I suspect if it's just re taping an envelope there will be no fee but if it involves rebuilding a timber shipping box and replacing all the straps holding the item to a pallet inside or something like that so the item arrives at your house undamaged the company would want to be paid.
I mean, my family had a 2ft javanese elephant carved from a single piece of wood get cut into 4 times by customs. We'd already had the ivory removed. It ruined an otherwise gorgeous piece of work, with no recompsense. And this was in the 90s, nearly 8 years before 9/11.
Well ivory is illegal it would be confiscated. If I wear my whale bone to nz I have to jump hoops because it’s whale bone but it’s decades old and culturally significant. Easy to skip the paperwork though.
I sent a box home from Germany just after 9/11. It was opened for inspection, checked and ‘resealed/wrapped’ 4 times. It was a cube box when I sent it, it arrived as a sphere.
lol it’s the wood. 🤦🏼♀️ you can’t jest get wood shit sent here, biosecurity is something we should be proud of, I occasionally have stuff that needs to be checked but there’s rules for a reason, when you own a property and go broke because some idiot imported a bug that ruins everything it kinda blows
When I was a banker, I heard a client say they brought home a wooden statue from South America (can’t remember which country). This happened back in the 1990s.
They successfully smuggled it through border control. Put on display in their house. Five years later, they discovered during a renovation that the foundation on their home (inner west) was eaten almost completely. Later discovered that the source was the statue.
The reason they’re at the bank is to borrow more money to rebuild.
Someone who actually read it properly smh. I have gotten one of these stickers and no extra fees were incurred. OP was being intentionally ignorant or just didn’t read/understand it.
Your individual experience on one package may not be identical to the experience of every single courier customer whose package underwent a customs inspection in the world.
Yeah, I've had a few checked too. Although I can't remember if the risk of needing to pay for the inspection was on the sticker.
If it is done on a case-by-case basis, then I wonder what the determining factor is?
I can't think of anything that would justify charging money to search their package.
Maybe if in the initial scans they found something which could be radioactive or like inflammable then special unit might need to be called or special uniforms for the people opening the box, etc. That would be a justified cost
Maybe, but if you've labelled it all properly and declared everything correctly, then I still don't see why you should be charged if they decide they want to inspect it.
If they do detect something that you haven't declared, then perhaps, but that's a different issue altogether. (and even then, if it's actually prohibited and you're going to get a fine, well that fine should be all that you pay).
Well some things cost money for sure, like say something which is a risk to Australia's bio diversity, now something like this would have to be securely incarcerated rather than just thrown in the bin, or if it's radioactive then some other technique. A very minor chance, but yes some things can cost money to dispose off
Reminds me of the number of stories of US customs violently and unnecessarily destroying completely correctly declared and expensive collector items (occasionally with items mysteriously missing) but it's basically impossible to sue them because they're government
There was a similar issue in the US recently where police were destroying completely innocent and unrelated people's homes in raids.
They were claiming government immunity and refusing to pay for the damage they caused.
That was recently resolved by a very smart lawyer (Jeffrey Redfern from the Institute for Justice) who decided to go after it indirectly and instead of filing a traditional tort claim for "destruction of property" (which is blocked by immunity), he argued the case under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Texas Constitution.
(See Baker v. City of McKinney)
Under the Takings Clause, if the government takes or destroys private property for a public benefit, it must provide just compensation, regardless of whether the officers were doing their jobs correctly.
I wonder if the same get around could be used for something like this. I mean... It's not quite so clear cut. But the customs were seizing items for the good of the American public, so there might be a case to be made that would be able to get around governmental immunity.
Just a generic label to notify receiver the item was inspected by Aust Govt Agency. Believe the only time a charge may apply is if the package contained an item that breached regulations and was required to be removed, held and destroyed at a later time. Even then, they rarely charge a fee. Usually only if the item requires multiple people and man hours to destroy and dispose.
Or they find enough of that ‘contraband’ to stoke up the party so hard that they forget who ‘you are’ or even who ‘they are’ and everyone walks away ok… stoned and confused but free and ok
Yeah I've had this several times back when I was collecting cards. Never actually been charged. Might have to do with the size/effort to repack and check it in general?
I had this once and they did try to pass the fee to me, I argued the fee was more than double the value of the item and if they asked I would have just asked them to destroy the item, so they waived it
I had the cork of a wine bottle drilled into a few years back. Don’t worry, they covered it with sticky tape. By the time I received it, the vinegar in the bottle didn’t quite match the ‘wine’ on the declaration.
I have the very niche knowledge to answer this for you - I used to work doing import clearance for a shipping company
There are actually 2 main agencies the government uses for border protection - ABF (customs) and DAFF (biosecurity).
Your sticker here is the DAFF sticker - at some point your package has been flagged as containing goods of biosecurity concern (or potentially the packaging, or it could be from a country that has had biosecurity concerns, etc)
Customs are funded by the taxpayer, the work that biosecurity does has more cost recovery passed on. I can't speak for all shipping companies, but where I worked the low value shipments would get cost absorbed by the company, high value shipments would send the biosecurity fees onto the customer with duty and taxes payable.
Last I knew, the fees were about $37, but have been stacked (if they open your package twice, they may try to charge twice, etc)
If you have any other questions about the process I'm more than happy to answer but obviously will keep things a bit vague so I don't doxx myself
A friend had a penpal in Germany. The penpal sent her a letter and included some oak seeds for planting. Letter arrived with a sticker like that one, indicating that the package had been opened, the seeds removed, and then resealed.
They included a very kind and polite letter "Sorry we had to open your letter but the seeds arent allowed in Australia: - biosecurity."
The sticker and the process are SOP to ensure no prohibited goods enter the country,
Some dude ordered a set of forged pistons - the inbred morons at customs proceeded to drill holes through every single piston "looking for drugs" then packaged them up, sent them on, refused to reimburse.
Thats one reason why you need insurance on shipping unfortunately. A lot of the blame lies on those who import drugs and make these invasive searches necessary.
Nah. Blame lies with the stupid war on drugs which is entirely unnecessary in the first place, where if drug addiction was treated like a health issue not a law and order one, then they wouldn't be messing with our packages in the first place.
Yeah but when you think of shipping insurance it's about whether the package goes missing or is damaged in transit. Not if the government is being paranoid and literally destroying a person's belongings. Who the hell would account for that 😭
Well about 20 years ago I would regularly ship software update packages with manuals to some developing nations before the days of fast internet - on their end and ours. Sometimes we might configure and send laptops. We pretty much had to account for their government having a good look at what we sent and sometimes it may or may not arrive. I wouldn't say we have a government any more paranoid than any other nation.
I’ve had the same things happen when ordering in a batch of hard disk drives - every one of them drilled - completely useless… Luckily the vendor insured and was able to just send out a replacement batch. They put in paperwork the second time that was supposed to help bypass these morons (not sure how) and they arrived safe from the destructive grubby little hands of bio security agents.
Yeah I'm not sure what the customs duties/import taxes etc are if they don't cover customs expenses.
Pretty sure many global logistics providers are bonded, so customs can just walk in and out and conduct their checks as needed. They are usually next to the airport too which makes this even more of a rort.
Not that I privately import a lot so I don't really care but seems like a money grab.
Yeah im not a lawyer so can't really comment on the difference or not. I am in policy and can say that where cost recovery can be used effectively and efficiently (amd legally) governments will try.
Customs and Biosecurity are different departments and are funded differently and separately. Customs is the Department of Home Affairs and Biosecurity Officers work for the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry. Biosecurity charge the freight company, who may pass the costs on to the importer.
Customs isn't charging you, Customs charges DHL/Fedex/importer for there inspection time, then DHL/Fedex/importer charges you if they feel like it. Depends on if it's a quick "Nothing to see here" or if they find something that's not allowed.
Have you gotten a bill? It says may incur, not will incur. Most items that need to be inspected are picked up when you purchase it overseas and the costs are put in with the purchase, such as woods and certain cloth blends.
Id imagine this was just a random inspection as it could have items that would be cause for concern with no declaration from the supplier. Probably email the supplier to let them know for future sendings to aus
So if you are a shipping company and getting paid to move a super expensive fragile but of equipment that has been strapped to a pallet, a strong wooden frame constructed around it so no chance it can get crushed, skinned with plywood and filled with styrofoam peanuts. Customs pulls it all apart to inspect the item and finds nothing what does your company do?
Chuck the item in the van without any packaging?
Get someone to rebuild the frame, strap the item back on the pallet, nail the plywood back on and put all the styrofoam back in, cop a bill for that and just wear it?
Abandon the package because it's too much work
Deliver package and get reimbursement for your extra costs.
Join a political party, become minister for federal police or whoever it is, push a bill through parliament to increase taxes so you have the money to repack and pay and adjust the legalisation accordingly.
If it's not already, it should be option 5. If nothing problematic was found, the packaging company shouldn't have to pay and the government should wear the cost of repackaging.
Governments aren't meant to be money making businesses, they are here to serve us.
You are falsely accused of a crime and taken into custody, losing your job and damaging your reputation erroneously due to the actions of law enforcement. You will be released, however it has cost the police and court system to bring these false charges. What does the court do?
1. Give you a pat on the back and send you on your way?
2. Offer compensation for disrupting your life in error?
3. Leave you in the cell and wait for you to perish from dehydration?
4. Charge you for the costs of their errors?
5. Fifth option that I can’t be bothered thinking of
Biosecurity officer here, theres a lot of misinfo going around this thread. Airport biosecurity is not looking for drugs they are only looking for biosecurity matter eg. Invasive plants, insects, fungi or algae.
If your package has come from certain countries they will be more strict and will probably open it.
Can I ask what flags a package as suspicious for Biosecurity? I recently ordered 2 tiny pairs of sterling silver earrings from the UK. My package was opened by Biosecurity and there was a note advising me as such. It’s just seemed the most ridiculous thing. This tiny thin little 1 layer package with 2 tiny pairs of studs inside. Couldn’t this have been seen on X-ray?
Customs or biosecurity, drugs, tax dodging or biohazards, either way the point is the government is out smashing our things and billing us for the hammer, china style. I don't care what they're looking for if they're just smashing stuff mate.
We had an extremely dangerous chemical opened by Customs. A substance that reacts violently with water. A substance you would never, EVER leave in the open.
Customs slashed open the packaging and taped it shut. Then sent it on it's way with the road courier. Through the middle of Sydney. It was open to the air when I got it and extremely lucky it didn't cause a fire, at the very least.
When I rang up to abuse the living fuck out of them, multiple people pretended to have trouble pronouncing the name of the compound and kept transferring the call until I gave up. Just fucking pathetic.
Fuck Customs. Useless in every way. I've seen so much shit get past them with ease - and they make a point of doing something unbelievably stupid on a completely non suspicious package.
Maybe there’s something I’m missing here - but it sounds like your extremely dangerous chemical was incorrectly transported to begin with. Surely there are specific transport requirements for such substances? I know that volatile substances need special containers and handling, and if they’re inspected there are special teams that do this.
It was transported by air. Internationally. They have extremely strict rules regarding transport of such a chemical. It was packaged very well and very appropriately, before Customs got to it. We had received shipments of the same stuff previously without incident.
It's perfectly obvious they were sending us a "we are watching" message. The chemical would be extremely useful in making methylamphetamine and various other restricted compounds. We are quite obviously not involved with that nonsense and never have been. The compound has myriad others uses, too.
So, in showing off their genius detective work and supreme authority in opening a clearly labelled, packaged, tracked, registered and insured shipment, they put a lot of people in a fucking lot of danger. And ruined many thousands of dollars worth of chemical.
I think the sticker’s saying: your package was either randomly selected for search or our preliminary inspection tripped a protocol for investigation. We didn’t find anything of concern, so everything sent is still there, but if your courier charges you, that’s legit.
The writing literally says you MAY be charged and you haven't been charged yet. Save the complaint for if the charge actually comes through, which it probably won't.
I import a lot of different products and when it shows it has been checked and opened by customs I have never been charged. I stay in a rural area so hard to get things as local cost is very high.
How is this for dumb. US Customs in Hawaii opened my air foam mattress and inspected inside it by cutting it open with a knife, when it was leaving the US... Suffice to say it ruined a $1000 mattress. Could not be patched.
I've had this a few times, never been charged extra from it. Customs did manage to loose a part of one parcel one time that they refused to take any responsibility for. Small metal die that cost me $250 to buy another one. Thanks Customs.
It's EXTREMELY unlikely the courier/freighter will pass on fees to you.
Being a cardboard box, it gets opened, inspected, sealed shut and sent back along its way. The courier/freighter is often not even aware let alone involved.
When it's something like a wooden crate, it gets the same sticker and the courier will then be required to seal it shut properly, this may incur a fee from the courier.
The other reason you may get an additional fee is when importing stuff and it's value is not listed correctly. They may open your package randomly and discover that it's not a "gift" valued at 0.25c but it's actually a $2,500 mobile phone which isn't illegal at all but it does mean that you may need to pay the GST/import fee and other crap for a $2,500 item and not a 0.25c item.
Yeah, are you going to hand over cash to the courier when he delivers it? Will he issue a legitimate receipt? Does he carry a portable card swiper? Nah not gonna happen
I would be livid if they tried to charge me for their mistake. I have no contract with this company where this was a part of the offer and acceptance so would be asking for where in regs it is allowed for to pass on charges of an inspection to a suspect.
This is like falsely arresting someone for mistaken identity and then trying to send them a bill for it because no arrest was made.
My bet is they put this on so people are just grateful they don’t actually get the fine and not annoyed that their package was opened.
The cost of transportation of you parcel unexpectedly went up slightly for the importing company.
They might
- build this cost into what they charge for every Australian parcel (most likely) or
- charge you the extra amount (as the government notice warns you) or
- just absorb the cost themselves and not get anyone to pay (least likely)
It simply stipulates charges "may be passed on" now that being said I have received parcels from overseas and they have had this attached and not once have I ever been charged for an inspection so I don't think you've got much to worry about.
Again it doesn't say you have to be charged or you definitely will it just as you "may be" ...don't even think about it.
It says it may be passed on. You got the parcel and no bill attached that you mentioned so no fee. The fee is if they find something and treat it generally.
You aren't likely to have to pay. Most couriers factor in the random inspections into the costs and as you had done nothing wrong, you should be right.
Is it a real sticker or some new scam? What if delivery driver prints this delivers the package? Few days later some offical looking post arrives in mail box with completely false banking information or some shady email
I’ve had a parcel with the same sticker minus any wording about incurring a fee when BioSec found a half dead spider in one of my parcels of model kits for a model railway layout.
Cool. Enough black market cigarettes and vapes to supply the entire country get past them on the regular, but they slash open an innocuous package and suggest you have to pay for that, too.
In with my very delicate spindly little plastic models.
The models were of ents, tree people, so I can maybe kinda see the connection? The agent must have had multiple things open at a time on his desk and just assumed the massive heavy destructive iron pinecone weight belonged with the delicate tree models. Fortunately my friend is a pro packer, and most of them came through it unscathed. Some injuries though, fortunately not the big models: https://i.imgur.com/o6vVkau.jpeg
Remember how I said it was technically true? Well, I daresay it was significantly less true for the person who was expecting to receive a giant iron weight in the shape of a pinecone. They might argue that yes, something was in-fact removed from their package.
What are you complaining about, you weren't charged anything you had nothing confiscated. This is a nothing. It doesn't say you will be charged anything, it's says it might happen but nobody ever is, get over it.
Couriers generally get their parcels inspected in 15 min blocks. If you read the charging guidelines 15 minutes of inspection in work hours costs $39. How many parcels do you think would be inspected in 15 minutes if all they have to do is open the box and see nothing of biosecurity concern? Maybe they only have to open the boxes that aren't conclusive on xray or whatever. So the $39 charge is spread over however many parcels get inspected. So the cost per parcel is probably pretty low. If a courier hasn't build the inspection cost into the price they charge how much would there even be to pass on for an individual parcel?
To anyone who doesn't like that the government is charging fees that may be passed on put pressure on the government to properly fund biosecurity so they don't have to cost recover (or to change the law to not care about biosecurity of incoming parcels I suppose).
I don’t understand why there’s a fee for this. Is this not part of our tax money to pay for this sort of shit? This seems ridiculous!
Maybe they should use the money from those doing wrong when charged to cover the rest they open 😒
There's a lot more to it, but this was selected to be opened by the courier, not Customs. They then got Customs to do an inspection.
Customs don't generally charge for inspecting unless there is something non-compliant in it.
The courier however, may charge which is what the label says. Were the contents accurately declared? If it was listed as something generic like 'skin care products' then that is likely why they opened it to check what it was.
At least they didn't smash open the wooden box then just patch it up with tape and carboard, odd because thre Item was cast iron with no voids or cavities.
Oh and if some cheeky cnt wants to say "uh but tax claim muh illegal!" Yea so should shafting the public with non consensual fees that were not disclosed till the parcel arrived. It's theft.
I got my parcel checked and had no fee but some of my items were missing despite the label saying they hadn’t removed anything. Has this happened with anyone ?
It's a generic sticker. Small parcels and envelopes barely attract a charge, if at all. Stuff like massive crates incur huge charges, that gets passed on.
Side note: If this was delivered by AusPost, FedEx or DHL, they usually build these costs into their shipping charges. They split them down to small amounts, so the occasional package that is opened, doesn't require extra payment and they're not out of pocket
Smaller distributors, or direct distribution, may incur fees. I know when I used to work at the Port, we would have to pass on inspection fees to certain import companies because they kept bringing in shit that kept getting tagged and costing us as a freighter a heap to just get it out of there
I just had an electric mozzie zapper paddle thing confiscated and deemed an electrocution weapon!
They said I could contest, which I did and got auto rejected as soon as I filled the form in.
It has happened to me a few times and I have never incurred a fee. It must depend on a few factors (including I think it you are a regular known customer)
Usually if you have to pay, it requires payment prior to it being released so if you have the package, I don’t think you’ll be getting an invoice. Same happens when businesses import cargo into the country. Inspecting a full container of cargo costs about $60 so inspecting a small package would be next to nothing (I imagine)
Generally, can't you refuse acceptance of the package and get the sender to send a new one under warranty of the delivery. This is what the post office has suggested when I've been on the receiving end of this.
Border patrol are the biggest bunch of scammers around they shield for the Australian government and any government official can suck my dick and eat my shit for all I care fuck you scummy government
Was the package from the US? It might have something to do the the supreme leader and the changes to airmail? If not then I don’t know.
In the early days of eBay high quality hiking gear was about a 1/2 of the price it was here so I’d buy a bunch of say tents which went for $700 here and $300 there. Sell two, keep one for myself for a free upgrade. I had the boxes opened heaps of times because it was claimed as camping equipment. They needed to check there wasn’t any soil etc on thr gear.
Was never charged for that however, they would just whack a bunch of biosecurity brochures in the box before reselaling it and sending on
I have had my overseas parcel checked and this sticker on it but was not charged at all so maybe it’s case by case?
It reads MAY charge for this.
I suspect if it's just re taping an envelope there will be no fee but if it involves rebuilding a timber shipping box and replacing all the straps holding the item to a pallet inside or something like that so the item arrives at your house undamaged the company would want to be paid.
I'd take that over them sending the item back to you like "well not our problem it scanned suspiciously and it got damaged"
I mean, my family had a 2ft javanese elephant carved from a single piece of wood get cut into 4 times by customs. We'd already had the ivory removed. It ruined an otherwise gorgeous piece of work, with no recompsense. And this was in the 90s, nearly 8 years before 9/11.
The inspection would have been for pests such as wood borers, not so much any ivory.
I thought they could fumigate it instead? Or do they still need to cut it open?
Can fumo, but gotta cut in to make sure all life forms are extinguished/don't exist
Well ivory is illegal it would be confiscated. If I wear my whale bone to nz I have to jump hoops because it’s whale bone but it’s decades old and culturally significant. Easy to skip the paperwork though.
I sent a box home from Germany just after 9/11. It was opened for inspection, checked and ‘resealed/wrapped’ 4 times. It was a cube box when I sent it, it arrived as a sphere.
lol it’s the wood. 🤦🏼♀️ you can’t jest get wood shit sent here, biosecurity is something we should be proud of, I occasionally have stuff that needs to be checked but there’s rules for a reason, when you own a property and go broke because some idiot imported a bug that ruins everything it kinda blows
Wooden items shouldn’t be imported.
When I was a banker, I heard a client say they brought home a wooden statue from South America (can’t remember which country). This happened back in the 1990s.
They successfully smuggled it through border control. Put on display in their house. Five years later, they discovered during a renovation that the foundation on their home (inner west) was eaten almost completely. Later discovered that the source was the statue.
The reason they’re at the bank is to borrow more money to rebuild.
Be grateful for border control.
That's wild.
Maybe there’s some way of getting it sterilised with radiation?
Yeah you really can't import handmade wooden goods that don't appear heavily commercial
They'd also be looking for drugs, see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-02/afp-donates-timber-from-drug-bust-to-woodworking-clubs/101392640
Someone who actually read it properly smh. I have gotten one of these stickers and no extra fees were incurred. OP was being intentionally ignorant or just didn’t read/understand it.
Your individual experience on one package may not be identical to the experience of every single courier customer whose package underwent a customs inspection in the world.
They don’t send on empty boxes it says nothing was removed.
Yeah, I've had a few checked too. Although I can't remember if the risk of needing to pay for the inspection was on the sticker.
If it is done on a case-by-case basis, then I wonder what the determining factor is?
I can't think of anything that would justify charging money to search their package.
Maybe if in the initial scans they found something which could be radioactive or like inflammable then special unit might need to be called or special uniforms for the people opening the box, etc. That would be a justified cost
Maybe, but if you've labelled it all properly and declared everything correctly, then I still don't see why you should be charged if they decide they want to inspect it.
If they do detect something that you haven't declared, then perhaps, but that's a different issue altogether. (and even then, if it's actually prohibited and you're going to get a fine, well that fine should be all that you pay).
Well some things cost money for sure, like say something which is a risk to Australia's bio diversity, now something like this would have to be securely incarcerated rather than just thrown in the bin, or if it's radioactive then some other technique. A very minor chance, but yes some things can cost money to dispose off
Yeah, that's fair. I could see them making you pay for the disposal. Although still not for the inspection itself.
Incarcerated? Haha I think you mean incinerated. 😂👌🏻 Send package directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.
While you were on there, didn’t you also notice bio diversity should have been bio security?
Reminds me of the number of stories of US customs violently and unnecessarily destroying completely correctly declared and expensive collector items (occasionally with items mysteriously missing) but it's basically impossible to sue them because they're government
There was a similar issue in the US recently where police were destroying completely innocent and unrelated people's homes in raids.
They were claiming government immunity and refusing to pay for the damage they caused.
That was recently resolved by a very smart lawyer (Jeffrey Redfern from the Institute for Justice) who decided to go after it indirectly and instead of filing a traditional tort claim for "destruction of property" (which is blocked by immunity), he argued the case under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Texas Constitution. (See Baker v. City of McKinney)
Under the Takings Clause, if the government takes or destroys private property for a public benefit, it must provide just compensation, regardless of whether the officers were doing their jobs correctly.
I wonder if the same get around could be used for something like this. I mean... It's not quite so clear cut. But the customs were seizing items for the good of the American public, so there might be a case to be made that would be able to get around governmental immunity.
Yes but anybody can stick anything in a package with your name and address on it, could be a way for somebody to hurt you financially if they do that.
Everything requires HS (Harmonized System) codes now.
If the sender didn't complete the declaration it may incur a fee.
The determining factor is whether or not people could be bothered to pay I think 😂
Probably.. But I believe that the cost of shipping is up to the sender...
I don't even think we have the "Charge on delivery" here in Australia..
But I don't mind been proven wrong
If it contained what the paperwork says it contained you'd likely be in the clear. If your paperwork sucked balls then you get what you get
It does say 'may' the delivery company may soak up the cost,pass to the sender, they may soak the cost... Then, maybe the customer.
Just a generic label to notify receiver the item was inspected by Aust Govt Agency. Believe the only time a charge may apply is if the package contained an item that breached regulations and was required to be removed, held and destroyed at a later time. Even then, they rarely charge a fee. Usually only if the item requires multiple people and man hours to destroy and dispose.
It said the carrier pays the fee and MAY pass on the cost to you. They may choose not to, to avoid bad reviews
Usually they soak it up. It's another tax write off EOFY
It'll be for items where the testing is actually expensive and warranted for high risk categories surely.
Maybe they found enough contraband that month to cover the costs in fines...
Or they find enough of that ‘contraband’ to stoke up the party so hard that they forget who ‘you are’ or even who ‘they are’ and everyone walks away ok… stoned and confused but free and ok
It does say "may be passed on" so likely shady couriers would. Most will just eat the cost I reckon, since it'd look bad if they didn't.
Or maybe they push it back to the shipper. I hope not.
They end up x-raying it, this is why not all of them are opened only the suspicious ones, and that's how they get there sticker
Yeah I've had this several times back when I was collecting cards. Never actually been charged. Might have to do with the size/effort to repack and check it in general?
If it was from the US, it'll be Tariffs.
I had this once and they did try to pass the fee to me, I argued the fee was more than double the value of the item and if they asked I would have just asked them to destroy the item, so they waived it
What was the fee btw
no idea, was about 17 years ago so probably less than it would be today
$2.
Nah. I forgot there was an pine cone in xmas decorations i shipped. It was 160 to treat and 60 to destroy. I doubt it would be $2
I think it's about $40 from memory. But that was about 10 years ago.
For your own safety we have determined you owe us money and we've broken your shit.
Do you remember what the item was and how it was packaged?
I had the cork of a wine bottle drilled into a few years back. Don’t worry, they covered it with sticky tape. By the time I received it, the vinegar in the bottle didn’t quite match the ‘wine’ on the declaration.
So they stole your wine and replaced it with vinegar?
When wine goes off, it basically becomes vinegar.
I have the very niche knowledge to answer this for you - I used to work doing import clearance for a shipping company
There are actually 2 main agencies the government uses for border protection - ABF (customs) and DAFF (biosecurity).
Your sticker here is the DAFF sticker - at some point your package has been flagged as containing goods of biosecurity concern (or potentially the packaging, or it could be from a country that has had biosecurity concerns, etc)
Customs are funded by the taxpayer, the work that biosecurity does has more cost recovery passed on. I can't speak for all shipping companies, but where I worked the low value shipments would get cost absorbed by the company, high value shipments would send the biosecurity fees onto the customer with duty and taxes payable.
Last I knew, the fees were about $37, but have been stacked (if they open your package twice, they may try to charge twice, etc)
If you have any other questions about the process I'm more than happy to answer but obviously will keep things a bit vague so I don't doxx myself
This ^^^^^
A friend had a penpal in Germany. The penpal sent her a letter and included some oak seeds for planting. Letter arrived with a sticker like that one, indicating that the package had been opened, the seeds removed, and then resealed.
They included a very kind and polite letter "Sorry we had to open your letter but the seeds arent allowed in Australia: - biosecurity."
The sticker and the process are SOP to ensure no prohibited goods enter the country,
This answer should be at the top of the thread
Most businesses will work out the costs and decide that some things just aren't worth chasing. Little. money and it annoys your customers.
I want to know who kept my copy of GTA.
Be grateful thats all that happened.
Some dude ordered a set of forged pistons - the inbred morons at customs proceeded to drill holes through every single piston "looking for drugs" then packaged them up, sent them on, refused to reimburse.
I ordered rare artist's pencils from the USA once. They got here in 1-inch lengths, with the leads drilled out. I did no get any compensation either.
Ouch. What were the pencils out of interest? (And do you know why they took the lead/graphite out??)
They were Faber Castel Polychromos Light Violet 139. They haven't been manufactured for several decades now and are very hard to find.
I can only assume they thought it was a cunning way to import illicit substances, and drilled the leads out to test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxQ6JZzAYKU
Next time put the drugs in the exterior to get it through
Either you are the bloke or this is just common, but when I was a parts interpreter, this happened to one of my customers.
Thats one reason why you need insurance on shipping unfortunately. A lot of the blame lies on those who import drugs and make these invasive searches necessary.
It's the sender's responsibility to cover any damaged or lost freight. Insurance add ons paid for by a receiver are a scam
This is international, so there are specific shipping terms (incoterms) that set out who is responsible and who pays what.
It’s whatever is in the sale/shipping terms… can be seller or buyers responsibility
Damaged only due to poor packaging. Damage deliberately caused by the customs of another country is definitely not the seller’s responsibility.
Oh piss off, I would be spewing if this happened to me. Government should claim responsibility on products they destroy.
Nah. Blame lies with the stupid war on drugs which is entirely unnecessary in the first place, where if drug addiction was treated like a health issue not a law and order one, then they wouldn't be messing with our packages in the first place.
True. I'm all for legalising all drugs and putting all that effort into treating it as a medical issue.
Eh? Nah.
Most of it is biosecurity. Some of it is weapons, pharma, and avoiding tax. A tiny bit is drugs.
Take the drugs out and we still need to preserve our status as an island without a lot of diseases that exist elsewhere.
Sure but a whole lot less smuggling without the drugs, and the drugs are the most highly concealed.
For example, you wouldn't exactly encase a live tortoise inside a solid piston rod or grind it up into shampoo. It would no be a live tortoise.
Not sure what you mean by 'pharma' smuggling
And tobacco- the things I have seen tobacco stashed in over the years… inside of paper reels, dodgy concrete statuary…
Yeah but when you think of shipping insurance it's about whether the package goes missing or is damaged in transit. Not if the government is being paranoid and literally destroying a person's belongings. Who the hell would account for that 😭
Well about 20 years ago I would regularly ship software update packages with manuals to some developing nations before the days of fast internet - on their end and ours. Sometimes we might configure and send laptops. We pretty much had to account for their government having a good look at what we sent and sometimes it may or may not arrive. I wouldn't say we have a government any more paranoid than any other nation.
I have to admit I don't know a lot about engine parts. Are forged pistons hollow? If not, surely their scanning equipment can detect this?
No they arent, it would pretty easy to figure out its not full of drugs without holes in it.
Fair enough. Border Farce are just daft, then.
I wonder if something like this was challenged in court before?
Drugs within forged items was common
refused to reimburse?
I’ve had the same things happen when ordering in a batch of hard disk drives - every one of them drilled - completely useless… Luckily the vendor insured and was able to just send out a replacement batch. They put in paperwork the second time that was supposed to help bypass these morons (not sure how) and they arrived safe from the destructive grubby little hands of bio security agents.
Oh my god! That us aweful!
Wow that is some serious bullshit
So are customs privately funded?
Because if we're already paying customs why the fuck are customs charging people for doing their job?
Yeah I'm not sure what the customs duties/import taxes etc are if they don't cover customs expenses.
Pretty sure many global logistics providers are bonded, so customs can just walk in and out and conduct their checks as needed. They are usually next to the airport too which makes this even more of a rort.
Not that I privately import a lot so I don't really care but seems like a money grab.
A money grab like all those extra taxes they slap on alcohol that make it some of the most expensive in the world.
Australian governments have a long history of using cost recovery methods like this. Lowers overall cost of service by implementing user pays.
This is an enforcement action not a private concert.
This is like getting a bill because you were selected for an RBT.
Yeah im not a lawyer so can't really comment on the difference or not. I am in policy and can say that where cost recovery can be used effectively and efficiently (amd legally) governments will try.
Don't give them ideas
Customs and Biosecurity are different departments and are funded differently and separately. Customs is the Department of Home Affairs and Biosecurity Officers work for the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry. Biosecurity charge the freight company, who may pass the costs on to the importer.
Customs isn't charging you, Customs charges DHL/Fedex/importer for there inspection time, then DHL/Fedex/importer charges you if they feel like it. Depends on if it's a quick "Nothing to see here" or if they find something that's not allowed.
This isn’t customs, it’s agriculture/bio-security.
Have you gotten a bill? It says may incur, not will incur. Most items that need to be inspected are picked up when you purchase it overseas and the costs are put in with the purchase, such as woods and certain cloth blends.
Id imagine this was just a random inspection as it could have items that would be cause for concern with no declaration from the supplier. Probably email the supplier to let them know for future sendings to aus
"May be passed on to you..."
Shouldn't ever be charged, on principle, if nothing was found.
So if you are a shipping company and getting paid to move a super expensive fragile but of equipment that has been strapped to a pallet, a strong wooden frame constructed around it so no chance it can get crushed, skinned with plywood and filled with styrofoam peanuts. Customs pulls it all apart to inspect the item and finds nothing what does your company do?
If it's not already, it should be option 5. If nothing problematic was found, the packaging company shouldn't have to pay and the government should wear the cost of repackaging.
Governments aren't meant to be money making businesses, they are here to serve us.
The exporter is supposed to fill out a declaration, its not uncommon for them to do this incorrectly, or not at all.
If the agency decides to inspect the goods, the importer may be liable for that. Its the cost of doing business.
Lots of overseas sellers have fine print saying they will not be liable for these fees.
Found the guy who writes those compliance training quizzes at work!
That's probably a good career for me actually.
You are falsely accused of a crime and taken into custody, losing your job and damaging your reputation erroneously due to the actions of law enforcement. You will be released, however it has cost the police and court system to bring these false charges. What does the court do? 1. Give you a pat on the back and send you on your way? 2. Offer compensation for disrupting your life in error? 3. Leave you in the cell and wait for you to perish from dehydration? 4. Charge you for the costs of their errors? 5. Fifth option that I can’t be bothered thinking of
Google Lindy Chamberlain for that answer.
Very different circumstances to who bears the cost of delivering a parcel undamaged.
Different circumstances with a similar issue: costs incurred at no fault of the “victim” being passed on to them. I’ll check it out!
Yeah true, can't comment on the situation unless they actually have to pay. Doesn't matter that they MAY have to. Cheers genius
Biosecurity officer here, theres a lot of misinfo going around this thread. Airport biosecurity is not looking for drugs they are only looking for biosecurity matter eg. Invasive plants, insects, fungi or algae. If your package has come from certain countries they will be more strict and will probably open it.
Also another thing to note is that customs is run by Australian border force and biosecurity is run by DAFF
Ex-Biosecurity Inspector here - this is the way.
Anything that falls into drug side of things gets put aside for the police (either state or federal depending on entry point) to deal with.
Can I ask what flags a package as suspicious for Biosecurity? I recently ordered 2 tiny pairs of sterling silver earrings from the UK. My package was opened by Biosecurity and there was a note advising me as such. It’s just seemed the most ridiculous thing. This tiny thin little 1 layer package with 2 tiny pairs of studs inside. Couldn’t this have been seen on X-ray?
Customs or biosecurity, drugs, tax dodging or biohazards, either way the point is the government is out smashing our things and billing us for the hammer, china style. I don't care what they're looking for if they're just smashing stuff mate.
We had an extremely dangerous chemical opened by Customs. A substance that reacts violently with water. A substance you would never, EVER leave in the open.
Customs slashed open the packaging and taped it shut. Then sent it on it's way with the road courier. Through the middle of Sydney. It was open to the air when I got it and extremely lucky it didn't cause a fire, at the very least.
When I rang up to abuse the living fuck out of them, multiple people pretended to have trouble pronouncing the name of the compound and kept transferring the call until I gave up. Just fucking pathetic.
Fuck Customs. Useless in every way. I've seen so much shit get past them with ease - and they make a point of doing something unbelievably stupid on a completely non suspicious package.
Maybe there’s something I’m missing here - but it sounds like your extremely dangerous chemical was incorrectly transported to begin with. Surely there are specific transport requirements for such substances? I know that volatile substances need special containers and handling, and if they’re inspected there are special teams that do this.
It was transported by air. Internationally. They have extremely strict rules regarding transport of such a chemical. It was packaged very well and very appropriately, before Customs got to it. We had received shipments of the same stuff previously without incident.
It's perfectly obvious they were sending us a "we are watching" message. The chemical would be extremely useful in making methylamphetamine and various other restricted compounds. We are quite obviously not involved with that nonsense and never have been. The compound has myriad others uses, too.
So, in showing off their genius detective work and supreme authority in opening a clearly labelled, packaged, tracked, registered and insured shipment, they put a lot of people in a fucking lot of danger. And ruined many thousands of dollars worth of chemical.
Then literally claimed to know nothing about it.
Could you have sued them?
Haven’t got a parcel after covid but prior got a few with a similar sticker, never said anything about paying though.
I’m the same.
Brought a model kit made from plastic with most of the parts still on the sprue. Came in from USA.
It had the very same sticker on it plus it smelled “funny” when I opened it.
Turns out BioSec had found a half dead spider in the package and they’d had to fumigate it to let the parcel come through.
Nothing about paying for the service or incurring any fee due to the contraband stow away.
I think the sticker’s saying: your package was either randomly selected for search or our preliminary inspection tripped a protocol for investigation. We didn’t find anything of concern, so everything sent is still there, but if your courier charges you, that’s legit.
Most carriers will not pass this on to you, it will typically get charged to the account that paid for the shipping
Who should pay for these checks? People who use the service or people who do not?
The writing literally says you MAY be charged and you haven't been charged yet. Save the complaint for if the charge actually comes through, which it probably won't.
Wtf why would they charge it. Next time they will start charging all incoming parcels. Fvcking money hungry grubs
I’ve had that sticker but I don’t remember paying anything. Any justification for the fee?
Should of put a label " Not Drugs"
I import a lot of different products and when it shows it has been checked and opened by customs I have never been charged. I stay in a rural area so hard to get things as local cost is very high.
Always when importing ask for DDP it includes delivery to your door and any other charges. It helps with any issues.
I’d say if they found something you’d be charged a disposal fee.
How is this for dumb. US Customs in Hawaii opened my air foam mattress and inspected inside it by cutting it open with a knife, when it was leaving the US... Suffice to say it ruined a $1000 mattress. Could not be patched.
Guess you missed the “may”
In most cases, the charge isn’t passed on.
“Maybe”
Confused, this is normal and has been for decades.
I've had this a few times, never been charged extra from it. Customs did manage to loose a part of one parcel one time that they refused to take any responsibility for. Small metal die that cost me $250 to buy another one. Thanks Customs.
I've never heard of any of the carriers actually passing this charge on. But once they work out they can, we'll all be stuffed.
Didn't receive the item,bank charge back.
It's EXTREMELY unlikely the courier/freighter will pass on fees to you.
Being a cardboard box, it gets opened, inspected, sealed shut and sent back along its way. The courier/freighter is often not even aware let alone involved.
When it's something like a wooden crate, it gets the same sticker and the courier will then be required to seal it shut properly, this may incur a fee from the courier.
The other reason you may get an additional fee is when importing stuff and it's value is not listed correctly. They may open your package randomly and discover that it's not a "gift" valued at 0.25c but it's actually a $2,500 mobile phone which isn't illegal at all but it does mean that you may need to pay the GST/import fee and other crap for a $2,500 item and not a 0.25c item.
Yeah, are you going to hand over cash to the courier when he delivers it? Will he issue a legitimate receipt? Does he carry a portable card swiper? Nah not gonna happen
They can take it out of Paul Grahams Christmas bonus, and shove it up his greedy tight arse if they so choose.
I've had medication checked and sent through, without any extra charges added. Must depend which carrier was used if you get an extra charge
Did you incur the fee? It said may incur the fee.
Not sure if you know what may means...
So what you're all saying is that trying to smuggle a sheet of LSD tabs in a book probably isn't going to work.
Got it.
I would think you’d be charged if they actually found something…
The sender would be charged
I would be livid if they tried to charge me for their mistake. I have no contract with this company where this was a part of the offer and acceptance so would be asking for where in regs it is allowed for to pass on charges of an inspection to a suspect.
This is like falsely arresting someone for mistaken identity and then trying to send them a bill for it because no arrest was made.
My bet is they put this on so people are just grateful they don’t actually get the fine and not annoyed that their package was opened.
The cost of transportation of you parcel unexpectedly went up slightly for the importing company.
They might - build this cost into what they charge for every Australian parcel (most likely) or - charge you the extra amount (as the government notice warns you) or - just absorb the cost themselves and not get anyone to pay (least likely)
It simply stipulates charges "may be passed on" now that being said I have received parcels from overseas and they have had this attached and not once have I ever been charged for an inspection so I don't think you've got much to worry about.
Again it doesn't say you have to be charged or you definitely will it just as you "may be" ...don't even think about it.
It says it may be passed on. You got the parcel and no bill attached that you mentioned so no fee. The fee is if they find something and treat it generally.
You didn’t get the charge at the same time? It means you weren’t charged at all.
You aren't likely to have to pay. Most couriers factor in the random inspections into the costs and as you had done nothing wrong, you should be right.
Is it a real sticker or some new scam? What if delivery driver prints this delivers the package? Few days later some offical looking post arrives in mail box with completely false banking information or some shady email
This is genuine.
I’ve had a parcel with the same sticker minus any wording about incurring a fee when BioSec found a half dead spider in one of my parcels of model kits for a model railway layout.
Cool. Enough black market cigarettes and vapes to supply the entire country get past them on the regular, but they slash open an innocuous package and suggest you have to pay for that, too.
You wont be charged.
It says “May” be passed on to you.
I wonder if the sender forgot to sign the declaration, which meant it had to be searched?
Ive gotten these in packages that definatly contained illegal drugs 😂
It just says "MAY be passed onto you"
You don't have to pay anything, it's just a notice. I'd imagine IF they found anything of concern, that's when you'd be charged a fee
https://preview.redd.it/8ey1l2i5dg8g1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b5976826f47549e1ac87aafcdf867a5df25763c
I've never had to pay anything and I've had a handful of parcels go through this over the years
No it says may. You'd be charged if they found something illegal. Since there was nothing found you won't be charged.
I once had customs open up my box of painted miniatures from a friend. The sticker and letter inside claimed they'd not taken anything from my package. https://i.imgur.com/dcLWUd6.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/SQgjYmm.jpeg
Technically true, I suppose.
What they'd done instead was add something!
A very heavy, suss-looking, iron weight in the shape of a pinecone. https://i.imgur.com/3Ybca6D.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/bj8mKuY.jpeg
In with my very delicate spindly little plastic models.
The models were of ents, tree people, so I can maybe kinda see the connection? The agent must have had multiple things open at a time on his desk and just assumed the massive heavy destructive iron pinecone weight belonged with the delicate tree models. Fortunately my friend is a pro packer, and most of them came through it unscathed. Some injuries though, fortunately not the big models: https://i.imgur.com/o6vVkau.jpeg
Remember how I said it was technically true? Well, I daresay it was significantly less true for the person who was expecting to receive a giant iron weight in the shape of a pinecone. They might argue that yes, something was in-fact removed from their package.
The fee should be charged for all packages. And potentially even waived for the opened ones.
What are you complaining about, you weren't charged anything you had nothing confiscated. This is a nothing. It doesn't say you will be charged anything, it's says it might happen but nobody ever is, get over it.
key word being "may"
Usually only charged if the find something
I was curious so I looked it up.
The first FAQ explains it works.
Couriers generally get their parcels inspected in 15 min blocks. If you read the charging guidelines 15 minutes of inspection in work hours costs $39. How many parcels do you think would be inspected in 15 minutes if all they have to do is open the box and see nothing of biosecurity concern? Maybe they only have to open the boxes that aren't conclusive on xray or whatever. So the $39 charge is spread over however many parcels get inspected. So the cost per parcel is probably pretty low. If a courier hasn't build the inspection cost into the price they charge how much would there even be to pass on for an individual parcel?
To anyone who doesn't like that the government is charging fees that may be passed on put pressure on the government to properly fund biosecurity so they don't have to cost recover (or to change the law to not care about biosecurity of incoming parcels I suppose).
I don’t understand why there’s a fee for this. Is this not part of our tax money to pay for this sort of shit? This seems ridiculous! Maybe they should use the money from those doing wrong when charged to cover the rest they open 😒
There's a lot more to it, but this was selected to be opened by the courier, not Customs. They then got Customs to do an inspection.
Customs don't generally charge for inspecting unless there is something non-compliant in it.
The courier however, may charge which is what the label says. Were the contents accurately declared? If it was listed as something generic like 'skin care products' then that is likely why they opened it to check what it was.
Did you incur a fee?
If you are in possession of the item. Then there is no extra cost. If they wanted to charge you more they would have held it for payment
Have had this at least a dozen times (on Supplements from the US - no shock really), and never been asked for a cent after the initial shipping costs
It says may incur a fee. Did you get a fee?
I read that as it charging the carrier, not you?
If it doesn't have a sticker telling you to pay then there is no fee.
And if it does throw it away and tell the gov aus post lost it.
At least they didn't smash open the wooden box then just patch it up with tape and carboard, odd because thre Item was cast iron with no voids or cavities.
Pests and prohibited goods are brought into Australia -
“How could the government do this!”
Measures are taken to minimise the risk of pests and prohibited goods being brought into Australia -
“How could the government do this!”
Australians pay higher tax to cover the cost of these measures -
“How could the government do this!”
Governments pass the cost on to just those who are attracting these extra measures -
“How could the government do this!”
Don't pay it.
Or claim it on tax.
Oh and if some cheeky cnt wants to say "uh but tax claim muh illegal!" Yea so should shafting the public with non consensual fees that were not disclosed till the parcel arrived. It's theft.
I got my parcel checked and had no fee but some of my items were missing despite the label saying they hadn’t removed anything. Has this happened with anyone ?
the mail carriers probably already include it in the price of shipping so they can cover the cost
I’d guess the couriers factor in a flat fee to the postage charge on every parcel, to cover the % that do get checked.
I expect you’ll only be charged extra if the item needs fumigated or treated in some way and the courier was held to be the importer and gets charged.
I think you incur the fee if they find something that needs to be removed
It's a generic sticker. Small parcels and envelopes barely attract a charge, if at all. Stuff like massive crates incur huge charges, that gets passed on.
Side note: If this was delivered by AusPost, FedEx or DHL, they usually build these costs into their shipping charges. They split them down to small amounts, so the occasional package that is opened, doesn't require extra payment and they're not out of pocket
Smaller distributors, or direct distribution, may incur fees. I know when I used to work at the Port, we would have to pass on inspection fees to certain import companies because they kept bringing in shit that kept getting tagged and costing us as a freighter a heap to just get it out of there
This happened to me a decade ago and the charge was about $90.
Mine was tea; they also ripped open and retaped the bags the tea was in.
I’ve been saying this, but this is literally the country of scams 😂
It’s a scam
I just had an electric mozzie zapper paddle thing confiscated and deemed an electrocution weapon! They said I could contest, which I did and got auto rejected as soon as I filled the form in.
Yes australia is turning to shit.
It has happened to me a few times and I have never incurred a fee. It must depend on a few factors (including I think it you are a regular known customer)
Usually if you have to pay, it requires payment prior to it being released so if you have the package, I don’t think you’ll be getting an invoice. Same happens when businesses import cargo into the country. Inspecting a full container of cargo costs about $60 so inspecting a small package would be next to nothing (I imagine)
Generally, can't you refuse acceptance of the package and get the sender to send a new one under warranty of the delivery. This is what the post office has suggested when I've been on the receiving end of this.
I’d hope the ‘may’ really means ‘won’t’.
What was it?
Refuse to pay because you have already paid. Tell the government suck my dick.
Border patrol are the biggest bunch of scammers around they shield for the Australian government and any government official can suck my dick and eat my shit for all I care fuck you scummy government
Was the package from the US? It might have something to do the the supreme leader and the changes to airmail? If not then I don’t know.
In the early days of eBay high quality hiking gear was about a 1/2 of the price it was here so I’d buy a bunch of say tents which went for $700 here and $300 there. Sell two, keep one for myself for a free upgrade. I had the boxes opened heaps of times because it was claimed as camping equipment. They needed to check there wasn’t any soil etc on thr gear.
Was never charged for that however, they would just whack a bunch of biosecurity brochures in the box before reselaling it and sending on