2026-10-20
FOB price is the starting point, not the answer. Here is the real stack: freight, insurance, GST, duty, clearance and trucking.
When a Perth or Sydney builder asks "what does your AAC block cost delivered?", the FOB Ningbo number is only the first line. The landed cost is FOB plus freight, insurance, customs entry, GST, any duty, and last-mile trucking. Missing one line item is how importers lose money on the first container. If you have not nailed down lead times yet, our shipping timeline guide covers the FCL and LCL math.
Freight is the biggest variable. A 40ft high cube ex-Ningbo or Shanghai to Sydney or Melbourne runs AUD 3,500–4,500 on a standard service in 2026; to Fremantle it is AUD 4,000–5,200 because it is a longer leg on the same vessel. LCL adds roughly AUD 180–250 per cubic metre for consolidation. Insurance is 0.2–0.3% of cargo value, easy to forget.
GST in Australia is 10% but it is recoverable. When your customs broker lodges the entry, GST is levied on (CIF + duty + other charges). As an Australian-registered business you claim that GST back on your next BAS. So the 10% is a cash flow timing cost, not a real cost — do not let a supplier quote you a landed price that has not stripped it out.
Duty on AAC is usually zero. Headings 6810.11 (autoclaved aerated concrete articles) and 6810.19 (other) generally carry 0% under the China-Australia FTA for goods meeting rules of origin, but you need the supplier's China Certificate of Origin to claim it. Without a CO, standard MFN duty applies. Ceramsite foam blocks and composite sandwich blocks sit under 3824 or 6810 depending on composition — confirm the HS code before you order, not after.
Last-mile trucking is where small projects bleed. A 40ft container truck from Port Botany to the Blue Mountains or the Central Coast is AUD 900–1,500; from Fremantle to Perth metro is AUD 400–700. If you need a tailgate loader or forklift offload on site, add AUD 200–400.
Rule of thumb we use: landed cost = FOB × 1.55 to 1.75 on the east coast, FOB × 1.65 to 1.85 to Fremantle. After GST recovery the real cost to your project is closer to FOB × 1.45–1.6. If a quote lands at 2.2× FOB, someone is hiding a line item — ask which one. For the Western Australian market specifically, see our Perth and WA builder overview.
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