In short: Brokerage, the ABF import processing charge, biosecurity charges and BICON, duty and import GST, with current published amounts.
A customs clearance quote looks simple: a brokerage fee and some government charges. In practice importers get surprised by the lines nobody mentioned, usually a biosecurity inspection, a permit, or duty they expected to be zero. A complete clearance quote separates what you charge, what the government charges, and what the importer pays in duty and tax, and says plainly what could be added later.
Goods valued over AUD 1,000 entering home consumption need a full import declaration, which can be submitted in the Integrated Cargo System (ICS). The declaration covers the goods, the importer, how the goods are transported, and their tariff classification and customs value (ABF, import declaration). Only the owner of the goods or a licensed customs broker can submit one, and the ABF notes that most importers choose a broker (ABF, about customs brokers). That's what your fee is for.
State what the fee covers: preparing and lodging the import declaration, classifying the goods, and lodging the biosecurity side through the same process. Many brokers set the fee for a number of tariff lines and charge per extra line, because a declaration with forty lines takes longer than one with three. If you do, say how many lines are included.
Also say what's extra: permits, attending an inspection, refund or amendment work, tariff concession applications, and a disbursement or finance fee if you pay duty and GST on the importer's behalf.
This is passed through at cost. For an electronic import declaration it's $50 for consignments valued over $1,000 and under $10,000, and $152 for $10,000 or more. Documentary (paper) declarations cost more: $90 and $192 (ABF, import processing charge). In practice brokers lodge electronically, so quote the electronic amount for the value band.
For consignments over $1,000, a biosecurity full import declaration charge is collected with the declaration: $71 for sea cargo and $48 for air cargo (ABF), the 2026–27 amounts in force from 1 July 2026 (DAFF, 2026–27 fees and charges). Pass these through at cost.
Then check the commodity in BICON, the Department of Agriculture's biosecurity import conditions database. It tells you whether the goods need an import permit, treatment, a manufacturer's declaration or an inspection. Packaging can trigger conditions as well as the goods, so ask about timber pallets, crates and dunnage. If a permit is needed, the application charge is $135 per application for 2026–27 (DAFF), plus your fee to handle it.
Inspections and document assessments are charged as fee-for-service. For 2026–27 the rate is $42 per 15 minutes per officer in the office during ordinary hours and $70 per 15 minutes out of the office (DAFF). You can't predict whether a consignment will be directed for inspection, so don't include it in the total. Name it as a possible extra with the rate.
Duty depends on the tariff classification, the customs value and the origin of the goods. If the importer has a valid certificate or declaration of origin under a free trade agreement, the preferential rate may be zero. Without one, the general rate applies. Give an estimate based on the classification you expect, state the rate you assumed, and say it's confirmed on lodgement. Don't quote "duty free" as a fact until you've seen the origin paperwork.
GST on imports is 10% of the value of the taxable importation: the customs value, plus duty, plus the international transport and insurance to Australia (ABF, GST and other taxes). Approved importers can defer GST to their monthly BAS under the ATO's deferred GST scheme, but duty must still be paid before release. Ask whether the importer is registered for deferred GST, because it changes how much cash you'll be asking them for before the goods move.
Sea freight, 3 tariff lines, value A$24,000, electronic declaration, no permit expected. Brokerage figures are example rates; government charges are the published amounts above.
Customs clearance, import declaration (up to 5 lines) .... AUD 160.00
ABF import processing charge (at cost, >= $10,000) ...... AUD 152.00
Biosecurity full import declaration charge, sea (at cost) . AUD 71.00
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TOTAL CLEARANCE ........................................ AUD 383.00
Estimated duty and GST (paid to ABF, not a brokerage fee):
Duty: 5% assumed (example) for the expected classification;
0% if a valid FTA origin document is provided.
Import GST: 10% of customs value + duty + freight and insurance,
payable before release unless on deferred GST.
Possible extras, only if they arise: biosecurity inspection or
document assessment (DAFF fee-for-service, AUD 42 per 15 min
in-office / AUD 70 per 15 min out-of-office), import permit
(AUD 135 application), extra lines over 5 at AUD 10 each,
disbursement fee if we pay duty/GST on your behalf.
Swap in the duty rate for the classification you actually expect, and keep the possible extras in every clearance quote, even when you think they won't apply.
A clearance quote usually sits inside a freight quote. Which side pays for clearance depends on the Incoterm (see Incoterms 2020 for forwarders), and the full FCL layout with these lines in place is in what a complete FCL quote from China to Australia includes.
Laneworks drafts clearance lines from your fee schedule, picks the right processing charge band from the declared value, adds the biosecurity charge for the mode, and lists the possible extras. Classification stays with your broker. See a sample draft, or forward a real request to try@getlaneworks.com and get one back in about two minutes.
Forward a quote request