Sea freight — Nhava Sheva to Sydney, via Singapore
Transit, port to port32 to 42 days
Typically suitsA household settling in or near Sydney.
International Moving from India to Australia
Moving your household from India to Australia? On Ocean Network Express's published schedule, no sailing from Nhava Sheva or Chennai goes direct, so goods change ship on the way. Australia then checks every shipment for biosecurity before release.
32 to 42 days · Sea to Sydney, port to port22 to 29 days · Sea to Fremantle, port to port
Why does a move to Australia change ships on the way?
Because Ocean Network Express (ONE) shows no direct sailing to Australia from Nhava Sheva or Chennai on its published schedule. Your goods sail to a hub such as Singapore, then join a second vessel for the last leg. That change of ship is called transhipment.
On ONE's schedule, Nhava Sheva to Sydney takes 32 to 42 days port to port. Nhava Sheva to Fremantle, Perth's port, takes 22 to 29 days.
So the port you sail to matters. Before the container is loaded in India, a shipping bill goes to Indian customs.
Transit times
How long is the sailing to Sydney or Perth?
This is the sea leg alone, quay to quay, with one change of ship. Packing, export clearance in India, the biosecurity check, Australian clearance and the drive to your new address all come on top.
Sea freight — Nhava Sheva to Fremantle (Perth), via Singapore
Transit, port to port22 to 29 days
Typically suitsA household settling in Perth or Western Australia.
Both figures are researched port-to-port estimates from Ocean Network Express's published point-to-point schedule, as of November 2026. Every sailing listed changes ship once, at Singapore or Port Klang. They are not door-to-door times. No sailing to Melbourne is timed on this page.
What decides your quote
What decides a quote for a move to Australia?
Five things decide it, and two of them are Australian rules. No price is published.
- 01
How much is going
The survey inventory lists every item going. Its size shapes the quote. - 02
Sole-use or shared container
A sole-use container sails when your goods are ready. A shared load waits until the container fills. - 03
Sydney or Fremantle
Your port sets the sea leg. Fremantle is the shorter sailing on ONE's schedule. - 04
How long you have owned things
The duty and GST concession has conditions. One is that you owned and used furniture and household goods for 12 months before leaving for Australia. - 05
What the biosecurity check finds
Australia's agriculture department (DAFF) looks closely at items made from plants or animals, or in contact with soil, water, food, plants or animals. A risk item may be cleaned, treated, exported or destroyed, at your cost.
Customs
What paperwork does each end of the move need?
Two authorities, two lists. Indian customs governs what leaves India. The Australian Border Force governs what enters Australia.
Leaving India — export
- Shipping bill — the export declaration CBIC requires before loading
- A packing list and the itemised inventory of every carton
- Passport and visa copies in the name the shipment travels under
Administered by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) ↗
Arriving in Australia — import
- an Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement (B534 Form)
- shipping documents, a packing list, receipts for goods held under 6 or 12 months, and permits for prohibited goods
Administered by Australian Border Force (ABF) ↗
Transport arranged before you land
For the concession, you must arrange transport of your personal effects before you arrive in Australia. Goods whose transport is arranged after you arrive do not qualify.
The B534 is completed in English and lodged with the ABF. The concession itself is set out in Customs by-law 1700581 to Item 15 of Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995.
How it works
What are the stages of a move to Australia?
Five stages, and the transport is arranged before you land.
Survey and inventory
The survey lists every item going. The ABF asks for a packing list with the B534, so the same list serves both.
Transport arranged before you fly
The concession needs transport arranged before you arrive in Australia. So book the move while you are still in India.
Packing and the shipping bill
Every carton is listed on the inventory. The shipping bill CBIC requires is lodged before the container is loaded at Nhava Sheva.
The sailing, with one change of ship
On ONE's schedule, Nhava Sheva to Sydney takes 32 to 42 days port to port, and Nhava Sheva to Fremantle 22 to 29 days. Both change ship at Singapore or Port Klang.
Biosecurity and release
With the B534 lodged, the shipment must undergo a biosecurity assessment by DAFF. The ABF cannot release it until DAFF clears it. Then it goes by road to your new address.
Where this move starts
Where in India does a move to Australia start?
The sailings this page quotes leave from Nhava Sheva, on the west coast. Your city decides the road leg to it.
Mumbai and Nhava ShevaNhava Sheva, across the harbour from Mumbai, is the load port for the sailings this page quotes. A Mumbai home has the shortest road leg to the quay.
Delhi and the National Capital RegionDelhi is far inland. A Delhi home's goods travel overland to the west coast before the sea leg starts.
Bangalore and the southBangalore is inland too. A southern home is a long road leg from Nhava Sheva, the load port this page quotes.
What customers say
How did other IMove customers find their move?
We shifted from Bangalore to Auckland and our complete move was handled by Venissa from IMove Global Mobility LLP.There was a vessel delay due to port congestion in Hong Kong, but the team communicated well and managed everything smoothly. Still very happy with the service. Highly recommend their service for international relocation. Thank you Vanessia and I Move
Kumail Abbas Jung Mir · Household move · Bangalore → Auckland
Special mention of appreciation to Venissa for handling our shipment door to door from Bangalore to Chicago. Her crew had packed all the items very well and marked each item for identifying as it was a shared container. All the items were intact and without damage or scratch especially the Marble dinning tables, chairs, Diwan and the console. Venissa was tracking the shipment from port to port an updating us every step of the way. Her counterpart team in New Jersey also did a very good job of unloading, opening crates and assembling the furniture. Also they removed all the debris from our site. Overall we were very impressed with the service the Venissa - IMove had provided and will definitely recommend them to our friends and also to people who wish transport items from India. Well done IMove. Once again special thanks to Venissa.
Harish Manjunath · Household move · Bangalore → Chicago
I recently moved from Australia to India and IMOVE handled Indian customs and the experience was seamless. They delivered my shipment within the promised timeframe, and the process was straightforward from start to finish. Riju kept us informed every step of the way, providing regular updates, assisting with the paperwork, and ensuring everything went smoothly. Their professionalism and excellent communication made the move incredibly easy and stress-free. I highly recommend their services to anyone looking for reliable relocation services.
Anushree Chacko · Household move · Australia → India
Questions
What do people ask about moving to Australia?
Do I pay duty and GST on household goods I ship to Australia?
Not on goods that meet the duty and GST concession's conditions, and for furniture and household goods two of those conditions are that you personally owned and used them for 12 months before leaving for Australia and that their transport is arranged before you arrive in Australia.
Newer goods are a different case. The ABF asks for receipts or evidence of their value.
Which form clears household goods shipped to Australia?
The ABF asks you to complete an Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement (B534 Form) in English and lodge it to clear household goods shipped separately, and with it the ABF needs shipping documents, a packing list, receipts for goods held under 6 or 12 months, and permits for prohibited goods.
Write the packing list early. The survey inventory is where it starts.
What does Australia's biosecurity check look at?
Every unaccompanied personal effects shipment to Australia must undergo a biosecurity assessment by DAFF, Australia's agriculture department, and DAFF looks closely at items made from plants or animals, or in contact with soil, water, food, plants or animals, such as wooden furniture, bike tyres and golf clubs.
The ABF cannot release the shipment until DAFF clears it. A risk item may be cleaned, treated, exported or destroyed, at your cost.
Can I bring prohibited goods into Australia?
Most goods Australia lists as prohibited can only be imported with written permission, and some are under absolute prohibition and cannot be imported at all, so check the list before packing and keep anything without a permit out of the container.
The Australian Border Force's prohibited goods page holds the list. A permit goes with the B534.
When do I need to arrange the move?
Before you land in Australia, because for the duty and GST concession you must arrange transport of your personal effects before you arrive in Australia, and goods whose transport is arranged after you arrive do not qualify, so settle the booking while you are still in India.
Start with the survey. The packing list grows out of it.
Is the sailing time the same as the time to my door?
No, because on Ocean Network Express's published schedule the sea leg from Nhava Sheva takes 32 to 42 days to Sydney and 22 to 29 days to Fremantle, port to port, which counts only the time at sea and the change of ship at Singapore or Port Klang.
Packing, export clearance, the biosecurity check and the road leg come on top. This page quotes no door-to-door time.
Other routes
Moving from India to somewhere else?
These lanes start in India too. Each has its own sea leg and its own rules at the far end.
Get your quote before you fly.
Tell us what is moving and roughly when. We reply to every enquiry within 2 hours.
If your flight is already booked, say so. The concession needs transport arranged before you arrive in Australia.
Your shipment travels with all-risk marine cover at declared replacement value, included as standard.