Your new life in Canada starts here, straight from Australia

When your things reach Canada, they clear through CBSA (the Canada Border Services Agency). The important thing to understand: your customs treatment is set at your first entry into Canada, not when the container turns up at port. Since your sea freight almost always arrives well after you do on this route, the goods-to-follow declaration you make on arrival becomes the foundation for the whole customs file.

There's also an Australian export leg to sort before anything leaves the country. Goods sent from Australia to Canada clear Australian export formalities on the way out — we take care of the Australian export declaration for you, and the key is that the inventory and values on it line up with what's declared on the Canadian side.

On an Australia-to-Canada sea move, your belongings almost always land weeks after you've already flown over — the Pacific crossing is a long one. That's completely normal; it just needs declaring properly at your first Canadian entry. The goods-to-follow list has to match what's actually travelling by sea. A gap between what you declared on arrival and what turns up at the port is far slower and pricier to untangle later than it is to get right at the start.

For a full household, most families ship a 20ft or 40ft container. A single room or a studio's contents usually travels as LCL (Less than Container Load) groupage, consolidated with other Australia-to-Canada shipments at the Australian port.

For an Australian mover, two questions really matter: does your shipment qualify as settler's personal effects under CBSA rules, and might your Australian-made things benefit from preferential treatment under the CPTPP (the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), which has been in force between Australia and Canada since December 2018? The CPTPP gives tariff preferences to qualifying Australian-origin goods — your customs broker can confirm which commodity codes apply to what you're bringing.

An Australia-to-Canada file is nearly always cleaner when your qualifying used belongings are clearly separated from everything else. The things that blur the line — new electronics, unopened purchases, a duplicate appliance — are worth flagging before the container is packed, not after it's sitting at Vancouver or Halifax.

If you're not sure whether something belongs on the goods-to-follow list or should be declared on its own, ask us before it ships. Sorting a category question at origin is quick; sorting it after arrival is not.

A trans-Pacific crossing is a long way for your things to travel — longer than most international moves — so cargo insurance is well worth having on any household shipment, especially anything that matters to you or carries real value.

Always go through the policy terms, exclusions, and declared values with your broker or insurer before you commit to cover.

Australian nationals have a good range of routes into Canada. The right one comes down to your age, your work situation, whether you've got a job offer, and how long you're planning to stay. Programs and quotas change often, so always confirm the current rules with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) before you lock in any relocation or shipping decisions.

Australian household shipments to Canada leave through the major container ports, then arrive at one of Canada's main gateways before heading inland by rail or truck. The Australian port you leave from and the Canadian port you arrive at both shape your transit time, your cost, and how straightforward that final delivery leg is — Vancouver is the natural Pacific gateway, while eastern destinations often route through Halifax or Montreal.

Since 1999 we've been moving people from Australia to Canada — from collection at your Australian address through export customs, the Pacific crossing, Canadian port clearance, and delivery to your new home. We handle every step, so you can put your energy into the move itself rather than the logistics.

1. Collection and packing at your Australian address

2. Australian export and port handling

We sort the Australian export documentation, load the container at your departure port (Port Botany, Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle, or Adelaide), and hand it safely to the vessel.

3. The crossing and Canadian customs clearance

We book the sea or air freight as agreed, track the container across the Pacific, and manage CBSA clearance at Vancouver, Halifax, or Montreal on arrival. The customs sections above cover exactly what's needed.

4. Delivery to your new Canadian home

Once your shipment clears CBSA, we arrange the inland leg and the final drop at your Canadian address.

5. Unpacking and setting up

Our local delivery team places the furniture and boxes where you actually want them, so you can start settling in rather than facing a mountain of unpacking on your own.

Our Australia-to-Canada support is built around a single contact: a dedicated Move Manager who owns your file from the first quote through Australian collection, export, the crossing, CBSA clearance, and Canadian delivery. You're not handed off between teams at each stage.

On a Canada move, that continuity really matters, because your BSF186 and goods-to-follow paperwork has to stay consistent across every document in the file. Any gap between what you declared on your first day in Canada and what actually lands at Vancouver or Halifax causes friction that's slow and costly to fix afterwards. One accountable person who knows the whole file is how that gets spotted before it becomes a problem.

From collection in Australia through loading at Port Botany or Melbourne, the Pacific crossing, CBSA clearance, port release, and the final delivery to your Canadian door — your Move Manager stays in touch and keeps you posted at every stage.

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Shipping an Australian car to Canada is trickier than it first looks. Australian cars are right-hand drive; Canada drives on the right, and most Canadian provinces won't register a right-hand-drive vehicle for everyday road use. So the honest answer for most Australian movers is to sell the car before leaving rather than ship it. If you do want to bring a vehicle, check its admissibility with Transport Canada and the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) before you arrange anything.

Australian pet owners have a genuine head start here: Canada recognises Australia as a rabies-free country, which simplifies the paperwork compared with most origins. Dogs and cats are generally manageable — it's the routing and the airline rules that need planning ahead, especially for travel in the hold on the long haul out of Australia.

Canada is one of the most popular places Australians move to — for work, study, family, and to settle for good. The two countries share a language, a lot of legal DNA, and a fair bit of cultural common ground, but the day-to-day realities of Canadian life differ from Australia in ways that genuinely affect how you plan and pack your shipment.

From a shipping point of view, Canada is pretty predictable for Australian movers who prepare their CBSA file properly. The real challenges aren't customs mystery — they're the long Pacific transit, the inland delivery across a very large country, and the winter, which is a serious adjustment coming from an Australian climate and decides how much of your wardrobe and kitchen is actually worth bringing.

Canada's big cities — Toronto and Vancouver especially — are expensive by any measure, though Australians arriving from Sydney or Melbourne won't find the shock as severe as many others do. A one-bedroom in a city centre regularly runs CAD 2,000–2,500 a month, broadly in line with what you'd pay in inner Sydney or Melbourne. Montreal and Halifax are noticeably kinder on the wallet, and Calgary sits somewhere in the middle.

Groceries are roughly comparable to Australia for most things, though some items run higher. Alcohol is a lot more expensive thanks to the provincial liquor boards. Utilities and broadband vary by province but tend to run higher than at home. Transport depends heavily on whether you're somewhere walkable — Toronto and Vancouver have decent transit; a lot of Canadian cities outside those two effectively need a car.

Salaries in skilled roles are competitive, particularly in tech and healthcare. For planning your shipment, the thing that matters most is housing: whether you've got a confirmed Canadian address before the container leaves Australia decides whether you'll need temporary storage on arrival. Lining up the container's arrival with a confirmed delivery address is the single most important decision in the whole move.

Australian professionals moving to Canada usually find salaries competitive, especially in tech, finance, healthcare, and the skilled trades — the sectors behind most employer-sponsored Australia-to-Canada moves. Mid-career software developers or data engineers in Toronto or Vancouver commonly earn CAD 90,000–130,000+. Healthcare staff often move for the lifestyle and the work as much as the pay.

Australian STEM workers are well placed for Canada's Express Entry system, which rewards age, education, language, and work experience. An employer LMIA offer can speed things up considerably. One thing to check early: Canadian regulators assess qualifications through provincial licensing bodies, so confirm your specific credential-recognition path before you build a job-offer timeline around it.

Canada trimmed its 2026 immigration intake targets by roughly 25% against previous years, which makes permanent residence more competitive. Tying your container's arrival to confirmed status — rather than betting on approval by a target date — keeps your shipment from landing before you have a confirmed Canadian address to deliver to.

Canada layers federal and provincial income tax. Ontario and BC land in the mid-to-high range; Alberta does levy provincial income tax, but its entry rate is lower than in many other provinces; Quebec has the highest provincial rate. For Australian movers, ceasing Australian tax residency has its own consequences — the ATO may treat some of your assets as disposed of when you leave, so getting cross-border advice before you go can save you an expensive surprise later. Canada and Australia have a double-tax agreement that stops the same income being taxed twice.

If you keep Australian assets — property, bank accounts, shares, or managed funds — with a combined cost amount over CAD 100,000 after becoming a Canadian tax resident, you're required to file Form T1135 (Foreign Income Verification Statement) each year. It's a disclosure requirement, not an extra tax, but not filing carries serious penalties. If you own Australian property or have substantial superannuation, get cross-border tax advice before your first Canadian return. For property you already owned when you became resident, the cost amount is its fair market value on that date; for property acquired later, it is generally the adjusted cost base, not simply today's market value. Property you hold mainly for your own use does not count towards it, and interests in foreign pension or retirement plans are generally excluded. You are also exempt for the first tax year in which you become a Canadian resident, so the obligation starts the year after.

Superannuation is the one to watch: the tax-free status a super fund enjoys in Australia doesn't automatically carry over once you're a Canadian resident, and how the fund is treated for Canadian tax can be complex. Your Australian Age Pension, where you're entitled to it, can be paid in Canada under the Australia-Canada social security agreement in force since 1989 — check the current rules and the overseas payment rate with Services Australia before you build it into your plans.

Canada remains a major destination for Australian skilled workers, employer-sponsored moves, and career changes. Express Entry runs federal skilled-worker permanent residence; provincial nomination programs let provinces target specific occupations. Australian professionals in tech, healthcare, engineering, and the skilled trades are among the most in-demand groups in recent draws.

If you're 18 to 35, the IEC Working Holiday is a low-commitment first step — you arrive without needing a job offer in hand, work legally for up to two years, and use that Canadian experience to build Express Entry points or a PR-qualifying LMIA permit. Australia has no annual cap on places, so you're not competing for a limited pool the way applicants from many other countries are. It's a common route for Australian movers who aren't ready to commit to settling permanently before they've actually tried Canadian working life.

Quebec's labour market runs on its own logic: French is the working language under Loi 101, and immigration goes through the Quebec-Canada Accord rather than federal Express Entry. If you're heading to Montreal, factor in French-language requirements for certain sectors and the different provincial nomination route.

Canada's provincial healthcare (Medicare) is free at the point of use for registered residents — familiar in spirit to Australia's Medicare. But some provinces, British Columbia and Quebec among them, have a waiting period of up to three months before new residents are enrolled, and Australia has no reciprocal health-care agreement with Canada, so check your destination province's rules — eligibility also depends on your immigration status — and arrange private interim health cover if you face that gap. Dental, vision, and prescriptions aren't universally covered by provincial plans and often need private top-up insurance.

Banking is straightforward. The big Canadian banks (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC) all run newcomer packages designed for people arriving without a Canadian credit history. For a large AUD-to-CAD transfer — savings, property-sale proceeds, or deposit funds — a specialist service like Wise usually beats a traditional bank wire by a meaningful margin.

Australian driving licences are well recognised in Canada. Ontario and Alberta have reciprocal exchange agreements with Australia, so a full Australian licence can usually be swapped for a provincial one without a road test (an eye test and proof of experience aside); other provinces vary, so check your destination's rules. The bigger adjustment is that you drive on the right in Canada from day one — the opposite side to home — even while you're still on your Australian licence.

Canada uses the Canadian dollar (CAD). The Australian and Canadian dollars have traded fairly close to parity in recent years, though the rate can still move meaningfully over a multi-month relocation. If you're converting Australian savings to dollars — for a rental deposit, first-month costs, or a Canadian property purchase — the timing and the method of the transfer can make a real difference to what you end up with.

Wise (formerly TransferWise) gives mid-market rates with transparent fees and is widely used by Australian movers for AUD-to-CAD transfers. A traditional Australian bank wire to a Canadian account is slower and usually less cost-efficient for a personal transfer. If you'll have ongoing Australian-dollar income — rental income, dividends, or pension payments — set up a regular-conversion service or a multi-currency account before you leave.

Your shipment is priced in CAD too — freight, Canadian port charges, inland delivery, and any temporary storage all sit in a currency that may drift against the Australian dollar between booking and paying. On a large move where the final delivery cost is substantial, it's worth confirming the CAD total at the time you book.