Duty And Taxes Importing Coins Into Australia

You do not need to pay any import duties or fill out any extra paperwork for items imported that are worth less than $1000. If it's worth less than that, a coin should ship straight through customs without problems. You don't need to pay GST on imports under $1000, either. Note that those values are in Australian dollars; for goods with quoted values in foreign currencies, they use the Government-gazetted exchange rate tables, calculated on what the official rates were on the day the coins were exported.

For coins worth over $1000, you need to fill in an import declaration form B374 Import Declaration (N10) - Post; this piece of paper will cost you a processing fee. The importation of coins themselves is duty free, as noted in Chapter 71 of the working tariff; see this pdf file.

They will, however, charge you GST, since coins (except for bullion coins) are not GST-exempt. This is 10% of the declared value.

It should be noted that, as I understand it, the $1000 threshold applies to the entire parcel, not the individual items within it. So if you're considering buying multiple coins less than $1000 each from the same source, watch that $1000 limit. If possible, buy them on separate days and get them to ship in separate parcels; the extra they'll charge you for shipping will still probably be less than the 10% GST the Australian government would end up charging you for.

It seems incongruous that if I buy a coin in Australia I don't pay GST on it but if I buy the same coin overseas and have it sent o Australia I pay GST. You can assume I am talking $1000+ coins.
It seems even more incongruous if the coin in question is an Australian coin.

I like the way we just quietly accept this .. full cynicism intended.

Its annoying that I've had to pay GST on pre decimals I've imported. Struck long before GST existed and they are used goods to boot. What's more if a coin is consigned from Australia to an overseas auction house and is then purchased by an Australian then GST is payable to bring it home. Could happen several times that GST is paid on the same coin as it goes through various owners.

I can remember being summoned to the mail centre at Clyde(sydney) in the late 80's to open my parcel of coins from NZ. I had to pay duty on the silver coins, probably only $100 in value. Not sure if that happens nowadays. They made me feel like a criminal, and it took almost all day waiting in line!!!.

This is the Minister currently responsible for it so I would encourage everyone to spend 10 minutes composing an email and sending it to him because unless we push these people nothing is going to change.

Pardon my objection but we are talking about a public figure whose information (that I posted) is merely a matter of googling it.
That information is made available to the public as part of the Assistant Minister's job.
The email address you so quickly removed is the one the Parliament give out so members of the public can contact the Assistant Minister.

I would go as far to say it is public information and it is not personal information.

You go too far.

This is the Assistant Minister's contact as given out by the Parliament for members of the public to contact him.
I encourage members to contact him letting him know GST on Australian coins is nonsense,

Email address redacted AGAIN.

technically the purchase of currency should not be taxed and is illegal to do so, but because you are purchasing it for the purpose of "coin collecting" unless someone want to argue against the Australian federal government in a court case which I doubt, will have to keep on paying the GST (duty) and unless you have an exemption. I hate how government have grey areas and so can apply laws as they see fit, that's what pulled "perth bullion" under sometimes I wonder why government love to shoot them selves in the foot.