Adelaide to Perth removalists, across the Nullarbor

Adelaide to Perth
Road distance	About 2,700 km on the highway route, Adelaide GPO to central Perth
Driving time	About 31.5 hours in a car with no stops
The route	North to Port Augusta, the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor to Norseman, then through Coolgardie and along the Great Eastern Highway (about 542 km) into Perth
The border	Eucla, on the Eyre Highway, where WA runs a quarantine checkpoint around the clock
How your home travels	By road or rail freight, as your quote sets out

Removalists Adelaide to Perth: the plan

1. The quote. Moveall’s customer care team asks about your bedrooms and living areas, the access at both homes and any heavy or bulky items, then emails a quote made for your move. An in-home quote is free.
2. The WA declaration. The personal goods declaration for Western Australia is completed with your removals company before the move (see below).
3. Packing. You pack, or Moveall’s Wrap & Pack service supplies the boxes and materials and packs your approved household items.
4. Loading. Furniture is wrapped in moving blankets and loaded to Moveall’s strict handling and packaging procedures.
5. The trip west. Your home goes by road or rail freight, as the quote sets out.
6. Delivery. Furniture and cartons are carried into the Perth home and set in the rooms you name.

WA quarantine: what moving to Western Australia involves

Western Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) controls what comes into the state, to keep out pests and diseases. For a household move, these are the rules that matter, as DPIRD states them.

WA rule	What it means for your move
Complete the ‘Declaration for movement of personal goods into WA’ with your removals company, who should lodge it on your behalf	Go through the declaration when you book. Ask us about it, and tell us early about anything on the list below
Honey is prohibited unless a Health Certificate covers it	Leave honey out of the kitchen cartons
Used beekeeping equipment is prohibited except by permit	If you keep bees, sort the permit before anything is packed
Fruit and vegetables must be free of sprouting green growth, soil, pests and disease	Use up fresh food before you go: do not pack it
High-risk plants and plant products may not be allowed in	Find homes in Adelaide for pot plants and cuttings
Quarantine checkpoints operate around the clock at the WA border on the Eyre Highway at Eucla, and at Kununurra	If you drive, your car can be checked at Eucla too

Advice for packing a WA move

• Do not pack in used fruit boxes. Second-hand fruit and vegetable cartons are a quarantine risk. Use new removal cartons.
• Empty the fridge and pantry of fresh produce. Fruit and vegetables have to be free of soil, pests and disease to enter WA, and the simplest way through is not to bring them.
• Leave pot plants and cuttings behind. High-risk plants and plant products may not be allowed in, so give them to friends in Adelaide.
• Tell us about honey and beekeeping gear before packing day. Both are restricted, and they are easier to deal with before they are in a carton.

The Nullarbor road, in numbers

The Eyre Highway is part of the National Highway route between Adelaide and Perth. It runs 1,664 km from Port Augusta in South Australia to Norseman in Western Australia, across the Nullarbor Plain, and includes a 146.6 km stretch without a turn between Balladonia and Caiguna. On the route data, about 1,946 km of the whole trip is on the A1, which takes in the Eyre Highway.

For a person driving the family car, 31.5 hours of driving is at least four days on the road with proper rest. Fuel and rest stops are far apart in places. Plan each night’s stop before you go.

Is it worth driving from Adelaide to Perth?

It depends on the car and the people. If the car is coming to Perth, driving is the usual way to get it there: Moveall does not list car transport as a service, so the alternative is a specialist car carrier booked separately. If you do drive, you arrive with your car, and you will still most likely beat the furniture. If the car is not coming, or there are small children or pets to think of, flying and arriving rested for the delivery is often the better plan.

Moving from Adelaide to Perth: the gap before delivery

However you travel, there will be days between leaving Adelaide and your furniture arriving in Perth. Plan for them:

• Book somewhere to stay, or take bedding, towels and basic kitchen things in the car.
• Keep documents, medicines, chargers and anything valuable with you.
• Have power, water and internet connected at the Perth home before delivery day.
• Tell us about lifts, stairs, parking and any building rules at the Perth end when you get your quote.
• Keep your phone on and tell Moveall if your plans change.

Timing a move to Perth

Give a Perth move more lead time than a move to Melbourne. There is the declaration to go through, more to think about in the packing, and a longer trip for you as well as the furniture. Six to eight weeks before your date is a good time to get the quote. A month out, confirm the delivery address and the access at the Perth home, and book your own travel. In the last week, run the kitchen down so there is no fresh food to throw out, finish the packing, and set aside the bag you will live out of on the road. The interstate moving checklist has the rest, week by week.

What shapes the price of a Perth move

No two Perth moves are priced the same, because the quote is built on your home: the rooms and what is in them, the access at both homes, heavy or bulky items, packing, and whether the load goes by road or rail. Moveall’s terms say a fixed-price quote relies on the inventory list, and items added on the day cost extra. Moveall’s own guide says full payment for an interstate move is made on the day of the move.

Insurance on a move west

Moveall holds $20 million public liability cover, which covers damage to people and property around the job. It is not insurance for your own belongings in transit. Ask us about transit insurance for your belongings when you get your quote.

Western Australia paperwork

WA has its own rules and time limits for transferring a licence and registering a car brought from another state. Check them with WA’s transport authority before you go.

For how Moveall plans every interstate move, read interstate removalists in Adelaide. Moving from Perth to Adelaide instead? Read Perth to Adelaide removalists, which covers the South Australian fruit fly rules for the trip east. For Darwin, see other routes.

Questions people ask