What Removalists Can’t Transport — and What to Do Instead

Every removalist has a list of things they won't put on a truck. It isn't obstruction — most of it comes down to fire risk, legal restrictions on transporting dangerous goods, or the simple fact that some items can't be replaced if something goes wrong.

The frustrating version of this conversation happens at 8am on moving day, with a crew standing next to a full shed. The easy version happens two weeks earlier. Here's the list.

Flammable and pressurised items

This is the largest category and the least negotiable. In an enclosed truck, on a warm day, over several hours, these are a genuine fire risk:

• LPG and gas bottles, including BBQ cylinders — full or empty
• Petrol, diesel, kerosene and lamp oil
• Fuel left in lawnmowers, whipper snippers, chainsaws and generators
• Paint, thinners, turpentine and solvents
• Aerosols in quantity
• Fireworks and ammunition
• Pool chemicals, particularly chlorine
• Fire extinguishers and scuba tanks

What to do instead: run petrol tools dry in the weeks before the move. Swap gas bottles rather than transporting them — most service stations do exchanges. Paint and chemicals go to a council chemical collection or transfer station; many Melbourne councils run free household chemical drop-offs. Don't put them in the wheelie bin.

Perishable food

Fridge and freezer contents don't travel. Even a local move means hours unpowered, and an interstate run means days. Beyond the obvious spoilage, a leaking freezer ruins whatever it's packed near.

What to do instead: start running down the freezer a fortnight out. Defrost the fridge at least 24 hours before, and make sure it's dry — a wet fridge grows mould in transit. Give away what's left, or take a small esky in your own car.

Plants

Plants suffer badly in a dark truck, and moving them interstate raises a second issue: Australia has quarantine restrictions on moving plants and soil between states, aimed at stopping the spread of pests and disease. Restrictions vary by state and by what you're carrying.

What to do instead: take treasured plants in your own vehicle for a local move. For an interstate move, check the destination state's current requirements before assuming anything, or give the plants a good home before you go. Cuttings travel better than pots of soil.

Pets and animals

Removal trucks aren't climate controlled and aren't a safe environment for an animal.

What to do instead: pets travel with you, or with a specialist pet transport service for longer moves. On the day itself, the kindest option is usually to have them somewhere else entirely — a friend's place or a day at boarding. Doors are open, strangers are coming and going, and a stressed animal near a loading ramp is a hazard to itself and everyone else.

Valuables, documents and irreplaceables

We'd rather you kept these than trusted them to anyone, us included:

• Cash, jewellery, precious metals and collectibles
• Passports, birth certificates, wills and titles
• Medication and prescriptions
• House and car keys
• Laptops, hard drives and anything holding data you can't re-download
• Items of high sentimental value — photo albums, heirlooms

What to do instead: one box or bag that travels in your own car and never leaves your sight. Pack it last and put it in the boot before the truck arrives, so it can't be swept up in the general load.

Also worth flagging

• Hazardous waste — asbestos sheeting, old batteries, contaminated soil
• Anything illegal, which shouldn't need saying but occasionally does
• Items you don't own, including rented furniture and a landlord's fixtures

What we don't offer at all

Separate from the restricted list, there are services we simply don't provide, and we'd rather say so early than waste your time:

• Warehousing or long-term storage
• Refrigerated or temperature-controlled transport
• Dangerous goods transport

If your move needs any of those, tell us at the enquiry stage and we'll be straight about whether we're the right fit. The full position is on our business transport page.

The short version

Two weeks out, walk the garage, the shed and the laundry cupboard with this list in hand. Almost everything on it needs a council drop-off or a swap rather than a decision on the morning — and doing it early turns a moving-day argument into a non-event.

Not sure about a particular item? Ask before you book — it's a quicker conversation than you'd think.