Practical gifting

Can You Send Food to WA or Tasmania? What's Allowed

Yes, mostly, if it's sealed, labelled and shelf-stable. What WA and Tasmania's official rules say about posting food, what gets stopped, and a checklist.

Published

Popcorn, shortbread, salt and coffee from the Gift Box for Him

The short answer

Can You Send Food to WA or Tasmania? What's Allowed

Yes, you can usually send food to WA or Tasmania, as long as it's processed, shelf-stable and still sealed in its labelled commercial packaging. Fresh fruit and veg, honey, seeds, plants and anything home-dried from raw are where parcels come unstuck. Bad news for the backyard mangoes. Good news for Nan's fruit cake.

We pack every Same Skies box ourselves in Sydney and post to every state, so we've read both states' rules closely. Everything below comes from the WA and Tasmanian governments' own pages, linked as we go. One caveat before you start: those pages are written mainly for travellers crossing the border, not for parcels. Where they go quiet on posting, we say so, and you should ring the people who actually make the call.

The quick answer for WA and Tasmania, side by side

Here's how the common care package foods line up. WA rules come from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD's What can I bring into WA and its quarantine FAQ). Tasmania's come from Biosecurity Tasmania's food guide.

Food Into WA Into Tasmania
Chocolate, lollies, packaged snacks Not named one by one. Asked about food packs posted for hiking trails, DPIRD says processed, prepackaged food is permitted Allowed if identifiable, can't be grown and clean
Cakes, biscuits, fruit cake Allowed Baked and cooked produce allowed
Tinned and cooked food Allowed Canned, preserved and cooked allowed
Nuts All allowed except raw walnuts in shell Dried nuts allowed, not nuts with green material
Dried fruit Commercially packaged, no stems. Home-dried usually not accepted Commercially dried allowed. Home-dried from raw not permitted
Fresh fruit and veg Only a short list, free of soil, pests and disease Not permitted
Honey Prohibited unless certified on a Health Certificate Commercially filtered allowed. Unfiltered honey and honeycomb from outside Tasmania not permitted

If you only remember one line from this post: sealed, labelled and shop-bought gets through, while fresh, homegrown and home-dried causes trouble.

What happens to a parcel at the border

Both states check the mail, and they check a lot of it. The WA Government's Biosecurity Week update in August 2026 counted 1,293,367 interstate parcels screened at postal facilities across Perth.

Tasmania uses detector dogs and x-ray machines to screen incoming packages, and asks locals to remind family and friends interstate that some things can't be sent (Check your bags). If something arrives that doesn't meet the entry conditions, it can be destroyed, sent back at the importer's expense or treated at the importer's expense, and an on-the-spot fine may apply as well (A guide to Tasmania's biosecurity system).

In WA, DPIRD's page on importing plants and plant products says inspected packages come through with obvious signs of being opened and "Passed quarantine" tape across them. So if a box lands in Perth already opened and taped up, nobody's been snooping. That's the system doing its job.

The grey zones people actually ask about

Nan's fruit cake

Fine for WA. DPIRD's FAQ says fruit cake is allowed because it's cooked and processed fruit, and cakes and biscuits are allowed too. Tasmania lists baked and cooked produce as allowed. Wrap it well and stick a label on it saying what it is.

Home-dried fruit or veggie chips

This is where good intentions go to die. WA says home-dried fruit usually isn't acceptable unless an inspector is satisfied it's dried to the same standard as commercial fruit. Tasmania allows produce that was cooked first and then dehydrated, but not fruit and veg dehydrated from raw. If you made it in your own dehydrator, buy a packet instead.

Lollies tipped into a cute jar

Tasmania's test starts with whether a food is identifiable. A mystery jar of mixed lollies is harder to identify than the original bag with the label on. Keep the packaging, and put the cute jar in the box empty if you must.

Honey from the farmers' market

Leave it home. WA says honey is prohibited unless it's certified on a Health Certificate, and Tasmania doesn't permit unfiltered honey unless it was commercially produced in Tasmania. If you're wondering why there's east-coast honey on Perth supermarket shelves, DPIRD's FAQ explains it: that honey has been treated, certified and checked by inspectors on arrival.

Flowers and native foliage

WA warns that flower and foliage arrangements may be seized and destroyed if they're not readily identifiable or are a pest or disease host. Tasmania needs a Notice of Intention and an inspection for cut flowers, and restricts some species, including members of the Myrtaceae family (Plants and plant products). Order from a florist in their city instead.

What to leave out of the box

  • Fresh fruit and veg. Tasmania doesn't permit fresh fruit and vegetables, "including potatoes, fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, onion". WA's allowed list is short and every item must be free of sprouting green growth, soil, pests and disease.
  • Anything that could grow. Raw walnuts in shell for WA, nuts with green material for Tasmania, bulbs, cuttings and pot plants. WA needs seed packets for planting unopened and labelled with the botanic name. Tasmania wants seed bought through an approved supplier, and posted seed marked "Attention: Biosecurity Tasmania".
  • Raw honey and honeycomb. Strict in both states.
  • Herbs, spices and dried plant bits that smell like a bushwalk. WA wants herbs and spices commercially packaged with no myrtle rust host material, including lemon myrtle, and DPIRD points to a eucalyptus or tea tree-like smell as a sign of a possible host.
  • Raw crustaceans for WA, and abalone for Tasmania. Honestly, skip seafood in the post full stop.
  • Anything that needs a fridge. From Sydney, Australia Post usually takes 5 business days after dispatch to Perth or Hobart, longer for regional addresses, and parcels don't travel in a fridge.

If an inspector would have to guess what it is, it doesn't belong in the box.

Your checklist before you post

  • Every food is sealed in its original commercial packaging, label on.
  • Nothing fresh, homegrown, foraged or dehydrated from raw.
  • No honey, honeycomb, seeds for planting, bulbs or plants.
  • Shelf-stable only. Nothing that minds a warm week.
  • Sending to a WA mine site? Camps have rules of their own on top of the state's, and many don't allow candles or alcohol. Our FIFO care package ideas and the working away gift boxes cover what works in a camp room.
  • Still unsure? Ring first. Quarantine WA is on (08) 9334 1800 and Biosecurity Tasmania is on 1300 368 550. Tasmania's own advice is blunt: "If you're in any doubt, our advice is to leave risk items at home or not post them" (Traveller's guide).

The no-food option: send something they can't eat

If you'd rather skip the rules altogether, send a gift with no food in it. A candle, a print or a journal isn't food, so none of the food lists above come into it.

That's what our build your own gift box is good for. Pick the Twilight Box (6 gifts) or the Midnight Box (8 gifts) and fill it from the non-food side of the range: a Hand-Poured Soy Candle in Vanilla Dusk or Moonlit Santal, the Canvas-Bound A5 Notebook, a Hardcover Travel Journal, a Mulberry Silk Sleep Mask, an A3 Matte Art Print (unframed, so it suits someone with a bit of wall space) and a Crochet Comfort Companion. The pickle is a strong choice for anyone who's just moved to Hobart and needs a desk buddy.

The Same Skies Twilight Box, a build-your-own gift box holding six chosen gifts
The Twilight Box holds six gifts you choose, so it can be food-free from lid to base. Build your own box.

Our ready-made boxes, like Hug Away From Home, each include some packaged treats alongside the keepsakes. We can't tell you that any particular box or item is cleared for WA or Tasmania, because that call belongs to their inspectors. If you want no question at all, build one without food.

Send the recipe, not the cake

For the family member whose love language is a full fridge, here's the workaround. Every Same Skies box comes with a premium card, and your words live behind a QR code on it: a free message of up to 280 characters, a photo or a video. Film Mum making the fruit cake, flour on the bench and commentary included. They point their phone camera at the code, the video opens, and they bake it with ingredients from their own shops. Photos and videos replay for around six months, and how the card works has the details.

If they've only just moved to Perth, our guide to care packages for someone who moved to Perth has more ideas. Every box is hand-packed in Sydney, Monday to Friday, and sent with Australia Post, with free delivery on every box. Tracking and the receipt come to you, and no price goes in the box. Anything else is in our delivery FAQ.

Keep reading

Build your own

Start with an empty box. Fill it with them.

The real builder, exactly as you'll see it.

Choose every piece from the UK, pick a print that feels like them, then add your letter with a photo or video behind the QR card. We hand-pack it in Sydney and deliver it in Australia.

  • You choose every piece, and the print on the lid
  • Your letter, plus a free photo or video behind the QR card
  • Built from the UK, hand-packed in Sydney, delivered in Australia only
Build your own Or choose one of our five boxes

Questions people ask

Can I post chocolate or lollies to Tasmania?

Biosecurity Tasmania lists chocolate, lollies, coffee and teas as processed food that is allowed if it is identifiable, can't be grown and is clean. Keep it sealed in its commercial packaging with the label on.

Can you send honey to WA?

WA's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development says honey is prohibited unless certified on a Health Certificate. For a gift parcel, the simplest choice is to leave honey out.

Can I send fruit cake or Christmas cake to Perth?

Yes. DPIRD's quarantine FAQ says fruit cake is allowed into WA because it is cooked and processed fruit, and cakes and biscuits are allowed too. Wrap it well and label what it is.

What happens if my parcel to Tasmania doesn't meet the rules?

Biosecurity Tasmania screens incoming packages with detector dogs and x-ray machines. Items that don't meet entry conditions can be destroyed, sent back or treated at the importer's expense, and an on-the-spot fine may apply.

Can I send a hamper to WA or Tasmania?

It depends on what's inside. Sealed, labelled, shelf-stable processed food is generally allowed, while fresh produce, honey, seeds and plants are restricted, so check each item or choose a gift with no food in it.

Who do I ask if I'm not sure about an item?

Call Quarantine WA on (08) 9334 1800 or Biosecurity Tasmania on 1300 368 550. Their published food guidance is written mainly for travellers, so check anything unusual before you post it.

Build a box with no food in it

Pick 6 or 8 gifts, add a message, photo or video behind the QR card, and we'll hand-pack it in Sydney. Free delivery on every box.

Start building

Keep reading