Container removals from Sussex to Perth and Western Australia on the shortest sea route we run to Australia, direct into Fremantle. Packing for the heat, biosecurity-ready outdoor kit, and delivery across the city and the south-west.
Removals to Perth and Western Australia from the UK run on the shortest sea route we offer to Australia, and that surprises people who assume the west coast must be the far end of everything. Ships come through Suez and across the Indian Ocean, and Fremantle is their first Australian landfall, so a container for Perth arrives weeks before one for the east coast. Western Australia draws two very different households: mining and resources families, some of them on fly-in fly-out rosters, and a large, settled community of British retirees who chose the sunshine, the beaches and a slower pace. We pack for both.
Perth itself stretches a long way along the coast, and most of our deliveries land in one of three kinds of place. The western suburbs and the beach suburbs between the Swan River and the Indian Ocean are popular with families and professionals. Fremantle, the port city at the mouth of the Swan, has heritage cottages and warehouse conversions with plenty of character and not much room for a truck. The newer estates to the north and south of the city offer bigger blocks and brick-and-tile homes that are straightforward to deliver into.
South of Perth, Mandurah is a coastal city of canals and waterways where many British retirees have made their homes. Further south again is the south-west wine country around Busselton and Margaret River, a few hours’ drive from the city, where deliveries are to rural properties and small towns rather than suburbs. We deliver to all of these; for a mining town or a property further inland, talk to us at the survey, because Western Australia is vast and some addresses need a very different plan.
To see how the west compares with the eastern states, use our Australia and New Zealand overview or read our guide to moving to Australia from the UK.
The first thing to plan for in Perth is the heat. Summer days regularly run well above thirty degrees and sometimes past forty, and a steel container sitting on a quayside is hotter still inside. We pack for that: candles, vinyl records, some electronics and anything with a lacquer finish are wrapped and placed where they are best protected, and we suggest you carry the truly heat-sensitive items with you. On delivery day in December, January or February, an early start is the difference between a sensible day and a punishing one for the crew.
The second is distance. Perth is one of the most isolated big cities in the world, thousands of kilometres by road from Adelaide, and that is the strongest argument for shipping straight into Fremantle. A container landed on the east coast and trucked across the Nullarbor would add time and cost for nothing.
The third is space, and it mostly works in your favour. Many Perth homes are single-storey on generous blocks with wide drives, which makes unloading easier than in Sydney or Melbourne. The exceptions are Fremantle’s narrow heritage streets and city apartments, which need the same lift bookings as anywhere else.
At Fremantle, as at every Australian port, your container is opened and examined by officers of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and cleared for customs by the Australian Border Force. Western Australia also takes its own biosecurity seriously: the state runs checks on goods crossing its land borders from the rest of Australia, which is one more reason a direct sailing into Fremantle is the tidier choice.
The kit that Western Australian households bring is distinctive. Mining families often ship camping gear, fishing tackle, tents and the equipment for long weekends in the bush; retirees bring garden furniture, pot plants they hope to keep (they cannot), and the tools for a new garden. Tents are a particular concern because soil, seeds and insects hide in the folds and the pegs. We unroll, clean and dry camping equipment, scrub tools and outdoor furniture, and pack them together where they can be reached. Wooden items that are not dressed timber get ISPM-15 treatment in Britain before they are loaded, so the certificate travels with them.
Caravans, trailers, boats and four-wheel-drives are a separate conversation. Vehicles face their own import approval and a very thorough biosecurity clean, and many Western Australian arrivals find it simpler to buy locally. If you are set on shipping one, we will explain what is involved at the survey and coordinate it so it arrives around the same time as the household, but it does not go in the container as an afterthought.
Perth is the quickest of our Australian routes. Sea transit via Suez and the Indian Ocean to Fremantle is typically 5–7 weeks, against 6–9 weeks for Sydney or Melbourne. Allow a further 1–2 weeks after arrival for inspection, customs clearance and delivery to your Perth address; the south-west wine country adds a day or so on the road.
A sole-use container sails on the first suitable departure, and a shared LCL consignment waits until there is enough Perth-bound freight to fill one. If you are starting a mining contract before the family follows, or you have not yet found somewhere to live, we can keep the household in storage before it ships and send it once you have a delivery address. Late July and August are the busiest months, so earlier booking helps.
Fly-in fly-out rosters shape a lot of Perth moves. One partner often starts work in the Pilbara or the Goldfields weeks before the rest of the household leaves Britain, which is fine for us as long as someone is at the Sussex address on packing day and someone can accept the container in Perth. Tell us who will be where and when, and we will fit the collection, the sailing and the delivery around the roster rather than the other way round.
Every Perth container is packed by our crew from our Lower Dicker depot in East Sussex, where we have been running the business since 2017. We make a fixed written quote after a free survey, pack the house into export cartons through our full packing service, or supply export cartons and wrap if you are packing some of it yourself. Our export packing and crating is designed for the heat and humidity of a long voyage, and awkward or fragile pieces travel in a box from our custom crate service.
We are members of the British Association of Removers Overseas Group, work to BS 8564, and arrange marine transit insurance through a specialist broker. If you are comparing the west with the Queensland sunshine, look at removals to Brisbane and Queensland; otherwise read our customer reviews, see our wider international removals service, or call Mark on 01323 848 008.
Perth is the quickest of our Australian routes; the east coast, the smaller capitals and New Zealand each take a little longer.
Because Fremantle is the first Australian port on the route. Ships come through Suez and across the Indian Ocean, so the sea transit to Perth is typically 5–7 weeks, against 6–9 weeks for the east coast.
Fremantle, Perth’s port at the mouth of the Swan River. The container is examined and cleared there, and our Perth destination agent delivers it by road to your address.
Yes. Mandurah and the south-west wine country around Busselton and Margaret River are on the same service as Perth. Rural properties are surveyed for access so the right vehicle is sent.
Yes, if it is completely clean. Tents, groundsheets, fishing tackle and boots are high on the inspectors’ list because soil and seeds hide in them. We clean, dry and pack this kind of gear separately so it can be checked quickly at Fremantle.
Good export packing protects most things, but a container in a Western Australian summer gets very hot. We wrap heat-sensitive items carefully and suggest you carry anything irreplaceable, such as candles, vinyl or delicate electronics, in your own luggage.
Call us for a free, no-obligation quote, or use our online form. Whether it is a shared part-load or a whole house, we have handled the route before and we will handle yours with care.