What can I post to Australia?
 

I want to send an Australian friend a Christmas present. The thing is that I am unsure what is allowed into the country. I have looked at Royal Mail's site and at the Australian Quarantine & Customs site (AQIS), but they don't answer my own personal questions.

I'd like to send:

a Russian doll
dry pasta (sealed, shop-bought)
biscuits (sealed, shop-bought)
nuts (roasted, sealed, shop-bought)

According to AQIS, the bark of trees is not allowed - but the doll will be made of heartwood, so is that acceptable?

I think the pasta and biscuits are fine because I haven't seen anything otherwise - does anyone know?

And I know raw nuts are forbidden, but are roasted nuts alright?

Thanks for any help.

im really not sure.

Perhaps you could speak to the post office who might be able to advise you better.
Or even post in general chat for a better response rate.

hhhmmm, I dont you'd be able to send food products due to contamination issues (I remember my mother force feeding us ham sandwhiches & apples upon landing in America) but if it's cooked/dry I dont know.

The Russian doll should be fine - I doubt that could cause harm to their eco-system!

Maybe ask the post office.

Or send them all seperately & see which ones get there!

a Russian doll - yes providing it has no straw or straw like product for hair or stuffing.

dry pasta (sealed, shop-bought) yes as long as it is jsut plain pasta.

biscuits (sealed, shop-bought) no, most likely will be stopped. nothing with more then 10% dairy

nuts (roasted, sealed, shop-bought) maybe/maybe not. will depend on how they see the nuts.

Thanks for everyone's replies!

I'm going to check at the post office today before I buy anything lol - this is such a pain - I hate Customs! :cool:

When my Japanese friend sent me her gift, the only thing they took away was the sake (cause it's alcohol). They left the sweets and the scarf and even two bottles of wine, so I'm really not sure.

I asked at the post office, and they thought all those things would be ok (they didn't know, really). So I bought the pasta and nuts. I looked at the ingredients in the biscuits and reckoned they would have too much milk in so didn't buy them, but I bought a pack of cream crackers and Ritz, neither have milk in them and I think they will be fine. I haven't found a Russian doll yet (anybody know where they're sold?) but if I find a good one I'll send that too and hope it gets there.