Elje / How it works

Shipping and customs

You are the importer, and our forwarder and customs broker do the work: the container, the clearance, biosecurity and delivery to your site.

own container20 FT OR 40 FTa whole house of joinery, stone or tiles,packed and labelled to your plans.shared containerPER CUBIC METREone room rides with other orders,consolidated at our forwarder. yours is the lime one.

A whole house fills its own container. A room's worth shares one and pays by the cubic metre.

Own container or shared

Live freight rates by port are on the freight and port charges page.

Shared container (LCL)Own container (FCL)
SuitsA kitchen and a bathroom or twoA whole house, or several factories consolidated
Priced byCubic metreContainer, 20 or 40 foot
HandlingUnpacked and repacked at a depot in AustraliaOpened at your site or the forwarder's yard
RiskMore handling, more chance of knocksLess handling, one seal

Door to door

Times are our working estimates and will be replaced with measured times from real jobs.

StageTypical time
Stock lines, order to siteAbout 6 to 10 weeks
Custom joinery, drawing sign-off to siteAbout 12 to 16 weeks
Chinese New Year shutdownFactories close mid January to late February 2027

At the border

  • An import declaration is lodged for any consignment worth more than A$1,000. Our licensed customs broker lodges it in your name.
  • Duty: most fit-out goods from China come in at 0% under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement when the factory supplies a certificate of origin. We make that a condition of every order.
  • GST: 10% of the customs value plus overseas freight, insurance and any duty, paid at the border. If you are registered for GST you can usually claim it back.
  • Prohibited goods: asbestos is banned from import outright, and so is engineered stone. Every line is checked before it goes on your shortlist.

Biosecurity

  • Timber packaging must meet ISPM 15: heat-treated or fumigated, and stamped. We ask factories for it in writing.
  • The forwarder lodges the packing declaration for the container. Packaging that does not comply is treated, exported or destroyed at the importer's cost, so getting it right at the factory matters.
  • Some products, such as solid timber, have their own conditions in the BICON database. The Project Plan lists them.

Insurance

Freight is insured for the full value of the goods, door to door. Damage in transit is claimed on that policy, and we help you lodge it with the photos from delivery.

What goes wrong, and what we do

  • A late factory: the timeline in the Project Plan has the buffer, and we chase.
  • A biosecurity hold: usually packaging. The forwarder arranges treatment and we chase the factory for the cost.
  • Missing certificate of origin: duty becomes payable. We check the certificate before the balance is released.
  • Transit damage: photographed on delivery, claimed on the cargo policy.
Sources