Enrolment, accommodation, passport, offer letter, student visa, health insurance and what to pack. These are just some of the things you will need to think about when preparing to study in Australia - quarantine laws, regulations and requirements are others. You need to be aware of what you can not bring in to Australia with you and therefore what you should not pack.
Either as a traveller to Australia or as a recipient of mail and parcels from friends and family back home, sooner or later you will come into contact with quarantine issues. Refer to the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service for detailed information.
Each year Quarantine officers intercept more than 130,000 items at airports, mail handling centres and seaports. AQIS officers are particularly concerned about the number of parcels addressed to overseas students studying in Australia containing banned items, particularly food. These well-intentioned gifts could carry exotic pests and diseases which would put at risk the very things that make Australia so appealing as a destination – our environment, native plants and animals, agricultural industries and our great way of life.
- It is therefore important that you are aware of what you cannot bring into Australia when you arrive at the airport
- It is also important that your family and friends at home know what they can not send through the mail to Australia
- You should also know that people who deliberately break Australian quarantine regulations can be fined or taken to court
And remember, many of the food items you may want to bring into Australia or have sent to you through the mail are readily available in Australian shops. For further information visit the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.