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Customs Information
Australia
- CUSTOMER MUST BE IN AUSTRALIA AT THE TIME OF CUSTOMS CLEARANCE
- MOST SHIPMENTS MUST UNDERGO CUSTOMS AND QUARANTINE INSPECTION at bonded warehouse
- Household goods and personal effects are duty and tax free providing:
- Customer has lived outside Australia for a minimum of one year and is intending on taking up permanent residence in Australia
- Customer has owned and used the goods for a minimum of one year and the goods are for their own personal use. If owned for less than one year, must have receipts or invoices.
- Items not declared are subject to fines, duty, possible legal action and confiscation
- Any antiques that are over 100 years old will be ordered by Quarantine to be fumigated and a verification certificate to prove how old the antiques are must be provided
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Transportation
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Australia |
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Railways
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Total: 43,802 km (5,290 km electrified)
Broad gauge: 1,957 km 1.600-m gauge
Standard gauge: 26,675 km 1.435-m gauge (2,828 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 14,957 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified)
Dual gauge: 213 km dual gauge (2003)
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Highways
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Total: 811,603 km
Paved: 314,090 km (including 18,619 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 497,513 km (1999 est.)
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Waterways:
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2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2004)
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Pipelines
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Condensate/gas 492 km; gas 28,680 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,773 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2004)
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Ports and Harbors
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Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville |
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Merchant Marine
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Total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,531,461 GRT/1,999,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 16, cargo 7, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 5
foreign-owned: 16 (France 1, Germany 3, Japan 1, Philippines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, United Kingdom 2, United States 7)
registered in other countries: 35 (2005)
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Airports
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448 (2004 est.)
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Airports -
with paved runways
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Total: 305
over 3,047 m: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 131
914 to 1,523 m: 139
under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.)
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Airports -
with unpaved runways
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Total: 143
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 112
under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.)
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Geography
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Australia
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Location:
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Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
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Geographic Coordinates
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27 00 S, 133 00 E
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Map References
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Oceania
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Area
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Total: 7,686,850 sq km
Land: 7,617,930 sq km
Water: 68,920 sq km
Note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island
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Area Comparative
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Slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states
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Land Boundaries
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0 km |
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Coastline
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25,760 km
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Maritime Claims
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive Economic Zone: 200 nm
Continental Shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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Climate
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Generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north |
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Terrain
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Mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
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Elevation Extremes
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Iowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
Highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m
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Natural Resources
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Bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum |
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Land Use
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Arable land: 26.07%
Permanent crops: 9.87%
Other: 64.06% (2001)
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Irrigated land
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24,000 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural Hazards
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Cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires
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Environment - current issues
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Soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources |
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Environment - international agreements:
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Party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol. |
Geography - Note
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World's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer . |
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