I believe that when you usually travel abroad, after the airport duty-free shop, you will go into a spree; for most people, the airport duty-free shop is a must-stop shopping. Whether it’s a friend travelling to Australia or an international student living in Australia, every time you pass by the Australian airport, you can’t help but shop a little; after all, duty-free, cheap is cheaper, of course, provided that you will buy, to avoid entering the pit. In Australia, there are several duty-free shops in the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne. What are the best things to buy in Australia?
Australia’s health care, skin care products, wool products and a variety of bags and watches are the price is still quite friendly today in detail for you to sum up the famous duty-free shops in Australia and shopping to avoid the pit guide, friends in Australia before returning to their home countries want to splurge, be sure to take a look at it first!
Australia Duty-free Summary
The world’s largest duty-free shop in 14 countries has many luxury goods available here. Australia DFS Global Duty-Free shops are located in Sydney and Cairns.
DFS Galleria Sydney
Located in Sydney‘s most historically and culturally affluent Rocks district, it has four floors of business halls with a total area of 4,000 square metres, making it Australia’s largest in-town duty-free shop. The leading brands in the watch category of DFS shop in Sydney include Omega, Bvlgari, Cartier, Hermes, Longines, etc. Of course, there are also all kinds of world-famous jewellery, leather goods, beauty products, sunglasses, and Sydney’s local souvenirs.
Official website: https://www.dfs.com/en/sydney
Address: The Rocks, 155 George Street, Sydney, Australia
Phone: +61 2 8243 8666
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm (opening hours vary by season)
DFS Galleria Cairns
DFS Galleria Cairns is probably the most attractive “attraction” for Chinese tourists in Cairns. Like other DFS Galleria Cairns outlets, DFS Cairns is located at the junction of Abbott and Spence Streets, a popular neighbourhood in Cairns.
The two-storey shop offers a wide range of the world’s top brands of watches and jewellery, beauty products, perfumes, leather goods, fashion accessories and the latest European and American fashion and luxury products.
Official Website: https://www.dfs.com/en/cairns
Address: Abbott Street & Spence Street, Cairns, Australia (Junction of Abbott Street and Spence Street, Cairns, Queensland, Australia)
Phone: +61 7 4031 2446
Opening hours: Currently closed
Heinemann Tax & Duty-free
Sydney Duty-free offers a wide range of goods at great prices, and if you are in the shop during the promotional period, you will get 30% off on top of the duty-free, which is an excellent deal. There are also boutiques for brands such as Lancome and Estee Lauder.
The duty-free shop is complete, divided into wine, champagne, electronics, perfume, cosmetics, watches, glasses, sweets, fashion bags, clothing, etc. Buying online will provide packaged goods on your departure or return to the airport to pick up the service. However, the shop does not accept traveller’s cheques as payment. They only accept cash and credit cards.
Official website: https://www.heinemanndutyfree.com.au/en/global/
Address: International Terminal 1, Sydney Airport, Mascot NSW 2020
Phone: +61 1800 464 666
Opening hours: 7:00 am – 21:00 pm
Lotte Duty-free
Established in February 1980, Lotte Duty-Free is the world’s second-largest travel retailer, with 20 duty-free shops at 11 international airports in seven international locations, including Australia, Guam, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam. It has operations in Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin and Melbourne, Australia. The shops sell a range of duty-free retail merchandise and offer a ‘Click & Collect’ reservation service for all products. At Lotte Duty-Free, you can buy a wide range of alcohol, food, watches, fragrances, skincare products, souvenirs, technology products, cigarettes, and travel goods. You can make purchases both before and after the security check.
Official website: https://www.lottedutyfree.com.au/
Address:
Brisbane Store: Airport Dr, Eagle Farm QLD 4009
Canberra Store: International Terminal, Canberra Airport, Canberra ACT 2609
Darwin Store: Henry Wrigley Dr, Marrara NT 0812
Melbourne Store: 185 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 1300 388 937
Opening Hours:
Brisbane: 04:00 am – 14:30 pm
Canberra: Closed
Darwin: 24 hours
Melbourne: 11:00 am – 17:30 pm
Perth Duty-free
Perth Duty-Free Perth International Airport is the flagship shop of Dufry, the world’s largest travel retailer. Two Duty-Free shops are in Perth International Airport’s Departure and Arrival halls. The shops offer over 100 world-renowned international brands, duty-free products and exclusives, including cigarettes, alcohol, fragrances and cosmetics, health products and speciality foods.
Official website: https://dutyfree.perthairport.com.au/en/
Address: Level 1, Terminal 1 International, Perth Airport, WA 6105
Telephone: +61 1800 733 000
Opening hours: 24 hours
Guide to Avoiding the Pitfalls of Duty-free Shopping in Australia
Chocolate is a Big Pit
Don’t look at the duty-free shop shelves of chocolate. As long as a dozen knives a piece, the price and other goods are much cheaper, but the same chocolate in the supermarket is often less than half the price. Supermarkets often discount chocolate; we really can’t think of returning to the country to bring what accompaniment to the non-essential must choose the chocolate or to go to the supermarket inside the buy, such as Coles, Woolworths, Woolworths, Woolworths, Woolworths, Woolworths, Woolworths, Woolworths, Woolworths. Woolworths
Big-brand Sunglasses are not Recommended to Buy
Consumer experts suggest that in duty-free shops, do not buy big-brand sunglasses and other accessories. Although some styles are exclusive to duty-free shops, the prices are not so beautiful.
The Price Difference Between Skincare and Beauty Products is Not Very Big
Cosmetics and skincare prices, the price of duty-free shops, and usually Black Friday and other seasonal discounts down the price difference are not much; the only advantage is that the duty-free shop cabinet sister will send a lot of trial packs, samples and so on to you, if you want to buy cosmetics in the duty-free shop must be cheeky to the cabinet sister to try to get the packs.
Electronic Products, Price Comparison in Advance
Electronic products need to do your homework. Some products in the DUTY FREE are very suitable, but some are very pit. For example, the iPhone X 256G Silver
Airport Duty-Free Price: $1738, Apple Store Price: $1829
It may seem cheaper to buy at the airport, but don’t forget that you can get a tax refund for non-duty-free items over $300, so you can get a tax refund at the airport for Apple Store purchases. After a tax refund will be cheaper than buying at the airport.
Alcohol and Tobacco
For this kind of tobacco and alcohol in Australia, within the heavy tax products, Duty-Free is the most cost-effective. Australia, a packet of ordinary cigarettes, to be more than 20 knives, converted into RMB will be 100 +, compared to the duty-free shop sales of cigarettes without tobacco tax;. However, the price is not as reasonable as the domestic; the fancy is very easy to accept. If you are more addicted to cigarettes, then be sure to stock up at the airport duty-free shop; after all, each visitor in Australia is only allowed to bring a cigarette into the country.
The wine that most don’t buy is wine. Australian wine is a lot of Chinese people return to the country when they must bring speciality. Many friends love to buy wine at the airport and spend a lot of money! Wine bought in ordinary bottle shops in Australia can be refunded 14.5 per cent of the outbound tax. So, don’t buy wine at the airport if you want to buy it!
Even if you only buy one bottle ($300 or less does not reach the minimum tax refund), many airport wines are still more expensive than usual. But spirits are a different story. Spirits bought at retail shops are not eligible for the same departure tax refund as other goods. In contrast, spirits at Duty-Free at the airport are great.
Must Buy Brands in Duty-Free Australia
GUCCI
Due to the price advantage, Australia’s Gucci is almost always lined up in a long queue; DFS in the Gucci on the ground floor of the innermost bag style is complete, scarves and what is less than 2,000 after the tax rebate.
OMEGA
OMEGA Omega can do the world’s lowest price! Other watch and jewellery brands, such as Hermes, Burberry BURBERRY, Longines Longines, Swarovski SWAROVSKI, Cartier Cartier, etc., are cost-effective and hit the bone.
Jurlique
Australia’s national treasure of natural skincare well-known brands, rose water and hand cream, are pro-tested and good to use; mild and natural ingredients are sensitive skin gospel.
Clarins
For example, for Double Extract Revitalising Essence, two bottles of 50ml are 184 Australian dollars (about ¥ 900), while the domestic ¥ 960 can only buy a bottle the day the two bottles of 50ml are 1,026 yuan!
L’OCCITANE
Australia to buy L’Occitane is relatively cheap, especially when encountering Black Friday and Christmas discounts. Buying sets is more cost-effective.
LA MER
Cream, the essence of water, is worth buying. The 30ml cream is about the same as the 30ml essence cream for AUD214, which is much cheaper than the daily price.
Australia Shopping Tax Refund Tips
Tax Refunds for Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) on goods purchased outside of duty-free shops at airports: Australian residents and overseas tourists can apply for a refund of GST and WET on goods purchased in Australia and carried overseas as carry-on baggage. Wine Equalisation Tax (WET).
Conditions for Refund
Refunds are available for purchases made within 60 days prior to departure from Australia, based on the invoice date;
Refundable up to AUD$300 refers to purchases over AUD$300 (including GST) from a single merchant. (Note: It does not have to be a one-time spend of AUD 300. Multiple purchases of more than AUD 300 can be made, but only if the ABN numbers on the invoices are the same. (In some chain shops, the ABN numbers may be the same in different shops, in which case the spending is cumulative.)
PS: Tax refunds are only valid until 30 minutes before flight departure. To ensure people have enough time to complete their tax refund, arriving at the airport tax refund office early is best.
What Items are Eligible for Tax Refunds?
Tax refundable items that contain GST (Value Added Tax) on themselves: e.g. computers, mobile phones, cosmetics, designer bags, jewellery, watches, electrical appliances, etc.
Items that cannot be refunded:
- Beer, wine, tobacco and tobacco products are not refundable.
- GST-free items are not refundable (e.g. medicines, food), and services are not refundable (e.g. accommodation, car hire, travel insurance, etc.).
- Gift vouchers, discount vouchers, etc.
- Items used in Australia (perfume, chocolate, wine must not be unsealed, or the tax will not be refunded)
- Dangerous goods
- For departure 60 days before, the small ticket will not be refunded.
In addition, more than 1,000 dollars of consumption tax refund is conditional: the small ticket needs to show the buyer’s name and address in Australia to ensure that the tax refund and the buyer are the same person. When making a tax refund, you must hold your passport and boarding pass in person to make a tax refund. If the name on the slip differs from the name on the passport, Australian Customs will not refund the tax.
In the tax refund, non-valuable items or items that must be checked in are not required to be carried and inspected, and people can check in before the security check.
Tax Refund Locations and Procedures
After arriving at the airport, find the Customs and Quarantine Office and hand over the refundable goods to the staff for opening and checking, after which you will get a “Goods Sighted” stamp on the invoice. However, luxury goods, electronic products, jewellery, watches and other valuables cannot be consigned directly. They must pass the security check and apply for a tax refund at the window.
After the security check, go through customs and find the counter labelled TRS.
For a tax refund, you must present your passport, boarding pass, and invoices for purchased items to the staff and then process the tax refund. App tax refund Australian airports have launched the tax refund app “TRS”, which is applied in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney significant airports. App tax refunds only need to enter the information on the tax refund merchandise invoice in advance; the advantage is that it saves a lot of time and is very recommended for everyone to use! Just search for TRS in the mobile app store.
Shopping Tips
Show your passport and international flight ticket when shopping at duty-free shops. Always remember to download good tax refund software; it can save you time.
If you want to buy medicine and make-up, you can go to the Warehouse chemist; the staff is complete, and you can find everything there.
Generally, big shops don’t have the habit of killing the price, but you can bargain reasonably in flea markets or Chinese shops.
Most shops in Australia accept credit cards (Mast card and Visa card are the most commonly used). Paying cash in Australian dollars is better when shopping in small shops and flea markets. When using traveller’s cheques, you need to show your original passport.
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FAQ
Duty-free shopping in Australia refers to purchasing goods without paying customs duties or taxes. It is available to international travellers departing from or arriving in Australia.
Duty-free shops are typically located at international airports, seaports, and some downtown areas in major cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
No, duty-free shopping in Australia is only available to international travellers who can provide proof of their departure or arrival status.
The amount you can save through duty-free shopping depends on your chosen products and their retail prices. In general, duty-free shopping allows you to enjoy savings of up to 40% off regular prices.
While duty-free shopping exempts you from paying customs duties, you may still need to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) on certain items. The GST rate in Australia is 10%.