Vietnam has become one of the most significant apparel manufacturing countries in the world. With the AANZFTA free trade agreement in force, qualifying Vietnamese-made garments enter Australia at 0% duty. To import apparel from Vietnam to Australia at that 0% rate, the Form AANZ has to be issued before the goods ship.
But apparel imports carry a compliance burden that goes beyond duty. Australian law mandates care labelling on every garment. Children’s clothing is subject to mandatory safety standards. Natural fibres trigger biosecurity screening at the border. And the AANZFTA zero rate applies only to shipments backed by the right Certificate of Origin.
HS Codes for Apparel: Start with Classification
As with any import, the HS code comes first. It determines your duty rate, your AANZFTA eligibility, and whether your goods trigger any biosecurity or product safety requirements.
Apparel is classified under two chapters of the Australian Customs Tariff:
- HS Chapter 61 covers knitted or crocheted clothing and accessories (6101–6117): T-shirts, knitwear, socks, hosiery, swimwear made from knitted fabric
- HS Chapter 62 covers woven apparel (6201–6217): Suits, jackets, trousers, dresses, blouses, shirts made from woven fabric
The 10-digit Australian tariff item code within these chapters sets your product’s specific duty rate. Use the ABF Tariff Classification tool or ask your customs broker for a binding tariff ruling on your specific garment category. An incorrect HS code produces an incorrect duty rate and an incorrect AANZFTA claim.
AANZFTA Duty Rates: 5% to Zero
The general MFN (most favoured nation) duty rate on Chapters 61 and 62 apparel imported into Australia is 5%.
Under AANZFTA (the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement), that rate drops to 0% for goods originating in Vietnam, with a valid Form AANZ Certificate of Origin.
On a $100,000 annual apparel program, that 5% saving is $5,000 in avoided duty each year. On a $500,000 program, it is $25,000.
To access the AANZFTA rate:
- Your goods must originate in Vietnam under the AANZFTA rules of origin. Most cut-and-sewn garments manufactured in Vietnam satisfy that test. The key test is whether the product undergoes sufficient transformation in Vietnam (typically, fabric cut and assembled into finished garments qualifies)
- Your Vietnamese supplier must obtain a Form AANZ Certificate of Origin from an authorised issuing body in Vietnam (the Ministry of Industry and Trade, MOIT)
- The Form AANZ must accompany each import declaration lodged with ABF
Confirm the preferential rate for your specific HS code using the DFAT FTA Portal. AANZFTA covers a broad range of Australian imports from ASEAN countries. If you are sourcing across product categories from the region, the framework is worth understanding in full.
Request the Form AANZ before your goods ship. It can be issued retroactively only in limited cases, and without one at entry you pay the 5% MFN rate.
Care Labelling: The Mandatory Standard
Every garment sold in Australia must carry a permanently attached care instruction label. This is not a best practice. It is required by the Consumer Goods (Care Labelling) Information Standard 2023, which accepts AS/NZS 1957:1998 or ISO 3758:2012.
Requirements:
- Instructions must be on a permanent label in English words, international care symbols (ISO 3758:2012), or both
- The label must be permanently attached to the garment, not a hangtag
- Instructions must be accurate: a “machine wash cold” instruction on a dry-clean-only garment is a misleading representation under the Australian Consumer Law
Many Vietnamese manufacturers supply European and US markets and are familiar with care labelling requirements. The Australian rule (English words under AS/NZS 1957, or ISO 3758 symbols) may still differ from their standard output. Specify the requirement in your purchase order and request label samples for approval before production runs.
Non-compliance with the mandatory care labelling standard can result in ACCC enforcement action, mandatory recalls, and fines. Garments found non-compliant at retail level create liability for the importer.
Children’s Clothing: Mandatory Safety Standards
If any part of your range includes clothing designed or marketed for children, mandatory ACCC safety standards apply.
Children’s nightwear (AS/NZS 1249:2014, mandatory): Applies to nightwear and limited daywear intended for children up to 14 years. Garments must either meet specific low-flammability fabric requirements or carry a prominent fire danger warning label if made from high-flammability fabric. Non-compliant nightwear has been the subject of multiple ACCC recalls.
Drawstrings and cords in children’s clothing (mandatory): A mandatory standard restricts drawstrings and functional cords in children’s upper garments (up to size 14). Neck area drawstrings are prohibited. Waist-area drawstrings must meet specific length and protrusion limits. This applies to hoodies, jackets, tracksuit tops, and similar garments.
General ACL obligations: All children’s clothing must be of acceptable quality, fit for purpose, and match its description under the Australian Consumer Law. This includes being free from hazardous embellishments (sharp edges, small detachable parts on infant clothing) even where no specific mandatory standard exists.
Check current mandatory standards at the ACCC Product Safety portal before placing production orders. Standards change, and the version in force at the import date is the one that applies.
Biosecurity: Natural Fibres at the Border
Apparel made from natural fibres is subject to DAFF biosecurity screening on arrival in Australia. That covers cotton, wool, silk, linen, and hemp. Australia’s biosecurity import conditions apply to any goods containing plant or animal material.
Key biosecurity considerations by fibre type:
Wool and woollen articles: Specific treatment requirements apply under DAFF Industry Advice 125-2017. Woollen garments (sweaters, coats, wool-blend fabrics) may require treatment certification or face inspection on arrival. Check BICON for the current conditions applicable to your specific product and country of origin.
Cotton garments: Finished, commercially laundered cotton carries generally lower biosecurity risk, but raw cotton or garments with soil contamination can trigger treatment requirements. Commercially manufactured, clean garments from established Vietnamese factories rarely have issues, but the biosecurity screening applies regardless.
Silk: Silk is an animal-derived fibre, so biosecurity conditions apply. Finished silk garments in normal commercial condition are generally lower risk, but check BICON.
Consult BICON before your first natural-fibre shipment from Vietnam.
The Vietnam-Australia Freight Route
Vietnam’s two main apparel export hubs connect to Australia as follows:
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC / Saigon): The largest garment and textile manufacturing cluster in Vietnam, concentrated in HCMC and surrounding Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces. Cat Lai Port handles the majority of container exports from the south. Transit to Sydney or Melbourne: approximately 18–25 days.
Hai Phong: The main northern Vietnam export port, serving manufacturers in Hanoi and the northern provinces. Transit to Sydney: approximately 22–28 days.
LCL or FCL: LCL (shared container) is cost-effective for orders under 12–15 CBM. FCL becomes more economical above that threshold and reduces handling risk. That matters for garments that may be damaged by rough handling or moisture exposure in a shared container. When you import apparel from Vietnam to Australia in volumes under 12 to 15 CBM, LCL is usually the cheaper mode.
GST of 10% applies to the combined customs value plus duty plus international freight and insurance. For apparel, show the correct Incoterms (typically FOB) on your commercial invoice so the GST calculation uses the right freight and insurance figures.
Documentation Checklist
| Document | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Invoice | Always | FOB value, HS codes, garment descriptions |
| Packing List | Always | Carton count, per-carton weights and dimensions |
| Bill of Lading / Air Waybill | Always | Original or express release |
| Form AANZ Certificate of Origin | AANZFTA claims | From MOIT; reduces duty 5% → 0% |
| Biosecurity documentation | Natural fibre goods | As required by BICON for your commodity |
| Import Declaration | Always (goods > AUD $1,000) | Lodged by licensed customs broker |
Why “Made in Vietnam” Doesn’t Always Mean the Zero-Tariff Rate Applies
A Vietnamese factory does not by itself prove origin; the Product Specific Rule for each HS subheading decides. For most Chapter 61 and 62 lines, AANZFTA accepts either a 40% regional value content (RVC 40) or a change of tariff classification, and some lines also require the garment to be cut or knit to shape and assembled in an AANZFTA country. Garments sewn in Vietnam from imported fabric therefore often qualify, but read the rule text for your HS code on the DFAT FTA Portal before relying on it.
Testing a Garment Against the Rule: Two Routes and One Trap
AANZFTA’s Annex 2 product specific rules give most apparel lines two routes to origin, and one is enough. The agreement’s headnote says that where a heading is subject to alternative rules, it is sufficient to comply with one. The first route is regional value content: at least 40 per cent, written RVC(40), and for most lines only where the goods are cut or knit to shape and assembled in the territory of one or more of the parties. The second is a change in tariff classification, written CC, which means every non-originating material used to make the garment must have changed chapter, at the two-digit level, in a party.
The rules are not identical across Chapters 61 and 62. Knitted T-shirts and singlets (6109) carry RVC(40) or CC with no cut-and-assemble condition, and so do men’s cotton and man-made-fibre shirts (6205.20 and 6205.30). Most other lines, including knitted jackets (6101 to 6104) and men’s woven suits and jackets (6203), attach the cut-or-knit-to-shape condition to the RVC route and keep CC as the alternative. Read the exact rule for your six-digit code before you cost the order.
The CC route is why garments sewn in Vietnam from imported fabric so often qualify. Fabric from Chapters 50 to 60 that becomes a garment in Chapter 61 or 62 has changed chapter, and so have zips, buttons and thread, which sit in other chapters again. An illustrative case: a Vietnamese factory sews a women’s woven dress (6204) from fabric woven elsewhere in Asia, with a zip and buttons from outside the region. Every non-originating input changes chapter when it becomes the dress, so the CC route is met without any value calculation.
The trap is that CC is all or nothing. Change the example so the factory buys finished sleeves or collars from outside the region, parts that classify as garment parts in Chapter 61 or 62. Those inputs started in the same chapter as the dress, so they have not changed chapter, and the CC route fails for the whole garment. The product can still qualify on RVC(40), provided it is cut or knit to shape and assembled in a party, but then the 40 per cent has to be calculated and documented. Before the first order, ask the supplier for a bill of materials that lists every input with its tariff chapter and country of origin, and keep it alongside the Form AANZ. That one document tells you which route you are on, and it is the file you will want if the claim is ever checked.
Before You Import Apparel from Vietnam to Australia
Check the AANZFTA rule for each HS code on the DFAT FTA Portal, and get the Form AANZ before shipping. Specify AS/NZS 1957 care labels in the purchase order, check children’s lines against the mandatory standards, and consult BICON for natural fibres.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the duty rate on clothing imported from Vietnam to Australia?
The standard MFN duty rate on apparel (HS Chapters 61 and 62) is 5%. Under AANZFTA, the rate drops to 0% for goods originating in Vietnam with a valid Form AANZ Certificate of Origin. GST of 10% applies regardless.
Is care labelling mandatory for clothing imported into Australia?
Yes. Care labelling is mandatory under the Consumer Goods (Care Labelling) Information Standard 2023 (AS/NZS 1957:1998 or ISO 3758:2012). Every garment sold in Australia must have a permanently attached care instruction label in English words, ISO care symbols, or both. Non-compliance can trigger ACCC recalls and enforcement action.
Do biosecurity requirements apply to clothing from Vietnam?
Yes, for garments made from natural fibres. Cotton, wool, silk, linen, and other natural materials are subject to DAFF biosecurity screening on arrival. Wool and woollen articles have specific treatment requirements under DAFF Industry Advice 125-2017. Check BICON before your first shipment.
What HS codes apply to apparel from Vietnam?
HS Chapter 61 covers knitted or crocheted apparel (6101–6117). HS Chapter 62 covers woven apparel (6201–6217). Confirm the specific 10-digit code for your product with your customs broker or the ABF Tariff Classification tool before ordering.
How long does sea freight take from Vietnam to Australia?
Typically 18–30 days from Ho Chi Minh City or Hai Phong to Australian east coast ports. HCMC to Sydney direct: approximately 18–25 days. Hai Phong to Sydney: approximately 22–28 days. Add 2–5 business days for customs clearance after arrival.
Ready to Import Apparel from Vietnam?
Swift Cargo manages LCL and FCL freight from Vietnam to Australia, with AANZFTA certificate coordination and customs brokerage included. If you are planning a new apparel program from Vietnamese manufacturers, request a freight assessment here.
