Buying Moissanite and Lab Grown Diamond Jewellery in Australia

Australia is a strong market for buyers in one specific way: its consumer guarantees are unusually robust and cannot be contracted out of. It is a weaker one in another: there is no general cooling-off right for online purchases, so a change of mind depends on the seller’s policy.

1. GST and customs duty

• GST applies to imported goods. For low value consignments, overseas sellers registered for Australian GST are generally required to charge it at the point of sale, so it may already be in the price you pay.
• Customs duty applies above the low value threshold, assessed on the tariff classification and country of origin.
• Processing and brokerage charges from the carrier or the Department of Home Affairs may be added on higher-value consignments.

Most engagement rings sit above the low value threshold, so expect a formal clearance rather than a simple GST-at-checkout arrangement. Confirm current thresholds and rates with the ABF and the ATO rather than any retailer’s summary, including this one.

2. Hallmarking: not required

Australia has no compulsory assay office system. There is no legal step where a government body strikes a mark on a ring before it can be sold as gold.

What applies instead is general consumer and fair trading law: a piece described as 14K gold must actually be 14K gold, and describing it otherwise is a misrepresentation. An overseas maker’s 585 or 925 stamp is normal and legitimate.

For insurance, the equivalent step is an independent valuation from a qualified valuer after the piece arrives — that is what an insurer will want, not a hallmark.

3. Australian Consumer Law: the strong part

ACL provides consumer guarantees that apply automatically to goods sold to Australian consumers, and critically, a seller cannot exclude them by writing a policy that says otherwise. In broad terms, goods must be of acceptable quality, match their description, and be fit for the purpose made known to the seller.

Situation	Where you stand
Ring arrives with a manufacturing fault	Consumer guarantee applies — remedy required
Stone is not the size or spec described	Does not match description — guarantee applies
Metal is not the karat stated	Misrepresentation — a serious failure
You simply changed your mind	No ACL right — depends entirely on seller policy
Custom piece, you changed your mind	Almost always excluded

There is a practical limit worth naming: enforcing consumer guarantees against a seller with no Australian presence is harder than against a local one. The guarantees exist; pursuing them across borders takes effort. This is an argument for choosing a seller who resolves things without being pushed, rather than relying on the law.

Delivery timing to Australia

Ask for production and transit separately. A made-to-order piece is built first — for our work, roughly seven to eight days on the bench, then 10–12 days standard transit or 6–8 expedited, so about 17–20 days door to door on standard.

Add clearance, and add more for regional and remote addresses where the final leg is slow. Australia’s biosecurity checks do not usually affect metal and stones, but a formal import clearance still takes time. For a fixed date, allow a fortnight of slack.

One local note on sizing

Australia uses the alphabetical sizing system shared with the UK, not US numbers. A US 6 is roughly an Australian L½, and conversions between the two are approximate rather than exact because the scales do not step identically.

So do not convert twice. If you have an Australian letter size, give the seller the letter and let them convert once, or better, give them the internal diameter in millimetres — which is unambiguous in every country.

Checklist for an Australian buyer

1. Ask whether the price is landed, or whether GST, duty and clearance are payable on delivery.
2. If it is a surprise going to another address, resolve that before ordering.
3. Give your ring size as a millimetre diameter, not a converted number.
4. Get metal, karat and centre stone millimetres in writing — this is also what makes an ACL description claim straightforward if needed.
5. Plan an independent valuation for insurance, since there is no hallmark.
6. Get production and transit quoted separately, plus clearance and regional delivery.

General information about importing into Australia, not legal advice. Thresholds, rates and rules change — check the Australian Border Force, the ATO and the ACCC before relying on any of it.

Frequently asked questions