Understanding GST on imported purchases in Australia and New Zealand

Overseas shopping looks cheaper until the tax and shipping arrive. Both countries now collect GST on low-value imports, which closed the gap considerably.

## Australia

Since July 2018, GST of ten percent applies to imported goods valued at one thousand Australian dollars or less. Overseas retailers meeting a registration threshold collect it at checkout, so the price you see should already include it.

Goods above one thousand dollars are handled differently, assessed at the border along with any applicable duty. That assessment can add processing fees on top of the tax itself.

The practical effect is that the old strategy of buying small items offshore to avoid GST no longer works with compliant retailers.

## New Zealand

New Zealand introduced a similar regime in December 2019. GST of fifteen percent applies to low-value imported goods, collected by the supplier at the point of sale where they meet the registration threshold.

The higher rate means the arithmetic differs from Australia. An item that looks competitively priced against an Australian listing may not be once fifteen percent is applied.

## The costs that catch people out

Tax is usually the smaller problem. The larger ones are:

**International shipping**, which frequently exceeds the saving on mid-priced goods.

**Currency conversion margins**, applied by your card issuer, typically two to three percent above the interbank rate, sometimes more.

**Return shipping**, which falls on you for change of mind and makes returning a bulky item impractical.

**Warranty geography.** A product bought overseas may carry no local warranty support. Consumer guarantees under Australian and New Zealand law apply to the supplier, and pursuing an offshore supplier is considerably harder than walking into a local store.

## When importing still makes sense

Genuinely unavailable items, niche hobby goods, and situations where the local markup is severe rather than modest. For mainstream electronics and appliances, local pricing plus local warranty usually wins once everything is counted.