Importer or Exporter
An Importer or Exporter manages the movement of goods across Australian borders, coordinating logistics, regulatory compliance, and commercial transactions. They negotiate terms with international suppliers or customers, arrange shipping and customs clearance, and ensure compliance with Australian Border Force (ABF) requirements, tariff classifications, and trade regulations.
What this job is
An Importer or Exporter manages the movement of goods across Australian borders, coordinating logistics, regulatory compliance, and commercial transactions. They negotiate terms with international suppliers or customers, arrange shipping and customs clearance, and ensure compliance with Australian Border Force (ABF) requirements, tariff classifications, and trade regulations. This role encompasses both the procurement of foreign goods for resale in Australia and the sale of Australian products to overseas markets.
Are employers advertising this role?
Fewer than 50 vacancies were advertised nationally in the latest month. The numbers are too small to draw a reliable trend.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index.
Day-to-day
Identify and negotiate supply agreements with international suppliers or overseas buyers, including pricing, payment terms, and delivery schedules. Prepare and lodge customs documentation including bills of lading, commercial invoices, packing lists, and certificates of origin with the Australian Border Force. Arrange freight forwarding and transport logistics, including negotiating rates with shipping lines, freight forwarders, and logistics providers. Classify goods according to Australia's customs tariff and determine applicable import tariffs, duties, and taxes. Manage import and export licences and permits required under legislation such as the Biosecurity Act 2015 (for imports), the Export Control Act 2020 (for agricultural exports), and relevant trade agreements. Monitor currency exchange rates and manage foreign exchange transactions to optimise pricing and manage financial risk. Liaise with customs brokers, quarantine authorities, and product certification bodies to ensure compliance with Australian quarantine and safety standards. Track shipment status using systems such as customs brokers' databases and shipping line portals, and resolve delays or shipping disputes.
Who does this now
About 3,000 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Bachelor degree or higher (ABS skill level 1)
Can employers fill these jobs
Employers hiring for this occupation were generally able to find suitable applicants in 2025. This measures how hard employers found it to fill jobs. It is not a count of jobs, and it does not say whether the occupation is growing.
Requirements
The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.
The honest hard part
The regulatory burden is relentless and costly. You'll need to master tariff classifications, biosecurity rules, and trade laws that change constantly. One mistake on a customs declaration can delay shipments by weeks, damage client relationships, and cost thousands. You're also trapped between supplier delays, shipping disruptions, and demanding clients, with limited control over outcomes. Pay rarely justifies the stress.
Where the jobs are
Most positions are in import/export companies, freight forwarding firms, and the logistics sector clustered near ports and airports. Remote work is possible but uncommon because you often need to visit cargo facilities and meet face-to-face with suppliers and customs brokers.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 1333, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.
This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.
Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
Skills
- Attention to Detailcore
- Customer Order Trackingcore
- Dispatch Documentationcore
- ERP and Inventory Systemscore
- Freight Coordinationcore
- Goods Receipt Processingcore
- Inventory Trackingcore
- Invoicing and Accounts Receivablecore
- Negotiationcore
- Purchase Order Processingcore
- Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
- Risk Identificationcore
- Stakeholder Communicationcore
- Supplier Communicationcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
- Correspondence Drafting
- Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity
- Delivery Scheduling
- Invoice Matching and Reconciliation
- Microsoft Excel Data Management
- Problem Solving
- Record Management
- Research and Analysis
- Time Management and Prioritisation
Which of these do you have?
Tick the ones you haveCommon questions
Sources
- ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
- ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
- ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.
Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
Want a hand with what comes next? The 12-week Sprint covers your resume, LinkedIn and interview practice, with up to three coach reviews of a targeted resume or an application from an Australian career coach, for A$299 paid once. Before you decide anything, you can read who we are or send us a question.