Kitchen landed in Perth
A kitchen made in Foshan and landed to a Perth site costs about $17,530 including GST, freight and Elje's fees, in a range of $13,377 to $22,273. Estimate, October 2026 rates (RBA exchange rate of 16 October 2026). Local joinery for the same kitchen, supply only, runs about $20,000 to $33,000.
The kitchen we priced
About 8 lineal metres plus an island, 2-pac doors, moisture-resistant carcasses, Blum hinges and runners, flat-packed over 1 metre.
Landed in Perth, line by line
Every line from the factory gate to your site. Low, middle and high use the low, middle and high of every published rate at once. Estimate: no delivered Elje job sits behind this figure yet.
| Line | Low | Middle | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Factory price, paid by you to the factory | $8,500 | $10,500 | $13,000 |
| Factory to the Foshan consolidation warehouse, export clearance and documents | $477 | $922 | $1,368 |
| Sea freight, shared container, 9 revenue tonnes | $450 | $1,197 | $1,944 |
| Marine insurance, all risks, on CIF plus 10 percent | $31 | $69 | $144 |
| Duty, with a ChAFTA certificate of origin | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Unpacking at the Australian depot, port and delivery-order charges | $323 | $440 | $558 |
| Biosecurity (DAFF) import declaration charge | $71 | $71 | $71 |
| Customs broker and the ABF import processing charge | $302 | $427 | $552 |
| Delivery from the port to your site | $216 | $468 | $720 |
| Pre-shipment inspection, 1 factory, at cost | $345 | $396 | $446 |
| GST, at the border and on Australian charges | $1,072 | $1,449 | $1,880 |
| Elje Project Plan | $990 | $990 | $990 |
| Elje Assured, 2 percent of the order, minimum $600 | $600 | $600 | $600 |
| Landed to your site, inc GST | $13,377 | $17,530 | $22,273 |
Against Perth prices
Supply only is the fair comparison with a landed price; installed prices include labour, which you pay either way.
Per lm, Perth (Joyce Kitchens, 2025 guide, page footer 2026): two-pack Shaker or premium $1,800 to $2,800+ per lm installed; custom melamine with soft-close $1,200 to $2,200 installed. Premium custom (two-pack, porcelain or sintered stone, integrated appliances) $45,000 to $90,000+.
The local supply-only figure is worked out from published per-metre cabinetry rates, not a single quote, so treat it as a guide.
| Local price | Range, inc GST |
|---|---|
| Joinery supply only, made and delivered (national, worked from per-metre rates) | $20,000 to $33,000 |
| Kitchen renovations installed, Perth, budget to upper mid-range | $12,600 to $47,250 |
| Premium kitchen renovation installed, national | $45,000 to $80,000 |
Is it worth it?
Yes, on the numbers we have. About $17,530 landed against $20,000 to $33,000 for local joinery, supply only, so roughly $2,470 to $15,470 less, before you add the benchtops, tapware and anything else that rides in the same shipment for far less than it would on its own. Estimate.
The Perth market
Perth sits about 5 percent above Brisbane on the cost index: kitchens $12,600 to $47,250 installed, bathrooms $10,500 to $36,750. Rider Levett Bucknall puts custom houses at $3,100 to $5,100 per m2, a high floor. A 2023 average put stone benchtops at about $1,600 per m2 in Perth against $2,200 in Sydney and Melbourne. Much local stock is shipped from the east coast first.
How it gets to Perth
Foshan factory to Nansha, Shekou or Yantian, a direct service to Fremantle, the closest Australian container port to South China, then about 20 km by road.
DP World and Patrick run the container terminals in Fremantle's Inner Harbour, about 20 km from the city.
Most Perth suburbs take a container at the kerb. Hills sites and narrow coastal streets may need a depot unpack.
| Origin ports | Nansha (Guangzhou), Shekou or Yantian (Shenzhen) |
| Arrives at | Fremantle Port |
| Sea leg, port to port | 12 to 28 days |
| Port to site | about 20 km |
| Delivery, own 20 ft container | $400 to $1,200 |
| Delivery, shared-container pallets | $216 to $720 |
What moves the number
- Door finish. 2-pac and timber veneer cost more than a decorative board, at the factory and here.
- Volume. Pieces over 1 metre come flat-packed, which can halve the shipped volume. Freight is charged on cubic metres.
- What it travels with. A kitchen on its own pays a whole set of port, broker and delivery charges. In a whole-house container it shares them.
- Hardware. Name the hinge and runner brand on the quote (Blum or Hettich). Unnamed hardware is where a cheap quote gets cheap.
- Benchtops are a separate line. See stone benchtops.
What it has to comply with
- Board: E0 or E1 formaldehyde emission, with the test report for the batch.
- Timber products: as the importer you run illegal logging due diligence and answer the community protection question on the import declaration.
- Tariff 9403.40.00, general duty 5 percent, Free from China with a ChAFTA certificate of origin.
| Product | Tariff | General duty | From China with a certificate of origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen cabinets, wooden, assembled | 9403.40.00 | 5% | Free |
| Kitchen cabinet doors, wooden or MDF | 9403.91.00 | 5% | Free |
| Cabinet hinges (concealed), base metal | 8302.10.00 | 5% | Free |
| Drawer runners and slides, base metal | 8302.42.00 | 5% | Free |
Notes for Perth
Hot dry summers and coastal wind. UV-stable finishes outside, and conditioned timber inside.
- Fremantle is the first Australian call on some South China services, and its terminal access charge is the lowest of the five ports, under $100 a container.
- Perth is a long way from the east coast showrooms and warehouses, so local stock often carries a freight cost of its own. Landed direct from Foshan skips that leg.
- Plumbing and building work is licensed through Building and Energy WA. Imported WaterMark and RCM products are installed the same way as local ones.
Questions
Does the kitchen come assembled?
Usually not all of it. Factories commonly ship cabinets under about 1 metre assembled and flat-pack the larger ones to cut freight. Every piece is labelled to the shop drawing so your installer can put it together on site.
How long does a kitchen take?
Typically 12 to 16 weeks from signing off the shop drawings to the container leaving, then the sea leg and clearance. Allow extra around Chinese New Year, when factories close for several weeks.
Is freight to Perth dearer than to other cities?
Hardly. Forwarders quote South China to the main Australian ports at much the same rate. What changes by city is the port charges, the transit time (12 to 28 days into Fremantle Port), the truck to your site and the local price you compare against.
- Kitchen price source
- Kitchen price source
- Kitchen price source
- What's The Damage, State of the Australian Renovation Market 2026
- Rider Levett Bucknall, Riders Digest 2026, Perth
- Airtasker, kitchen benchtop replacement cost (2023)
- Fremantle ocean rate source
- Fremantle ocean rate source
- Fremantle ocean rate source
- Australian Border Force, Customs Tariff Schedule 3 (working tariff)
- ABF, China-Australia Free Trade Agreement instructions and guidelines
- ABF, GST and other taxes on imported goods
- Reserve Bank of Australia, exchange rates
- Omega Cargo, Container transport services in Australia
- Suaid Global, LCL charges and fees 2026
- Patrick Terminals final notice, landside charges from 1 Jan 2026
- DP World Sydney notice of intention, landside charges from 1 Jan 2026
- FTA, DP World notice of intention (Fremantle TAC AUD 77.92)
- FTA, Hutchison Ports Sydney and Brisbane landside changes from 20 Apr 2026
- ABF Import Processing Charge page
- DAFF fees and charges for biosecurity 2026-27
- FreightAmigo, international cargo insurance guide