Removals is an easy industry to enter: a truck, a mate and a marketplace ad, and you are in business. Most operators are decent. The bad ones cluster around the same behaviours, and almost every moving horror story was predictable from the quote stage.
This guide covers the signals that separate professionals from chancers, how to read quotes so you are comparing the same job, and what moving insurance actually covers, which is less than most people assume.
Accreditation: what AFRA membership tells you
The Australian Furniture Removers Association (AFRA) is the industry body, and membership requires operators to meet standards covering trucks, equipment, premises, staff training and complaint handling. It is not a guarantee of a flawless move, but it filters out the truck-and-a-mate end of the market and gives you a formal dispute path if things go wrong.
Treat AFRA membership as a strong positive signal rather than a pass mark, and verify it on AFRA's own member list rather than trusting a logo on a website. Plenty of good non-member operators exist too, especially at the local level; for them, the other checks in this guide have to work harder.
Reading a quote properly
Quotes are only comparable when they price the same job on the same basis. Before you compare numbers, line up the structures:
- Hourly or fixed: hourly quotes (typical for local moves at $120 to $180 per hour for two movers and a truck) shift the risk of a slow day onto you; fixed quotes shift it to the removalist but depend on an accurate inventory
- What starts the clock: depot departure, arrival at your door, and how travel back is charged
- Minimums and increments: a two-hour minimum billed in 30-minute blocks is a different price from the same rate billed hourly
- Inclusions: disassembly, blankets and shrink wrap, stairs, pianos and heavy items, tolls and fuel are variously included or extra
- Deposit and cancellation: what you pay up front, when the balance is due, and what a date change costs
Insurance: the part everyone misunderstands
A removalist saying "we're insured" usually means they carry public liability and cover for their own negligence. That is not the same as your goods being insured in transit. If a wardrobe is scratched because the truck braked hard and the load shifted without negligence, their liability cover may pay nothing.
Transit insurance is the product that covers your goods against damage in transit regardless of fault, offered by AFRA members and specialist insurers. Read its exclusions, because the big one bites: boxes you packed yourself are commonly excluded or only covered for total loss, not breakage. Check whether your home contents policy extends any cover during a move, note the gap, and decide deliberately whether to buy transit cover for the difference. For a short local move of ordinary furniture, many people reasonably self-insure; for interstate or valuable loads, cover earns its premium.
Reviews that actually tell you something
Star averages are the least useful part of a review profile. Read the one-star and two-star reviews first and look for patterns rather than one-offs: repeated no-shows, quotes that grew on the day, damage claims ignored. Any operator who moves hundreds of homes a year will have some bad days; what matters is whether the same failure repeats and how the company responds.
Give extra weight to reviews that mention your kind of job: your suburb, apartments if you are in one, interstate if you are going interstate. And check the review dates. A company sold to new owners can coast on its old reputation for a year.
Red flags that should end the conversation
None of these alone proves anything. Two together and you should keep looking:
- A quote produced without any inventory, survey or walkthrough, especially for interstate
- A large deposit demanded up front; small booking deposits are normal, half the job price is not
- No ABN, no physical address, or a business name that does not match the bank account you are asked to pay
- Cash-only pricing or a discount for skipping paperwork
- A price dramatically below every other quote; the difference usually reappears on moving day as extras
- Vague or verbal-only answers about insurance and what happens if something is damaged
The questions that sort them fastest
Five minutes on the phone tells you most of what you need. Ask who actually turns up: their own trained crew or subcontractors. Ask what happens if the job runs over the estimate. Ask how a damage claim works, step by step, and how long it takes. Ask for the quote, inclusions and deposit terms in writing.
The pattern in the answers matters more than any single answer. An operator who is specific, unhurried and happy to put things in writing runs their moves the same way. One who is evasive on the phone will be worse on your driveway with your furniture on the truck.
Frequently asked questions
Is an AFRA removalist worth paying more for?+
Often, yes, particularly for interstate moves where depot handling, storage and formal dispute paths matter. For a simple local move, a well-reviewed independent with a clear written quote and a sensible answer on insurance can be equally good value. The premium buys process and recourse, not magic.
How much deposit is normal for a removalist?+
A small booking deposit is standard, commonly a modest flat fee or around 10 to 20 percent, with the balance paid on completion. Treat requests for half or more up front as a red flag, especially from operators without an established trading history.
What if the removalist damages my furniture?+
Note the damage on the paperwork at delivery, photograph it immediately and lodge the claim in writing within the operator's stated window. If they carry proper cover and the damage was their doing, negligence cover responds; otherwise it falls to your transit insurance if you bought it. This is exactly why the claims-process question belongs at quote stage.
Fixed quote or hourly rate: which is better?+
Hourly usually wins for small, well-prepared local moves with easy access, because you pocket the saving of a fast day. Fixed pricing wins for big homes, hard access or interstate, where the risk of the job running long is real and worth transferring. Whichever you choose, the inventory behind the quote is what makes the number honest.