so much for breakage, but for overall loss or damage. ie if someone drops a fully laden 40ft on your pee-wee 20ft, and crushes it ..., or it gets lost in a sudden storm.

Hence my previous comment about documenting and photographing everything.

My thoughts are no longer my own and is probably representative of our media-controlled government

timmmay

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#446945 9-Mar-2011 13:25

4. Get your supplies from OfficeMax. They have boxes made for removals, bubble wrap, etc, relatively cheap. You can order online, delivery should be free if you order a decent amount of stuff.

5. Hire a couple of girls through Student Job Search.

Regs

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Snowflake

#447028 9-Mar-2011 17:50

dont put your wine/booze collection in teh container.... tehy wil tax you lik crazy. have a party before you go! check if there is anything else they will slap duties on too and perhpas have a sell off.

sending a car to aus is pretty hefty tax-wise too i believe. but they other way around is not so bad (oz to nz)

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South45

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#455865 6-Apr-2011 11:58

If going to Australia do not do it yourself. AQIS will, or at least could, go through every package which will require repacking (who pays for that?) and will delay the shipment. I've noticed those that didn't follow my advice wrote to me and said that at the other end the charges were very high for clearance and delivery. I'd go "Duh" they can charge you what they like if you want the goods delivered.

I've seen containers self packed and when you open the door it all falls out. Heavy stuff on breakables. A complete shambles. Don't use student packers they couldn't tie their own shoeslaces. At 'least' pay someone to pack the container properly but remember the goods will behandled up to 7 times before you get it so if boxes aren't packed properly, you'll just be delivered something resembling a garbage truck.

The container it leaves in is NOT delivered to your door. It gets unloaded into the receivers store for inspection, then goes to another part of the store once cleared, then onto a truck for delivery and then to your home. Thats a lot of handling

Another thing if your stupid enough to do it yourself, is tape the underneath of the boxes more than the top. I've seen people put heaps of tape on the box they pack and you pick it up and everything falls out the bottom.

The other problem is if you pack yourself, have a shipping company pickup and ship, have an agent clear goods and someone else deliver - who's responsible for the damage or loss? ( ie where did it occur ? )

Too many issues to think about, way too many. If you're going to Aussie you'll earn more anyway so suck it up and use one company from whoa to go. I mean go to whoa.

nigelj

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#455877 6-Apr-2011 12:18

South45:

If going to Australia do not do it yourself. AQIS will, or at least could, go through every package which will require repacking (who pays for that?) and will delay the shipment. I've noticed those that didn't follow my advice wrote to me and said that at the other end the charges were very high for clearance and delivery. I'd go "Duh" they can charge you what they like if you want the goods delivered.

Good point, I forgot this as advice in my earlier post:

a) Try to pack anything that Customs/AQIS may be interested in, in separate boxes from other stuff, things like DVDs/Vacuum Cleaners etc (I made sure Crown packed stuff in exactly which box I said, and as I predicted, these were the two things that were checked by either Customs or MAF.

b) If mixing duty/non duty items in a non obvious way (say, DVDs that aren't liable for duty & DVDs that are), wrap them in separate bundles, and clearly write, "BROUGHT PRE- X/Y/Z" etc otherwise they might suspect you having declared enough.

South45

31 posts

Geek

#456027 6-Apr-2011 17:07

The very best advice if your thinking of going to Australia is.............

......

Don't do it !