Australia Arrival

At the Australian airport (Arriving in Australia)

For most of the international students, trip to Australia is their first overseas trip and they are excited to land on the foreign soil for the first time. Even though the excitement is hard to contain, it is important to stay calm and comfortable when you arrive in Australia and go through the custom procedures properly. Australian customs impose very strict penalties for giving false information (whether knowingly or unknowingly) and therefore it is imperative for you to ensure you answer each question that is asked of you correctly.

During your flight to Australia, you will be given an Incoming Passenger Card to fill in. The most important section of this card is the one relating to the items you are bringing to Australia. Ensure you answer each question truthfully. If you are not certain about the question or whether you are supposed to declare the item you are carrying, seek help from custom officials upon landing. Alternatively, it is also a safe option to declare all the items you are confused about and let the custom officials check whether they are prohibited or not.  

Upon landing, the airport signs will direct you towards an immigration check-point. The immigration officers will check your passport, visa and the incoming passenger card. They may also wish to see your confirmation of enrolment therefore you must ensure that you have one copy of the confirmation of enrolment in your hand-bag.

After the immigration check-point, you will be directed towards the baggage hall where you can claim your luggage. Airport security staff may randomly stop a passenger and ask them to open their luggage. They may also use the help of sniffer dogs to ascertain whether you are carrying any forbidden item or not.

After collecting your baggage, you will have two options to go out of the airport:

Green channel
You can leave from this channel if you have nothing to declare. Be aware that you can be stopped anytime and be asked to open your luggage even if you state that you have nothing to declare. If Australian custom officials find an item that required declaration, you could be fined AUD220 on the spot; or you could even be prosecuted and fined more than AUD60,000. The maximum jail term for such a crime is 10 years.

Red channel
Follow this channel if you have something to declare or if you are not sure whether the item(s) you are carrying would need to be declared.

If you follow the red channel, all of your luggage will be x-rayed. A custom officer will also ask you to open your luggage and will have a close look at the questionable items. If the officer is convinced that the item needs to be quarantined as per their rules, it will be either destroyed or confiscated. It can also be held for decontamination and returned to you at a later date.

Australian customs do not impose any penalties for carrying such items as long as you declare them.

If, however, the custom officer makes a judgment that the item is safe and doesn’t need to be quarantined, you will be allowed to take it straightway.

Once you have cleared the custom check-point, you will be directed towards the arrivals hall. This is the area where friends and family members of the passengers wait for them. If you have arranged for an airport pick-up with your institution of study, or if you have asked your friend or family to pick you up from the airport, they will be waiting in the arrivals hall.

 If you need to exchange some money into Australian dollars, you will find many currency exchange booths in the arrivals hall. Although most of these booths are open 24x7, you should keep in mind the possibility of them being closed if you are arriving at odd hours.

Most of the Australian airports are connected to the city’s main centre via public transport services such as buses or trains. You can find more information about these services from the information booth in the arrivals hall. You will also be able to arrange a taxi from the airport to your destination.

Arrivals hall at the major Australian airports also have public telephone booths. Most of these telephone booths only accept cash in the Australian currency and therefore if you feel that you may have to call someone from the airport, it will be better for you to either carry some Australian currency in cash or get it from the currency exchange booths.

 If you are catching a domestic flight upon arrival, you will need to speak to the airport staff and ask them for directions to the domestic terminal. At some of the Australian airports, the domestic terminals are a bit far from the international terminal and may require you to catch an intra-airport terminal shuttle service. Airport staff at the international terminal would be able to guide you in the right direction.