Pre-departure customs clearance

Your articles will be returned to you. For business customers who are required to submit a manifest, an accurate and complete manifest is required during or before lodgment.  Unmanifested articles will be held for 3 business days and then returned to sender if the manifest has not been received during this time.

When declaring your goods on the digital customs declaration (label), you must include the receiver’s post code as well as the HS tariff code of the goods you are sending. For example, an item described as “women’s knitted linen shirt” will have the tariff code of 610690. Read our guide on customs forms and regulations for more information on completing your customs declaration.

A good description is specific and concise, and indicates exactly what the item is and what it’s made from. An insufficient description is vague and unclear, and may result in your shipment being held by customs until more details are provided, or rejected and returned to you.

An HS tariff number is an internationally recognised code that classifies international shipments. You enter the HS tariff number on your customs declaration form to help customs authorities assess which taxes, duties and restrictions may apply to the delivery of your goods.

You can find your HS tariff code when providing a description of your item on our online customs declaration form. 

For business customers, you can find your HS tariff number when creating an order or shipment through MyPost Business or Parcel Send. 

If you’re a business customer integrated with our shipment API, you can access these codes through our Export Classification Tool. 

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Republic of Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland²
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway²
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Switzerland²
• Sweden

You may be eligible for a refund, depending on whether your article has left Australia and whether you have provided complete and accurate shipping information.

If your item has left Australia, it means we’ve transmitted the Electronic Advance Data (EAD) to the relevant overseas customs authority, where applicable. If the item is returned to you from the international destination, no refund will be provided.

If you’ve lodged your item (including international prepaid satchels) at a Post Office, and your item has not left Australia, you’ll have the option of a refund or resending your article.

A refund will not be provided if you send items that are prohibited, not properly declared or not compliant with our handling policies. Get more information on compensation and our refund policy.  

You may not have provided the appropriate shipping information when you sent the item. Before resending it, ensure you submit an accurate and complete customs declaration and manifest (if required).

If you sent your item at a Post Office, call 13 POST / 13 13 18 if you need more information or to discuss your options.

If you sent your item using eParcel, Parcel Send or your own portal, contact your account manager for more details.

You'll be able to track your item via auspost.com.au/track. If it’s being held at one of our facilities, it will be scanned and visible in our tracking tool. 

If you send your articles with Parcel Send or eParcel, you’ll see your items are pending when you log in.

Lodge it again with a new customs declaration with accurate and complete information.

For contract customers, a new manifest must also be created. 

Yes, you can pay for international items using postage stamps. You can complete the online customs declaration form before going to a Post Office and lodging your item at the counter. You can also ask a team member for help in entering the information and providing tracking information.

The Republic of Ireland (which excludes Northern Ireland) uses Eircodes, a unique code identifying an individual address, instead of postcodes. Use their 2-character country code ‘IE’ if you do not know the correct Eircode.

Our custom forms and regulations page provides a guide on country-specific regulations and completing your customs declaration correctly.

If you sent your item at a Post Office or via MyPost Business, call 13 POST / 13 13 18 to discuss your options.

Customers sending via Bulk Mail Lodgement (BML) and Electronic Lodgement Mailing System (e-LMS), please note that from 1 August 2022, sending items requiring EAD via these services is no longer allowed as they do not comply with the electronic capture of customs data.