Tech Info: Importing into Australia

EV Works' goal is to offer the lowest pricing on EV components to Australians, and this includes pricing against international vendors. This is made possible thanks to our bulk buying power and lower amortized import costs, but we often get asked "Why is everything so expensive in Australia?" In short, importing products into Australia can be an expensive process. In the interest of transparency, here's a quick summary of what's involved.

Paying for Goods
The first step is sending payment to the seller - of course, be careful you're dealing with a reputable company. Paypal is the safest option for low-value purchases thanks to the security/guarantees it offers both parties. For larger orders you will almost always have to send a wire transfer, where there is very little recourse for fraud.

Freight Costs
Broadly speaking there are two options for freight: sending by air, or by sea (ship)..

Air freight
Air freight is far more expensive than sea freight by weight - usually around 10x as much - but is much faster (days instead of months/weeks), has far fewer overheads, and much smaller minimum shipment sizes. So for light, low value packages, it is usually the way to go.

Postal services are often the cheapest option but can be a little unreliable. We tend to avoid them in favour of international couriers (e.g FedEx / DHL), especially if the shipment is valuable.

Sea freight
For shipments above about 50kg, and if you're not in a hurry, sea freight is usually the way to go. The cost of sea freight itself is relatively low (often around $1 per kg for large shipments), but there are so many overheads/fees associated with shipping by sea that it is only justifiable for relatively large shipments.

A typical bill will include the freight itself, overseas charges (i.e getting your shipment onto the boat at their end), port service charge, terminal handling charge, sea cargo automation fee, depot security surcharge, customs payment, quarantine fees, shipping agent's professional fees, and several other small charges! Typically, the freight itself is only a small fraction of the total and it is difficult to bring in a shipment by sea for under $1000.

Import Duty
All goods imported into Australia require classification under Customs Tariff Act 1995, and in most cases a tariff is applicable. Tariffs exist in order to protect domestic manufacturers, usually around 5-10%, sometimes higher for luxury goods. Certain products are exempt, or if an FTA exists with the country of origin. See the Australian Customs website for more information.

GST
All shipments entering Australia with a value over $1000 are subject to 10% GST, payable to Australian Customs who forward it to the ATO.

We understand that everyone looks to purchase components for their EV from the most economical source. We at EV Works will do our best to keep ahead of the competition, and hope that the information above will save people from any unpleasant surprises!