Everything Brisbane and Queensland businesses need to import from China in 2026 — shipping times, landed costs, duty, GST and DAFF biosecurity, with a worked example.
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Last updated: 20 June 2026
In short: Importing from China to Brisbane works the same way as any Australian port, but the details matter. Your goods land at the Port of Brisbane (Fisherman Islands), clear Australian Border Force and DAFF biosecurity, then move to your warehouse or 3PL across Queensland. Expect 18–35 days door-to-door by sea, GST plus any duty on the customs value, and a realistic all-in landed cost of roughly 1.3–1.6x your supplier's FOB price once freight, duty, GST and local delivery are added. Get your supplier, freight forwarder and customs broker sorted before you order, and the whole thing runs like clockwork.
The process is the same five steps every Aussie importer follows, with Brisbane-specific logistics on the back end. First, find and verify a reliable supplier. Second, order and approve samples. Third, place your order and arrange payment safely. Fourth, book freight from the Chinese port to the Port of Brisbane — if you're unsure which shipping terms to agree, read our plain-English guide to Incoterms 2020 first. Fifth, clear customs and biosecurity, then have your goods delivered to your QLD warehouse or 3PL.
The bit most first-timers underestimate isn't the manufacturing — it's the landing. Brisbane is Australia's third-largest container port and a genuinely efficient gateway for South East Queensland, but you still need a customs broker and a clear handle on duty, GST and biosecurity before the container leaves China.
For businesses based in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast or regional Queensland, landing your stock at the Port of Brisbane usually beats trucking it up from Sydney or Melbourne. You save on interstate freight, you cut transit time, and you keep your supply chain closer to your customers.
The Port of Brisbane handles well over one million containers a year through its Fisherman Islands terminals, with direct services from major Chinese ports including Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Brisbane Airport also offers solid air-freight capacity for smaller, time-sensitive shipments.
Sea freight from China to Brisbane typically takes 14–25 days port-to-port, depending on the origin port and whether your service is direct or transhipped. Add a few days each side for inland transport in China, customs clearance and final delivery, and you're looking at roughly 18–35 days door-to-door.
Air freight is far faster at 3–8 days door-to-door, but it costs several times more per kilo. As a rule of thumb, use air for samples, urgent restocks and high-value, low-weight items, and use sea for everything else.
Your landed cost is made up of the product price, international freight, customs duty, GST, and local delivery. Most general merchandise carries a 5% import duty, though many goods are duty-free under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) if you have a valid Certificate of Origin (our Australia import duty guide breaks the rates down). GST of 10% applies to almost everything, calculated on the customs value plus duty plus freight and insurance.
Here's a worked example for a Brisbane importer bringing in a half-container of homewares:
Cost componentAmount (AUD)Product cost (FOB Ningbo)$20,000Sea freight + insurance to Brisbane$2,400Customs duty (5%, no ChAFTA cert)$1,000GST (10% on $23,400)$2,340Customs brokerage + port/quarantine fees$900Delivery to Brisbane warehouse$450Total landed cost$27,090
That's about 1.35x the FOB price. Claim ChAFTA and the duty disappears, dropping your landed cost meaningfully — which is exactly why a valid Certificate of Origin is worth chasing your supplier for.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) screens imports for biosecurity risks, and Queensland's climate means certain goods get extra attention. Timber packaging, anything containing plant or animal material, used machinery and some food-contact items can be inspected, fumigated or held. Declare everything accurately, insist on ISPM-15 compliant (heat-treated) timber pallets, and your goods move through far faster.
Technically no, but practically yes. For any commercial shipment over $1,000 you need to lodge an import declaration, and a licensed freight forwarder or customs broker handles classification, duty, GST, ChAFTA claims and biosecurity paperwork for you. The few hundred dollars it costs is cheap insurance against a misclassified tariff code or a held container racking up storage fees on the wharf.
The international freight rate to Brisbane is broadly similar to Sydney or Melbourne. The real saving is on local delivery and time — if your business and customers are in South East Queensland, landing in Brisbane avoids costly interstate trucking.
There's no legal minimum, but freight economics favour fuller loads. Many Brisbane SMEs start with an LCL (less-than-container-load) shipment to test a product, then move to full containers (FCL) once volume justifies it.
Yes. GST of 10% applies to almost all imported goods, calculated on the customs value plus duty plus freight and insurance. If you're GST-registered, you can generally claim it back as an input tax credit.
Yes — a good sourcing agent finds and vets the supplier, manages quality control on the ground in China, and coordinates freight and customs so your stock arrives in Brisbane ready to sell. That's exactly what we do at Epic Sourcing.
We're an Australian sourcing company with bilingual teams on the ground in China and Vietnam, offices in five countries, 20,000+ products sourced and 300+ happy clients — with average savings of around 77%. We handle end-to-end importing from China to Australia — supplier verification, quality control, and logistics into Brisbane and across Queensland — so you skip the guesswork. Give us a bell and book a discovery call.
