This way upA guide published by Dotto
Interstate removals: what changes at the state line
Moving to another state
A move that crosses a state or territory line brings another state’s rules with it. There are limits on what you can take over state and quarantine borders, and each state sets its own steps for a new driver licence. This guide follows each change back to the government page that sets it.
Six tags hang off this crate, one for each change. Each tag is a full guide, and each lists the official pages it was checked against.
Eucla, Eyre Highway. Western Australia’s road checkpoint on the South Australian border operates 24 hours, and quarantine inspectors check for items considered a threat to WA.
Kununurra, Victoria Highway. The checkpoint on the Northern Territory border also operates 24 hours. WA’s page says desert roads are subject to random mobile inspections.
Arriving in Tasmania. A Biosecurity Tasmania officer may need to inspect some items on arrival, and the officer makes the final decision on whether an item is allowed in.
Into Queensland. Queensland restricts certain plant material, soil and related equipment coming into the state, and generally asks for a biosecurity certificate to move them.
Six tags on the string
Each tag answers one question a household meets when the new address is in a different state. Start with whichever is nearest the front of your mind.
The move’s clock
Some of these rules run on a clock that starts before the truck is loaded, and some only start once you live at the new address. Here they are in order. Each applies only where it says, so check the line for the state you are moving to.
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Before loading
- Moving into Western Australia: WA asks you to complete a Declaration for movement of personal goods into WA with your removals company, and to ask the company to supply the freight container details and lodge the form for you.
- Moving into Tasmania: Biosecurity Tasmania publishes a declaration for unaccompanied personal effects in two versions, one for a removalist and one for a self move.
- A dog going to Tasmania needs proof of a worming treatment with praziquantel within 14 days before entry.
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At the border
- Produce that can’t cross: “eat it or bin it”. Quarantine bins stand at state and quarantine zone borders, ferry terminals and domestic airports, and travellers who take prohibited items across can be fined on the spot.
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Within 14 days
- Services Australia asks to be told when you move, and says to update your address within 14 days, whether or not you get a payment from it.
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After one month
- The Australian Electoral Commission says you are eligible to enrol at your new address once you have lived there for at least one month, and that you must update your enrolment when you move.
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Within three months
- Western Australia: you have 3 months from becoming a WA resident to apply for a WA driver’s licence.
- The ACT: if you intend to drive there, get an ACT licence within 3 months of moving.
- Queensland: an Australian citizen needs a Queensland licence once they have been living in Queensland for 3 months.