What you cannot take across state borders, and what to do instead

The single most common surprise on an interstate move is not the price. It is finding out on uplift day that the lemon tree, the pot plants and the contents of the crisper cannot go. Australian states run their own biosecurity systems, and a removal truck is inspected like any other vehicle crossing a border.

South Australia: the fruit fly exclusion zone

South Australia works hard to stay free of fruit fly, and the Riverland exclusion zone is enforced on the Western Highway. No fresh fruit and no fruiting vegetables may enter. That last category catches people out, because it includes tomatoes, capsicums, chillies and eggplant, not just apples and citrus.

There is a disposal bin at the checkpoint and there are penalties for undeclared produce. If you are moving to Adelaide, eat the fruit bowl down over the final week and give the rest to a neighbour.

Western Australia: the strictest border in the country

Everything entering Western Australia by road is inspected at Eucla. Potted plants are generally refused unless they are in sterile media with a permit obtained in advance. Soil is refused outright. Honey, used beehives, untreated timber and second hand garden equipment all attract attention.

Practically, this means the pot plants do not come to Perth. Give them away, or take cuttings in water, which is a conversation to have with WA quarantine before you assume it works.

Tasmania: produce, plants and soil

Biosecurity Tasmania refuses fresh fruit and vegetables, plants, soil, used beehives and used garden equipment carrying soil. Because Tasmanian consignments travel by road to Devonport and then by sea, anything perishable also has a much longer journey than people expect.

Queensland: fire ants, not fruit

There is no household goods checkpoint on the Queensland border, but the fire ant biosecurity zone across south east Queensland restricts the movement of soil, potting mix, mulch, hay, turf and potted plants into and within the area. The rule to remember is simple: nothing with dirt on it.

The universal clean down

Wherever you are heading, do this in the week before uplift:

• Hose and dry the mower deck, the whipper snipper, the shovel and the wheelbarrow
• Scrub the bases of pots and the feet of outdoor furniture
• Empty and sweep the garden shed rather than tipping its contents into a carton
• Shake out and wash doormats and outdoor rugs
• Run the fridge and freezer down so there is nothing to declare

Dangerous goods: refused on every truck, every state

Separate from quarantine, no removalist in Australia may carry these, and their presence can void transit cover for everything else on board:

• LPG and gas bottles, including empty barbecue cylinders, unless purged and tagged
• Petrol, diesel and two stroke fuel, including fuel left in mowers and generators
• Paint, thinners, pool chemicals and acids
• Aerosols in bulk, fire extinguishers and medical gas cylinders
• Ammunition, firearms, fireworks and flares
• Loose lithium and car batteries

In Victoria, paint and household chemicals can go to a Detox Your Home drop off at no charge. Gas bottles swap at any service station. Small engines should be run dry the day before, which takes ten minutes and saves an argument on the driveway.

Declaring a plant costs you nothing. Being caught with one costs you a fine and, on a truck carrying two other families' belongings, costs them a delay as well.

What about the pets and the fish?

Nothing alive travels in a furniture truck. A trailer on the Hume in February sits well above 45 degrees. Book a pet transport service, and move fish tanks empty with the gravel bagged and the filter media kept wet in tank water so the bacterial colony survives the trip.