Every year, thousands of Australian families go through the same experience: they want to bring something back from India — furniture from a family home, a mandir commissioned for their new house, belongings left behind during migration — and they have no idea where to start.
Sea freight from India to Australia is not complicated. But it involves enough moving parts that it's easy to get wrong, easy to overpay, and easy to end up dealing with a chain of agents who each blame someone else when things go sideways. This guide walks you through every step, so you know exactly what to expect.
What Can You Ship?
Almost anything that's legal to import into Australia can be shipped by sea from India. The most common personal shipments we handle include:
- Furniture — dining sets, wardrobes, beds, handcrafted pieces from Rajasthan and Kerala
- Mandirs, religious sculptures, and brass or marble items
- Personal effects — clothing, books, kitchenware, electronics
- Family heirlooms — artwork, antiques, wooden carvings
- Items purchased in India — gifts, hand-crafted goods, custom-made pieces
There are some categories that require permits or are restricted — food products, certain timber species, plant-based materials — and a small list of outright prohibitions. We assess your specific goods before anything is packed and advise on any restrictions that apply.
"Sea freight is not fast — but it is the right choice for furniture, fragile items, and volumes above a few kilograms. For most personal shipments from India, it's the only option that makes economic sense."
Sea Freight vs Air Freight: What's Right for Personal Goods?
For anything larger than a few kilograms, sea freight wins on cost by a significant margin. Air freight from India to Australia costs roughly 20–30x more per kilogram than sea freight. A sofa that would cost AUD $300 to ship by sea might cost AUD $6,000+ by air.
The tradeoff is time. Sea freight takes 18–22 days on the water, plus collection, packing, and customs clearance on both sides. Door to door, plan for 6–10 weeks. If you need something in two weeks, sea freight isn't the answer. If you're shipping furniture, heirlooms, or anything heavy — it almost certainly is.
How the Process Works, Step by Step
Step 1: Tell us what you're shipping
The process starts with a conversation. You describe what you're shipping — what items, roughly how many, where they are in India, where they're going in Australia. We come back with a clear all-inclusive quote: collection, packing, freight, insurance, customs, and delivery. One number.
Our team assesses your goods at the collection point in India before packing begins.
Step 2: Collection in India
We coordinate collection from wherever your goods are in India — a family home, a furniture maker, a temple workshop. Our collection team picks up from the property, photographs everything, and transports it to our consolidation facility.
Step 3: Packing
At our India facility, everything is packed to sea freight standards. Standard items get bubble wrap, foam, and double-wall cartons. Fragile or irreplaceable items get our 7-layer specialist packing system. You receive a photo report of the packed goods before anything is sealed.
Step 4: Ocean crossing
Your goods travel in a shared container (LCL) from Mundra Port in Gujarat to Port Botany in Sydney — 5,800 nautical miles on a bearing of 136° south-southeast. Transit time: 18–22 days. You'll receive WhatsApp updates when the vessel departs and when it arrives.
Step 5: Customs clearance & delivery
We lodge your import declaration with Australian Border Force, handle any duty and GST calculations, and coordinate delivery to your door. Personal effects under certain thresholds are duty-free; we advise on your specific situation as part of the quote process.
What Does It Cost?
Personal shipments are priced by cubic metre of packed volume. As a rough guide: one cubic metre all-in (packing + freight + insurance + customs + Sydney delivery) costs approximately AUD $300–450. A standard three-bedroom worth of goods might be 8–12 cubic metres. Regional Australian delivery is quoted additionally.
The most important thing: your quote from Dakshin Global is all-inclusive. We don't add origin charges, destination handling fees, or customs admin fees after the fact. What we quote is what you pay.
"The question we get most often: 'Is there anything else I'll be charged?' The answer is no. One invoice. Everything in it."
What You Need to Provide
For most personal shipments, we need from you:
- A description of the goods (what items, approximate dimensions/weight)
- The collection address in India and a contact person
- Your delivery address in Australia
- A declaration of the value of your goods for insurance purposes
We handle all customs documentation, packing materials, freight booking, insurance arrangement, and delivery coordination. You don't need to know your HS tariff codes or contact Australian Border Force yourself.
Ready to Start?
The easiest way to begin is to WhatsApp us with a description of what you want to ship. You don't need to have everything figured out. Just tell us what you're thinking — we'll tell you whether it's straightforward, whether anything requires special handling, and what it'll cost.