The Ultimate Guide to Sourcing Gym Equipment from China for Australia Gym Owners

from china to australia ocean ports

Last updated on February 4th, 2024 at 11:57 am

[prisna-wp-translate-dont-translate]Haswell Fitness ever sent gym equipment to the below locations in Australia from China

  1. Victoria, Australia via Adelaide port;
  2. NSW Newcastle Port, Australia;
  3. Sydney, NSW, Australia via Sydney Port;
  4. Varsity Lakes QLD Australia Via Brisbane port;
  5. Ormeau Qld, Australia Via Brisbane port;
  6. Lynbrook Melbourne Victor, Australia via Melbourne Ocean Port;

We have accumulated some experience from the above international trade orders, and here we share it freely with Australian gym owners and people who are about to invest in fitness clubs.

As you know, this is an international trade, which not only involves product value but also includes: transportation fees, import duties, GST Vat Tax, freight forwarding service fees, etc. Let us introduce you one by one in the most concise language.


1. The Total Amount of Gym Equipment

woman in black tank top and black leggings doing exercise

This part is based on how large your gym house is, Assume you (will) have a 1000 square meters gym, 700 sqm as the training area, The remaining 300 square meters will be used as changing rooms, reception rooms, shower rooms, toilets, etc.

Generally speaking, 700 square meters could load 90 ~ 100 pcs of gym equipment like the below list shows

Page-1-50K-USD-gym-equipment-for-1000-sqm-fitness-club-from-China-Haswell-Fitness1
Page-1-50K-USD-gym-equipment-for-1000-sqm-fitness-club-from-China-Haswell-Fitness1
  • 12 AC Motorized Treadmills
  • 2 Motorless Treadmills,
  • 20 PCS of spinning bikes,
  • Windage resistance Airmill bikes, skimill, ab crunch machine, flip tire device, fitness ladders, windage rowing machine,
  • Power Squat Racks,
  • Stationary Exercise bike and cross trainers,
  • 40 PCS of dumbells and 2 racks,
  • 24 PCS weight plates and their racks,
  • 18 PCS of fixed-weight barbells and their racks.
  • 10PCS of Olympic bars, covers 2.2m, 1.8m, 1.2m, straight and curl shape, square and hex bars
  • Full TC1 line gym equipment covers 16 PCS of single cable stations and dozens of benches and racks

All of the above products in our plan just require 50,000 USD, which is nearly 75k AUD, and it will cost 30-45 days to finish the production, You may find the PDF list from

50K USD gym equipment Plan.pdf


2. Sea freight from China Ocean Ports to Australia

The total volume is 79 cubic meters in the PDF, which will fill a 20-foot container and a 40-foot container.

Reference-Freight-Shipping-cost-from-Shanghai-Port-China-to-Australia-Ports-2023-March
Reference-Freight-Shipping-cost-from-Shanghai-Port-China-to-Australia-Ports-2023-March

From the above table,

  • the shipping cost for a 20 GP is only 360 ~ 420 USD (around 600 AUD) to the main ocean ports Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, and nearly 900 USD (Nearly 1350 AUD ) to Adelaide port;
  • the freight cost for a 40GP/HQ is about 700~800 USD (1200 AUD more or less) to the main ocean ports Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, and 1639 USD (nearly 2450 Australia Dollars) to Adelaide Port via Melbourne Port;

one piece of 20’GP + one piece of 40’GP will cost 1600~1800 AUD from China Shanghai port to Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne ocean port, and doubles to Adelaide port, the Transit Time usually from 13 to 17 days; The sea freight, port of origin and transit time will vary according to the series of strength training equipment you choose, it may be shipped from Tianjin Port, Qingdao Port, Lianyungang, Shanghai Port; but not from Guangzhou Port, Shenzhen Hong Kong, Ningbo Port, Xiamen Port, because our fitness equipment factories are mainly located in North China.

haswell-fitness-located-Xuzhou-city of-jiangsu-province-China
haswell-fitness-located-Xuzhou-city of-jiangsu-province-China

Please learn that the above table does not show the freight cost to other ocean ports in Australia, we would like to help you figure out how much the shipping cost to the below ports in AU if you need it

Fremantle, Perth, Bell Bay, Burnie, Devonport, Hobart, Launceston, Darwin, Townsville, Cairns, Gladstone, Newcastle, Geelong, Canberra, Dampier, Port Hedland, Acacia Ridge Ql, Botany Bay Ns, Dandenong Vic, Eagle Farm Ql, Eastern Creek Ns, Fairfield, Footscray, Liverpool Ns, Narellan NSW, Keilor Park, Virginia Sa, Yarra Glen, Alexandria NSW, Colac, Darra Ql, Derrimut, Elizabeth Sa, Fairfield Vic, Forster, Hemmant Ql, Homebush Ns, Inkerman, Ingleburn NSW, Jandakot, Lansdowne NSW, Mackay, Narangba Ql, Noosaville, Oakhurst, Orange, Port Kembla Ns, Parramatta Ns, Penrith Ns, Rockhampton, Scoresby Vi, Boronia, Villawood-Sydney, Wacol Qld, Welshpool, Yagoona, Yarraville.


3. Australia Custom & Port Fee/Tax

3.1 Import duty 0%

According to the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement, it is a 0% duty to import gym equipment from China to Australia since 2015. Haswell Fitness will offer a free-of-charge “Certificate of Origin” to help you enjoy the benefits of this policy if your forwarder needs it.

certificates-of-origin-Form-for-China-Australia-Free-Treade-Agreement
certificates-of-origin-Form-for-China-Australia-Free-Trade-Agreement

3.2 GST 10%

The value of imported goods does not exceed 1,000 Australian dollars and is exempt from customs duties, consumption taxes, and processing fees for imported goods.

assorted Australian dollar banknotes

Importers of fitness equipment in Australia usually cannot enjoy the tax-free policy, because the value of the goods is generally tens of thousands of Australian dollars. Still, the good news is that GST is calculated based on the FOB price. You must know that in most other countries/regions, it is calculated according to the CNF price, meaning importers in other countries must pay the VAT on ocean freight.

Be aware that in China, the VAT rate is 13%, which is higher than the 10% GST in Australia, which means that the EXW price you get from a Chinese fitness equipment supplier may be lower than the price a domestic Chinese buyer gets.

3.3 Documents Fee etc

According to “wto.org“, the Import processing charge in Australia is 152.60 AUD for goods imported by sea after 2016, if you have two containers like the PDF shows, this cost will be double.


4. Your Local Forwarder Service Fee

Containers full of gym equipment from China Haswell Fitness

We will recommend some AU forwarders to you if you like, your forwarder will help you to

  • book shipment, we will send containers according to their indicates;
  • clear customs in an Australian ocean port, and help you to pay the cost which happens in the AU ocean port, Each container can incur thousands of Australian dollars in terminal charges;
  • they could also help you send the containers to your gym.

We do not know the details, but let’s take it as 3000 AUD which contains the 2 trucks fee to your gym.


5. Conclusion

  • The value of Goods: 75k AUD,
  • Ocean Freight: 1800 AUD for two containers,
  • Import duty: 0,
  • GST: 7.5K AUD,
  • Doc fee: 305.2 AUD for 2 containers,
  • Forwarder & Truck Cost: 3K AUD.

Total: 75000+1800+7500+305.2+3000=87605.2 AUD;

it is 87600/75000=1.168 times the value of goods, considering there are some factors we have not covered,

you may take it as 1.2 times, and please be aware this data comes from 2 containers, it will be more for LCL.

Considering that the US dollar exchange rate fluctuates frequently, and the customization time of fitness equipment usually exceeds 30 days, no one knows how the shipping fee will change in the next month, so Haswell Fitness cannot provide a CNF USD quotation in advance, but we will provide you with the shipping fee of the current month refer to.


6. What Else?

gym equipment order deliver on time.
gym equipment order deliver on time.

Besides how much you will pay, you should concern about how many days to close this order also

  • Production: it will cost 30 ~ 45 days for gym equipment in the PDF plan, generally speaking, it will take more time if you place an order in the peak season (May to July, Sep to Nov.)
  • The time from Factory to Ship date usually need 10 days
    • to send products from our gym equipment factories to Ocean ports like Qingdao Port, Shanghai Port, and Lianyungang Port will only cost 2-3 days,
    • But please learn that the containers should arrive at China Ocean port 7 days earlier than the estimated delivery date.
  • Transit Time usually be 14 – 17 days from China to Australia as we mentioned.
  • Usually, 3 working days to clear customs in Australia, if your ship arrived in port on a weekend, then 4-5 days.
  • Assembly machines will cost 3 to 10 days upon how many people you have.

Minimum Total:  30+5+14+3+3 = 55 days

Maximum Total: 45+10+17+5+10 = 87 days

As you see, you should place an order around 2-3 months earlier than your gym opening date, that is a trustful answer to the question: “When should Australia Gym Owner Place an Order with China Gym Equipment Provider?”.


In the end, we would like to say that if you plan to open a gym, you should not neglect the plan to buy fitness equipment from China, Haswell Fitness will help you find the right product at a reasonable price and deliver on time.

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