Fruit, plants and honey: border rules for an interstate move

Coming into South Australia: fruit fly

PIRSA, South Australia’s primary industries department, says some fruit, vegetables, plants, plant products and other items cannot be brought into South Australia from interstate. The requirements differ by the type of produce and by the state you are coming from: New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia each have their own list on PIRSA’s page.

• Eat it or bin it. PIRSA says you must eat or dispose of fruit and vegetables at risk from fruit fly before entering South Australia or the Riverland.
• Checks happen. PIRSA says people are fined if caught with restricted items at Yamba quarantine station, or at random roadblocks set up after the disposal bins.
• Permanent rules. Restrictions on bringing or posting produce and plant material into South Australia and the Riverland Pest Free Area are permanent, not seasonal.
• Ask if unsure. PIRSA runs a Fruit Fly Hotline around the clock for questions about a particular item.

Going to Western Australia: the declaration

DPIRD controls what comes into Western Australia. For a household move, its rules include:

DPIRD rule	What to do
Complete the ‘Declaration for movement of personal goods into WA’ with your removals company, who should lodge it on your behalf	Go through it with your removalist when you book
Honey is prohibited unless a Health Certificate covers it	Leave honey behind
Used beekeeping equipment is prohibited except by permit	Sort a permit before packing, or leave it
Fruit and vegetables must be free of sprouting green growth, soil, pests and disease	Use up fresh produce before you go
High-risk plants and plant products may not be allowed in	Find new homes for pot plants and cuttings

DPIRD’s quarantine checkpoints operate around the clock at the WA border on the Eyre Highway at Eucla, and at Kununurra. If you are driving to Perth across the Nullarbor, your car can be checked at Eucla.

Our advice for a WA load

• Do not pack in used fruit or vegetable boxes. Use new removal cartons.
• Empty the fridge, freezer and pantry of fresh produce in your last week.
• Tell your removalist about honey, beekeeping gear and plants before packing day.

Packing the kitchen for any border

The kitchen is where most border problems start: a bag of lemons from the tree, potatoes in the pantry, a jar of local honey, herbs on the windowsill. A week before moving day:

1. Plan meals to use up fresh fruit and vegetables.
2. Give away what is left, along with pot plants and cuttings.
3. Set aside honey and anything plant-based for a decision before packing.
4. Pack only clean, dry, sealed pantry goods.
5. If you are driving, carry only what you will eat before the border, and use the disposal bins.

It is easy to think of this as a problem only for people with a vegetable garden. In practice it catches most households: the fruit bowl, the potatoes, the onions, a bag of oranges bought for the drive. Clearing it a few days ahead means nothing is thrown out in a hurry at a disposal bin, and nothing ends up sealed in a carton for days on the road. The same goes for the garden: pot plants, seedlings and cuttings are simplest given to neighbours.

Rules change: check before you go

These rules are summaries of PIRSA’s and DPIRD’s pages as read in October 2026. They can change, and the details for particular produce and plants are on the agencies’ own pages. Check PIRSA’s page for the state you are leaving if you are moving into SA, and DPIRD’s ‘Moving to WA and bringing personal effects’ page if you are moving west.

Planning a move across these borders

The route pages on this site cover the border rules for each move: Adelaide to Perth removalists for WA’s declaration, and Melbourne to Adelaide removalists, Sydney to Adelaide removalists, Brisbane to Adelaide removalists and Perth to Adelaide removalists for South Australia’s fruit fly rules. For how Moveall plans any move, read interstate removalists in Adelaide.