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Hi guys,

I plan to emigrate to Australia very soon and have been concerned as I know they have strict immigration laws.
I have 2 armies which are rather good and I wish to transport them with my other household items.

However the info I have been reading tells me there Australia immigration has issues with Sand. I don't want to snap off all the bases but at the same time I want to make sure my toys get there and not snatched by immigration..

Anyone have any experience of this, advice would be appreciated.

Sam

First off, Welcome to Dakka Dakka.

If it were me. I would find someone I knew down there and mail them ahead.

G'day! ; p

I haven't heard of an issue with sand, wood is the most common trouble item people have. You do need to declare "sand" though, this is what our customs website says on the issue:

Food, plants, animals and biological goods
Declare all food, plant and animal goods, equipment used with animals, biological materials, soils and sand to Quarantine on arrival. If you don't, you could be given an on-the-spot fine or face prosecution.

Declaring it is usually enough. They might ask you about it, if it seems harmless (ie. beach sand that's been primed, painted and varnished) you'll probably be able to go through fine. It might get stuck in a quarantine for a few months but I think that's highly unlikely:

Declaring goods does not necessarily mean your baggage will be examined.

Agreed. Declare it just to be safe (and avoid a possible fine), but I can't see a thin layer of glued and painted sand being considered a biohazard - Customs are more worried about insects etc that might be hitching a ride in larger amounts of fresh soil or sand.