EU fulfillment for Australian brands
Shipping to Europe from Australia one parcel at a time sends every order across the world and through EU import customs on its own. EU fulfillment works the other way round: your stock travels once, in bulk by sea, is cleared through customs once, and each EU order ships from our warehouse in Gothenburg, Sweden – typically 1–2 business days to the Nordic EU countries, 2–3 to Germany and Benelux and 3–5 to the rest of the EU.
Shipping to Europe from Australia: the longest route to your customers
Europe sits on the other side of the world from Australia. Sent one by one, every European order covers that whole distance as a single parcel, and each parcel is imported into the EU on its own before your customer sees it.
With stock in Europe, the long leg happens once, in bulk and by sea. The shipment ends at our warehouse in Hisings Kärra, near the Port of Gothenburg – Sweden's largest port, which handles more than half of Sweden's container traffic – and each order starts its journey from inside the EU. Why Sweden rather than the Netherlands or Germany? Our guide to choosing an EU fulfillment location compares the options.
Parcel by parcel from Australia
The whole distance, and customs, on every order.
- 1A European customer places an order
- 2The parcel leaves Australia
- 3EU import customs – on every single parcel
- 4Delivered after the full journey
Stock in Sweden
The distance once, in bulk. After that, short deliveries with no customs inside the EU.
- 1Your stock ships once, in bulk – weeks by sea
- 2Cleared through customs once, in Sweden
- 3Each order picked and packed the same day
- 4No customs inside the EU on the way to your customer
The 2026 parcel rules
Since 1 July 2026, a low-value parcel sent from outside the EU to a consumer in the EU no longer enters duty-free: a temporary flat customs duty is charged per item type, whichever VAT scheme you use. A per-item EU handling fee on such parcels is due to start in late 2026, and from July 2028 sellers that don't use IOSS will, as a rule, be liable for the import VAT themselves.
Your bulk stock is treated differently. Imported and cleared before it is sold, it comes in under the normal rules instead. One condition: it must be real stock. Anything an individual customer had already bought before the import is treated as a distance sale, even if it rode in the same container as the rest. More in IOSS explained.
Typical transit from Gothenburg
- Nordic EU countriesSweden, Denmark, Finland
- 1–2 business days
- Germany & BeneluxBelgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg
- 2–3 business days
- Rest of the EUThe other member states
- 3–5 business days
Typical transit times after dispatch, not guarantees. Pick and pack for DTC orders happens the same day.
Is there a free trade agreement between the EU and Australia?
Not one in force yet. The EU and Australia concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement in March 2026. As of September 2026, the agreement has not been signed and is not in force. Until it enters into force, goods made in Australia pay the EU's standard (non-preferential) customs duty for their tariff code.
What decides the duty on your bulk shipment:
- The tariff code. The duty is set per commodity code. The EU applies one common customs tariff in all member states, so the same tariff applies whether your stock enters through Sweden or another EU country.
- The origin: the country where the goods were made. Where they ship from doesn't count. Products made elsewhere and sent on from Australia pay the duty for their actual origin. Anti-dumping and other extra duties apply to some products and origins on top of that.
- The customs value. Where the duty is a percentage, it is worked out on the customs value, which generally includes shipping and insurance up to the EU border as well as the goods themselves. From Australia that is a long leg, so include the freight when you estimate the duty.
Import VAT is charged separately from the duty. Look up the current rate for your product free of charge in the EU's TARIC database or the European Commission's Access2Markets tool, and check it again at the time of import – rates and trade measures change. If a product's classification is unclear, ask your customs agent, or apply for Binding Tariff Information (BTI): a decision that is generally valid for three years throughout the EU.
EU–Australia FTA status
As of September 2026
- Negotiations
- Concluded, March 2026
- Signed
- Not yet
- In force
- No – standard EU duty applies
Plan on standard duty for now. Preferential rates under any trade agreement only apply when the goods meet its origin rules and the right proof of origin is available.
Opposite seasons: when to ship stock to Europe for Q4
Europe's busiest trading weeks – Black Friday through Christmas – fall in Australia's late spring and early summer. What you sell in Europe's peak is decided before it starts, by the stock already on the shelf in Gothenburg.
Work back from the peak
Start from the date your European Black Friday and Christmas campaigns go live. Subtract receiving, customs clearance and the weeks by sea to find the date the stock has to leave – then your production time to find when production has to start.
Build in a buffer
A container that arrives late can cost you the peak, not just a few days. A top-up sent once the rush has started is still weeks away by sea, so plan the main peak shipment with margin rather than to the day.
Be live before the rush
Every item is checked and registered by barcode in our WMS on arrival. Plan for that to be done – and your store connected – before the first campaign email goes out.
Replenish from real numbers
Real-time stock visibility shows which products actually move in Europe, so the next shipment is based on sell-through, not on what sold at home.
Two peaks, one team
If your home market is busy at the same time, both peaks land on your team at once. Settle the European plan – quantities, campaign dates, inserts and bundles – before your own season starts, so the European side runs on what was agreed while you focus on home.
A second season for your range
Opposite seasons can also work in your favor. A summer range that sells at home around December can meet European summer demand about half a year later, so seasonal products can get two selling seasons instead of one – as long as the stock is in Europe in time.
Storage is charged per pallet or shelf location per month, so extra peak stock costs you for the months it is on the shelf. See how our pricing works before you size the Q4 shipment.
Working with a European 3PL from Australia
The gap between Australia's east coast and Sweden, which runs on Central European Time (UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer), is roughly 8–10 hours – with little overlap in normal office hours.
That is worth planning for rather than working around. The answer is a setup where the day-to-day runs without anyone waiting for a call – and where the few conversations that matter are booked in advance.
The daily flow runs without a call
Orders placed in your Shopify store arrive through our ready-made integration without anyone pressing a button, and stock levels and tracking are sent back to the store automatically. Whatever the time in Australia, the order flow doesn't wait for a reply. If your store runs on something other than Shopify, or you sell on marketplaces, we connect through an API instead. More on Shopify fulfillment in Europe.
One contact who knows your account
You get a dedicated contact person, and the whole team works in English on CET. Write a question down once, with the context, and it can be picked up without a meeting.
Live calls for the big decisions
Onboarding, your first bulk shipment and peak planning are worth a scheduled call at the edge of both working days. Most other things work well in writing.
What an Australian brand needs before the first shipment
Three things have to be settled on the EU side before your stock leaves Australia – or the factory, if it ships from there directly. Your company sets each one up itself. Here they are in short; the guides go into the detail.
Customs: an EU agent, and possibly an EORI number
Under current EU customs rules, a company based in Australia generally cannot lodge the EU import declaration itself. An EU-established customs agent does it on your behalf – typically in its own name, which is called indirect representation – under a power of attorney you set up before the stock leaves. Under EU law, the agent and your company can then both be held liable for the customs debt.
Paperwork for each shipment usually means a commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading, plus a commodity code for every product in the container. Whether your setup needs an EORI number of your own is something your customs agent will tell you.
For your bulk shipment, we coordinate the clearance with our customs partners, who can lodge the import declaration on your behalf as your customs agent.
How EORI numbers workVAT: a Swedish registration, a VAT agent and OSS
Once your stock is in Sweden, a sale to a Swedish consumer is a Swedish sale, which normally means registering for VAT in Sweden and charging Swedish VAT on it. Sweden also requires a VAT agent approved by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for a business that owes Swedish VAT without being established in Sweden, unless an exception applies. For an Australian company, that means planning for an agent and confirming the requirement with Skatteverket or a tax advisor.
Orders from consumers elsewhere in the EU carry the VAT of the customer's country, as a rule from the very first sale, because the EU's distance-selling threshold doesn't cover businesses established outside the EU. Through the One Stop Shop, set up in Sweden because that is where your goods ship from, all of it goes in one return rather than a VAT registration in every country you sell to.
Registered before the bulk shipment is cleared? Then the import VAT normally goes through your Swedish VAT return and can be deducted there, as far as you have a right to deduct. Without a Swedish registration, it is paid to Swedish Customs instead.
Where we come in: guidance through the VAT setup, plus an introduction to our accounting partners if you want one.
The full EU VAT guideProduct safety: an EU responsible person
The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) sets a condition before your products can be placed on the EU market: an economic operator established in the EU has to be responsible for them. Your brand is Australian, so that operator has to be an importer established in the EU or an authorized representative you have mandated in writing – and they must be in place before any stock is shipped to the EU.
Every online listing has to show their name, postal address and electronic address, and so does the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document. Check labels and inserts too: EU product rules generally require instructions and safety information in a language consumers can easily understand, as decided by each EU country where the product is sold.
The whole route, step by step
EU fulfillment from Australia: common questions
Our products are made outside Australia – do they have to go via Australia?
No. Your EU stock can go to Sweden straight from the factory. The EU duty rate follows the goods' origin – where they were made – not the country they ship from, so a detour through Australia doesn't change it. Whichever route you pick, make sure each product's real country of origin is stated on the paperwork – together with its commodity code, that is what sets the duty rate.
How much stock should our first shipment to Europe be?
There is no hard minimum volume. A top-up takes weeks by sea, so size the first shipment to last until the next one can realistically arrive, plus a buffer, and start with the products you already know sell. After launch, the second shipment can be based on what actually sells in Europe.
What happens to returns from EU customers?
Online shoppers in the EU can generally withdraw from a purchase within 14 days without giving a reason, so returns are part of selling in Europe. With stock in Sweden, EU returns can come back to our warehouse instead of to Australia. We receive and inspect each one and restock approved items, so a return becomes sellable inventory again rather than a parcel that crosses the world twice.
Something else on your mind? Ask us in your quote request, and tell us when your European peak starts.
How EU fulfillment works
The whole route in four steps – from your factory to a customer's door in Europe, and who does what.
Read moreEU VAT for non-EU sellers
Swedish VAT registration, the One-Stop Shop and import VAT – what changes once your stock sits inside the EU.
Read moreWhere to fulfill in Europe
Sweden, the Netherlands or Germany? How to choose a location for your European stock.
Read moreWhat EU fulfillment costs
Every cost line from bulk import to returns – and the questions to ask when you compare 3PL quotes.
Read moreStock in Europe before the next peak
Which products, made where, and when does your European peak start? Send us those three answers and you'll get an itemized quote, with no obligation.