Australia Post: Prohibited & Restricted Items to New Zealand

Always Check Before You Send When sending items from Australia to New Zealand via Australia Post, there are specific items that are either prohibited (not allowed at all) or restricted (require special conditions, permits, or declarations). These regulations are in place to protect New Zealand’s biosecurity and public safety and to comply with international agreements. It’s crucial to check both Australia Post’s international shipping guidelines and New Zealand Customs Service regulations. Here’s a general overview of items you cannot or may have difficulty sending to New Zealand: https://auspost.com.au/sending/send-overseas/international-post-guide/results/new-zealand. Please visit the official Australia Post website for the most up-to-date information before sending any items.

Prohibited Items (Generally Not Allowed)

• Agricultural Items: New Zealand has stringent biosecurity rules. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Fresh fruit and vegetables
  • Live plants, seeds for sowing, soil
  • Meat and meat products (uncanned, including cooked lamb and pork)
  • Dairy products
  • Eggs and egg products (including used egg cartons)
  • Bee products
  • Certain types of corn and other unprocessed plant products
  • Straw-based packaging materials
  • Any item that could carry pests or diseases.
• Firearms and Weapons:
  • Firearms, ammunition, bullets, firearm parts, accessories.
  • Replicas or imitation firearms.
  • Offensive weapons like flick knives, butterfly knives, swordsticks, knuckle dusters, stun guns, tasers, and stun batons.
  • Grenades (including imitation ones).
• Explosives and Flammable Items:
  • Fireworks (e.g., skyrockets, sparklers, crackers)
  • Party poppers, Christmas crackers.
  • Flammable liquids (e.g., nail polish, paint, perfumes, aerosols).
  • Flammable gases (e.g., propane, butane, helium in compressed cylinders).
  • Compressed air.
• Dangerous Goods & Chemicals:
  • Corrosives (e.g., acids, car batteries, wet cell batteries).
  • Poisons (e.g., cyanide, lead, arsenic, rat poison, weed killers).
  • Bleaches (including hair bleaches), ammonia-based products, asbestos, noxious substances.
  • Insecticides.
  • Chemicals (including chlorine for swimming pools) and chemical kits.
• Objectionable Material:
  • Any publications or recordings that are considered indecent or describe, depict, or deal with matters such as sex, horror, crime, cruelty, or violence in a way that is likely to be injurious to the public good. This includes material on mobile phones, USB devices, videotapes, films, records, or CD-ROMs.
• Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia:
  • Illegal drugs.
  • Equipment for smoking or taking drugs, including certain cannabis or methamphetamine utensils, vaporizers, and any pipe with a heatproof bowl.
• Certain Magnets: Small high-powered magnets, like “buckyballs.”
• Currency/Coins: Banknotes and coins with a total face value of more than A$200. All banknotes are generally prohibited in international services.
• Live Animals and Endangered Species:
  • Live animals.
  • Protected species under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), including parts or products from them (e.g., animal horns, teeth, or bone from endangered/protected species).
• Human Ashes.
• Soil, Sand, Clay, Earth, and Sawdust.
• Tobacco, including chewing tobacco.
• Unprocessed Timber.

Restricted Items (May Be Allowed with Conditions)

Some items are restricted, meaning you need a permit, an exemption, or specific documentation to import them into New Zealand:

• Lithium Batteries: All types of lithium batteries and devices containing them (e.g., laptops, mobile phones, wireless headphones, power banks, tablets) are prohibited from being sent via International Courier services with Australia Post. For other international post services, specific rules apply, often requiring them to be properly installed in their intended equipment and with quantity limits.
• Medicines and Prescription Drugs: All types of medications are generally prohibited from being sent via International Courier services. For other postal services, prescription medicines can only be mailed by DEA-registered distributors, and similar rules apply to some over-the-counter medications.
• Alcohol, Cigarettes, and Tobacco.
• Firearms and Ammunition: Require a New Zealand Police permit.
• Carnivorous Plants.
• Handheld High Power Laser Pointers.
• Gold, Oil, Gas, and Coal of Russian Origin (due to sanctions).
• Food of any kind: While many are prohibited, some prepared foodstuffs might be allowed with specific declarations and inspections.
• Shoes, clothing, equipment, household and wooden items, cosmetics: These may require inspection by MPI.

Always check the latest and most specific requirements with Australia Post’s International Post Guide and the New Zealand Customs Service website before sending any item. Failure to comply can result in fines, confiscation of goods, or return of the parcel at your expense.

How to ship with Ebaoguo（Australia）

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Australia warehouse: bring your own international shipping label

This service applies only when you buy your own international shipping label and arrange your own carrier to collect from our Australia warehouse. It is separate from domestic forwarding and destination pickup for shipments transported through us.

Handover handling: AU$10 per original parcel submitted for collection, with a minimum of AU$20 per collection. Charges remain based on the submitted original parcels even when consolidated into fewer boxes. Label printing is charged separately at AU$1 per sheet, with the same price for A4 and A6; printing is not included in the handover fee. Consolidation, repacking, reinforcement, materials and storage are charged separately under existing rules, without charging twice for the same operation.

Apply through customer support first and provide all parcel IDs for this collection, your carrier, destination and packing requirements. After the warehouse confirms final packing, dimensions, weight and fees, provide valid international labels and required transport documents and confirm the number of sheets to print. Fees are settled after confirmation. This notice does not introduce automatic billing; selecting an existing parcel-handling service does not by itself complete a collection request.

Wait for confirmation that your goods are ready, then contact your carrier yourself to book collection during the warehouse’s published business hours. Notify the warehouse in advance of the carrier, collection date/time window and collection reference. Warehouse local time and holiday arrangements apply. Handover may not be possible outside business hours, without advance notice or before goods are ready.

We do not communicate with your chosen carrier to book, reschedule or chase collection, or manage subsequent transport arrangements. You are responsible for valid labels and accurate transport documents. Export declaration agency services, pallets, oversized goods and special handling require separate confirmation and quotation.

We are responsible for preparing, labelling and handing over goods as agreed and retaining a handover record. After completed handover to your nominated carrier, contact that carrier directly about transport, delays, loss, damage or claims. We are not responsible for that carrier’s conduct after collection. This does not exclude our responsibility for our own preparation, labelling or handover errors.

Updated 2026-10 · Source: Ebaoguo Operations