Going to Australia - hand luggage

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Given your description, it sounds like that the phones will remain in Australia with the children. If that's the case you will need to declare the phones and pay duty on them as the combination of the two will be above $900 in value, and you will also need to pay duty on any other goods you plan on leaving in Australia as once you're above the limit duty applies to all goods of that type.

I'm assuming you will take your laptop and phone home with you, so they will be considered "imported temporarily" only and should not be charged duty, though as noted below you may need to pay a security deposit to ensure you're not misrepresenting your plans.

It is worth noting that if you are travelling with one or more family members you are allowed to pool your duty free allowances. This would increase your duty free limits to $1800 if travelling with one other adult, and as such you may then be below the duty free limit (depending on what you paid for the phones and/or their price in Australia) if you don't plan on leaving other goods with your children in Australia.

The relevant information from Australia's customs department:

Personal goods are free from duty and tax if they are:

  • owned and used by you overseas for 12 months or more
  • imported temporarily (a security may be required by the Department)

...

General goods

If you are aged 18 years or over, you can bring up to A$900 worth of general goods into Australia duty-free.

...

General goods include gifts, souvenirs, cameras, electronic equipment, leather goods, perfume concentrates, jewellery, watches and sporting equipment.

What happens if I exceed the duty-free limits?

If you exceed Australia’s duty-free limits, duty and tax will apply on all items of that type (general goods, alcohol or tobacco), not just the goods over the limit.

If you have anything in excess of your duty-free concession, declare the goods and provide proof of purchase to us for calculation of any duty and tax to be paid.

Failure to declare goods in excess of your concession could result in penalties.

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