To clear Unaccompanied Personal Effects (UPEs), you must complete and lodge an Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement (B534).

There are two ways to lodge an Unaccompanied Personal Effects statement.

Option 1 - In person To lodge the statement in person at an ABF counter you must undergo an Evidence of Identity (EOI) check. Besides the documents required for the EOI check, you need to bring the following with you:

• a completed and signed Unaccompanied Personal Effects statement

• any permits for the goods

• a delivery order from the shipper, or other shipping document identifying the owner. This must also show the address of the owner of the UPEs

• a list of all the goods included in the UPEs such as a packing list

• any receipts or evidence of the value of goods owned for less than 12 months (if applicable)

If you cannot lodge the form yourself, you can ask a representative such as a friend or relative to do it for you. Your representative must give us a copy of their passport photo page showing their signature.

The ABF may ask for more information to help with the clearance process.

Option 2 - Electronic lodgement through the Integrated Cargo System (ICS)

If you are using a customs broker or other service provider, they can lodge the Unaccompanied Personal Effects statement for you. They can do this through the Department’s Integrated Cargo System. ABF still need all the documents listed above, but you won’t need to attend a departmental counter. ABF may still ask for more information from them.

Personal Effects shipments can be lodged as a SAC only in very narrow, specific circumstances. In most cases, shipments will be lodged via the PE pathway.

A PE shipment may be only lodged as a SAC if all four of the following conditions are met:

1. The goods are genuinely personal effects

➢ Belong to an individual, not a business

➢ Not intended for resale or commercial use

➢ Typically used clothing, books, souvenirs, small household items, etc.

2. The value is under AUD 1,000

➢ This applies to the entire consignment, not per item.

➢ If the shipment value is > $1,000 → cannot be a SAC.

One of the biggest issues is validating the importer’s offshore history, as the B534 is often completed incorrectly. It is only at lodgement that brokers discover ABF has flagged the consignment for a Full Import Declaration (FID) because the person was not overseas for more than 12 months. Similarly, when the time between the traveller’s arrival and the arrival of the UPE exceeds six months, ABF frequently blocks the shipment. ABF routinely checks passport details, which is the primary method used to determine whether the goods genuinely qualify as Unaccompanied Personal Effects (UPEs).

3. The goods are not Unaccompanied Personal Effects (UPEs) This is the key point often misunderstood. UPEs must be lodged as a PE Import Declaration and never a SAC. This is because DAFF and ABF require visibility and screening that the SAC system cannot provide. SAC is only permitted for accompanied personal effects sent separately (e.g., luggage shipped separately by an airline or courier), not freighted UPE containers or cartons.

4. No DAFF controlled or restricted goods are included If the shipment contains anything requiring:

➢ Biosecurity inspection,

➢ Treatment certificates,

➢ Timber/timber packaging,

➢ Outdoor items with contamination risk,

➢ Food, animal or plant products

NB. Tools, machinery, or equipment for commercial use cannot be imported as Personal Effects. They must be treated as commercial goods* and lodged accordingly.

There are various import options available should the goods be imported on a temporary basis, such as ATA/CPD carnets and S162 of the Customs Act. * Commercial goods are any goods that are not genuinely personal in nature and are imported for business, resale, commercial activity, or income-earning purposes, regardless of who owns them or how they are transported.

Unaccompanied Personal Effects Checklist Authority & ID

➢ Obtain signed authority to act, copy of passport, visa/residency status, contact details in Australia.

➢ Confirm if the goods are actually personal/household effects, noncommercial, and (where relevant) owned/used overseas (typically ≥12 months). They may well end up needing a FID.

➢ Request a detailed packing list/inventory with plain descriptions. Evidence (as needed)

➢ Proof of overseas residence/usage (utility bills, lease, receipts) if ownership/use needs to be demonstrated.

Documents

➢ OBL/HBL or AWB/HAWB etc

➢ Unaccompanied Personal Effects statement B534 completed by the owner (one per owner/consignment). ➢ Biosecurity (if applicable): Cleaning/fumigation certificates, treatment docs, etc.

Cargo Reporting Confirm the consolidator/shipping line has correctly flagged the consignment as UPE (sea/air). CP questions Get accurate responses to Community Protection questions.

Biosecurity process

➢ BICON: “Personal effects & household goods”

➢ Send docs through COLS

➢ Most UPE are directed to an Approved Arrangement (AA 1.1) depot for inspection unless DAFF documentary assessment says otherwise?

Likely outcomes:

a) Release

b) Inspection

c) Treatment/cleaning

d) Re-export/destruction for prohibited/contaminated items

The DDWL Team

Information courtesy of IFCBAA

Picture courtesy of ABF