
Australian quarantine laws seem bizarre and confusing to the rest of the world. They are extremely strict about bringing food into the country – including snacks, purees and milks for babies and kids. As laughable as these laws sound, the Aussies take them pretty seriously. Here are the suitcases&strollers travel tips for foods you can (and cannot) bring into Australia.
·
In general no food and animal
products can be brought into Australia. There are some exceptions to this, but
the best policy is always to declare everything you want to bring into the
country (no matter how odd or small) on the quarantine form as you enter. If any
official asks you, again, declare everything immediately so that you are always
upfront and honest. If you are caught trying to “sneak” food into the country
you will be questioned and potentially even fined (or worse).
·
In general fresh produce is
more of a problem than packaged produce. An apple, for instance, will get you
into more trouble than a chocolate bar.
·
This doesn’t mean you should
fly to Australia without any food for babies or kids. Pack everything you need
for the flight but, if you can manage it, leave it all on the plane once you
land and buy fresh again when you enter Australia. [For travel tips on travel-friendly foods, see the suitcases&strollers story here.]
·
The authorities are quite
understanding about parents’ need to carry baby foods and milk, but the fresh
food rule still applies. If you really feel you must travel with some food
backup supplies, declare the packaged stuff on your quarantine form but be sure
to discard any homemade purees or foods before you clear customs. Packaged baby
foods are far more likely to be allowed in and will cause you less problems.
·
The same applies for pumped
and frozen breastmilk. Don’t get too attached to it as there is a strong
possibility it will not clear quarantine and will be confiscated. [For tips on how to fly with baby’s milk, see
the suitcases&strollers story
here.]
·
Carry all the snacks, food
and milk that you want to bring with you in your hand luggage if possible. Once
you have declared it, you will likely find yourself in an extremely long
quarantine queue waiting to have your bags checked. It is useful to physically
show the authorities at every checkpoint that all you are carrying is baby food
and emphasise (politely) that you don’t have anything else to declare. If they can actually see what you are saying, oftentimes
they will take pity on exhausted parents and let you skip the queue.
·
Australian supermarkets are
first world and baby and children’s supplies are generally very easy to find,
even for kids that have allergies. If you are concerned about the selection
available, pre-plan by researching the produce in the online stores for the
major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths so you know what to expect. [For tips on
travelling with allergies and dietary requirements, see the suitcases&strollers story here.]
·
For a specific list of the
Australian quarantine rules, visit the official website.
June Tan
12 May 2014, 3:43pm
Thank you for the invaluable information and tips. I leave for Perth in 7 hours and, inspired by your article, have just removed all my baby food and tin of formula from my suitcase and am raring to go!
May Cay
15 May 2014, 5:32am
I just came back from a holiday in Brisbane. We were aware of the food restrictions, so we only carried enough snacks for the flight and a small unopened tin of formula milk. We flew with Singapore Airlines and they were generous with packaged snacks for the inflight children meals. We found it a real waste of food to discard the snacks and decided to bring them into Australia. Like the advice in the article, honesty is the best policy. The Australian authorities were strict but reasonable. We cleared with the food and were not held up at the quarantine checkpoints. We were traveling with a scheduled tour group and did not have a chance to go to a supermarket in Australia until the end of Day 2, so the foodstuff we brought came in handy.
Packaged food is preferred, because the authorities can easily read the labels to check the ingredients and the country where the food is produced. Thus you may wish to avoid repacking food into your own containers.
Cheryl Kimble
04 Nov 2015, 4:08pm
Hi there. Can I bring small jar of peanut butter and marmite into Australia while visiting my daughter?
Cheryl Kimble
04 Nov 2015, 4:08pm
Hi there. Can I bring small jar of peanut butter and marmite into Australia while visiting my daughter?
suitcases&strollers;
12 Nov 2015, 12:18am
Hi Cheryl, Apologies for the delay in replying. Yes you should be able to bring these types of foods into Australia but you must declare them on the quarantine form. You should know, though, that peanut butter and Marmite are quite readily available in Australia so you will save yourself some queuing time if you don’t bring them with you but buy them on arrival instead. Hope that helps. suitcases&strollers;
Mary Jean Gador
01 Aug 2016, 2:50am
Hello,Just wanna ask if i can bring or put any chocolate on my laggauge to travel philippines and transit in sydney?Hope to hear from you soon.
suitcases&strollers;
02 Aug 2016, 12:35am
Hi Mary Jean,
You can put chocolate in your luggage but you MUST declare it on the quarantine form if you are clearing customs in Australia. Typically processed food like chocolates will be allowed through without an issue, but you have to declare them. Alternatively (depending where you come from) you may just want to purchase the chocolate before you board the plane in Australia for the Philippines so you can avoid the whole issue. Hope this helps and happy travels.
Nanette Baroja
18 Aug 2016, 2:58am
Hi. Can i bring powdered milk in the box for my 5 yr old and 3 yr old son?
suitcases&strollers;
18 Aug 2016, 6:37am
Hi Nanette
Yes you probably can bring in powdered milk into Australia but you will need to declare it on your quarantine form when you enter Australia. There is a small chance they may not allow it but generally packaged foods are alright. Did you know that Australia has a lot of fresh and packaged dairy products available quite cheap? Check the supermarkets Coles and Woolworths online—you may be able to buy the milk you want when you arrive in Australia and that will help you avoid the issue altogether. Hope this helps and happy travels.
BERNARDIA ACEVEDO
26 Aug 2016, 10:47pm
can i bring with me goat cheese from Norway and waffle mix in Australia?..
suitcases&stroller;
27 Aug 2016, 11:44pm
Hi Bernardia,
Basically processed packaged foods will generally be allowed into Australia; fresh produce will generally not be allowed. So your waffle mix may make it through but it’s highly unlikely that your cheese will. Whatever you decide to bring, you MUST declare it on your quarantine form. If you read some of the answers we have supplied above your comment that might help give you a sense of what is likely to get through and what it is not. Hope that helps and happy travels.
Karen
17 Mar 2017, 10:53am
How about medicine for kids (for fever, cough, colds, allergies), any insights?
suitcases&strollers;
17 Mar 2017, 11:42pm
Hi Karen,
Usually over the counter standard kids medication (such as Panadol or Neurofen) would be fine although most of these things you can buy readily in Australia. You should travel with a doctor’s letter for any prescription medications and then that would usually be OK as well. We would suggest you stay away from other types of more “natural” medicines though; for instance it can be hit and miss trying to enter with any Traditional Chinese Medicinal herbs or brews, vitamins, superfood powders and mixes, that sort of thing. If you are not sure and you plan to bring it, ALWAYS declare it on your quarantine form when you enter and then, while it still may get confiscated, at least you won’t get into trouble. Hope that helps and happy travels.
Men Dawe
23 Apr 2017, 1:38am
Can bring block cheese,biscuits and cup of soups, we are only there for 5 days and are not able to get out to shop.
sweety
30 May 2017, 5:48am
hi there, can i carry wheat flour, rice flour, powdered spices, which will be home packed. thanks for helping
suitcases&strollers;
06 Jun 2017, 2:41am
Hi Sweety,
You can try but highly unlikely these items would get through especially without any commercial packaging. Hope this helps and happy travels.
Nancy Kindred
02 Aug 2017, 7:44pm
Can I take Paxo stuffing and granulated gravy mix into Australia
Jerry D
21 Dec 2017, 2:18am
Can we bring packaged coffee and unopened Ranch salad dressing into Australia? What about packaged/unopened salsa?
John Randall
09 Jan 2018, 4:06pm
Can I take Rowntrees jellies into Oz, they are sealed until they are diluted.
Jaylie Xiao
10 Oct 2019, 10:07am
Can we bring cooked chestnuts into Australia?
Azaniza
06 Nov 2019, 8:59am
Hi,
your articles are so valuable to us. We will travelling to Sydney in next 48 hours. Since i’m carrying lots of spice and milk for my baby, I also prepared a list for easy checking during the custom check. Will this list help?