Customs information
Arriving in Western Australia
While Australia is a friendly and welcoming nation, visitors from some countries are required to secure visas, on or before arrival, to ensure smooth entry into the country. These visas are managed and monitored by Customs and Immigration officers' at all international entry ports.
Customs officers are easily identifiable and can assist with a range of issues, including customs clearance of goods and luggage, quarantine and travel health concerns. For further information on how Customs can assist you, visit Department of Immigration.
Duty free, tax concessions and customs clearance
Most international travellers appreciate the opportunity for duty-free shopping. And visitors to Western Australian will enjoy a range of duty-free shopping benefits for goods including perfumes, cosmetics, alcohol, cigarettes, consumer goods and many other items.
Age restrictions and limits do apply, so check before you finalise purchases. If you’re an overseas guest, pick up a brochure on the Tourist Refund Scheme – you could qualify for even more savings on your shopping through tax refunds.
Quarantine – protecting our state
Western Australia's remoteness has provided the State with a natural barrier against many pests and diseases. To help keep Western Australia disease-free there are strict quarantine laws regarding importing and transporting plants and food stuffs.
While they may seem harmless, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, plants, flowers, honey, animals and introduced birds pose real threats to the Western Australian environment. Even used fruit and vegetable containers should be presented and scanned by Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services (AQIS) to ensure they are clean, and present no risk.
The best rule to follow is, ‘if in doubt, declare it’. State-based AQIS officers are friendly, welcoming and professionally trained and generally return more than 90 per cent of declared items to visitors. They want you to have a great holiday in Western Australia.Be warned, heavy penalties apply to those people not declaring items identified as a risk.
Visit the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services website for further information.