Duty, GST, care labelling and the paperwork that actually matters. A practical overview for an Australian brand bringing in knitwear from an overseas manufacturer — not a substitute for your customs broker.
Most of the friction in importing knitwear to Australia isn't the manufacturing — it's everything between the factory gate and your warehouse shelf. Duty rate, GST, whether your supplier's country has a trade agreement with Australia, and whether your swing tags meet the mandatory care labelling rule. None of it is complicated alone, but it trips up first-time importers who assumed FOB price was the whole story. This is a general orientation, not customs advice — for anything binding, use a licensed customs broker.
Knitwear imported into Australia is classified under the Working Tariff, generally within HS Chapter 61 (knitted or crocheted apparel). Two separate charges apply at the border:
| Charge | What it applies to |
|---|---|
| Customs duty | Set by tariff classification (HS code) and country of origin. Standard knitwear duty under the general tariff is commonly around 5%, but the exact rate depends on the HS subheading — confirm classification with a broker before committing to a supplier. |
| GST (10%) | Charged on the value of the goods plus duty plus international freight and insurance — not just the goods value. Catches first-time importers who budget GST on FOB price alone. |
| FTA preference | If your supplier's country has an FTA with Australia and the goods qualify under the rules of origin, duty may be reduced or eliminated. Requires a valid certificate of origin — it isn't automatic. |
Indicative only — always confirm current duty rates and FTA eligibility for your specific HS code with a licensed Australian customs broker before costing a programme.
Turkey does not currently have a bilateral free trade agreement with Australia, so Turkish-made knitwear is generally assessed under the standard tariff rather than a preferential rate. Worth stating plainly: brands sourcing from FTA-partner countries — including several of Australia's Asian trade agreements — may land a lower duty bill on paper. What Turkey offers instead, covered on our private-label manufacturing page, is flat-knit and WHOLEGARMENT capability, mid-sized MOQs, and a supply chain short enough to visit directly — not a duty advantage. If the decision is purely duty percentage, run the numbers for your HS code against every country on your shortlist first.
Australia and New Zealand share a mandatory care labelling standard (AS/NZS 1957) covering fibre content and cleaning instructions. It's a legal requirement, and the item most overseas factories get wrong by default, since it isn't the standard they use for EU or US customers.
Garments must be labelled with accurate fibre composition. If your knit is 80% merino / 20% nylon, the label needs to say so — not "wool blend." Specify it in the tech pack before production, not after the goods land.
AS/NZS 1957 sets out how washing, drying and ironing instructions should be presented. A factory used to supplying the EU will default to European care-symbol conventions — flag the AU/NZ standard explicitly in your PO.
Country-of-origin labelling has its own rules under Australian Consumer Law, separate from care labelling. If you want a "Made in Turkey" claim on the label or in marketing, check current ACCC requirements — the bar for a qualifying claim is specific.
The cheapest place to fix a labelling gap is the tech pack, before the first sample is cut. Finding it at QC — or after the container lands — means re-labelling costs and delay. Send the AS/NZS 1957 requirement in writing on order confirmation.
Geography is the honest trade-off. Turkey to Australia is a long sea leg — typically five to seven weeks port-to-port depending on routing and transhipment, longer than sourcing from closer Asian hubs. Plan that into your calendar, especially for seasonal ranges with a fixed in-store date. In exchange: a mid-sized MOQ (Kiwi Giyim's minimum is 250 units per colour/size — a single style in three colours and five sizes runs to 3,750 pieces), flat-knit and WHOLEGARMENT construction capability, and a supply chain short enough to visit in person rather than manage through several layers of agents. Turkish knitwear pricing generally sits between high-volume Asian manufacturing and EU-based production — it is not positioned as the cheapest unit-cost option, and we won't claim otherwise. The case for Turkey is quality-to-cost ratio and directness, not landed cost alone.
Not legally required for most shipments, but for a first import a licensed broker is worth the fee — misclassifying an HS code or under-declaring value risks penalties and delays. Brief them before finalising a supplier so they can confirm the duty rate for your product.
Yes. GST (currently 10%) is calculated on the customs value of the goods plus duty plus international transport and insurance to the port of export — not just the invoice value. Build this into your landed-cost model from the start.
At minimum: a commercial invoice with accurate goods description and value, a packing list, and — if claiming FTA preference from an eligible origin country — a certificate of origin. Ask your supplier what they can produce before placing a deposit; unfamiliarity with Australian import documentation on their end causes delays on yours.
We can produce garments to AS/NZS 1957 fibre content and care instruction requirements when it's specified in the tech pack and PO — standard practice on our export orders. We're not a substitute for your own compliance sign-off, but we won't leave it to guesswork on our side.
Send your spec and target volume and we'll quote ex-works so you can build your own landed-cost model — duty, GST, freight and all — before committing to a run.