Your interstate moving checklist

Interstate is a different animal to a move across town. More moving parts, longer timelines, and a lot more that can quietly go wrong in the weeks between booking and unpacking. We've laid this out as a countdown so nothing slips through.

Six to eight weeks out

• Get fixed quotes from removalists who genuinely do interstate work, and book early. The good slots go weeks ahead, and they all but vanish around end of month and the school holidays.
• Decide between a backload (you share truck space, cheaper and slower, with less say over timing) and a dedicated truck (your goods only, quicker and dearer). If your dates are at all flexible, the backload is usually the sensible call.

Three to four weeks out

• Start eating down the freezer and the pantry. Some state borders are fussy about the fruit, veg and plants you can bring across, so check yours before you pack the lot.
• Be ruthless about what's worth moving. Interstate freight is priced on space and weight, so this is the one move where a proper declutter actually pays for itself.
• Redirect your mail and start a list of every account and service tied to the old address.

The week before

• Get your pickup and delivery windows confirmed in writing. Interstate delivery is usually a range of days, not a set time, so don't go booking the truck and the end-of-lease cleaner for the same morning at the other end.
• Pack an essentials box that rides with you, not on the truck: chargers, medication, a change of clothes, the kettle, toiletries, anything you can't easily replace.
• Photograph the valuable stuff before it's wrapped. If you ever do need to make a claim, you'll be very glad you did.

Moving day and arrival

• Do a final walk-through. Every cupboard, the roof space, the shed, behind the doors.
• Write down the truck details and your delivery reference.
• When it lands, tick items off your inventory as they come in and flag any damage on the spot, before the crew drives off. Once they've gone, it's a much harder conversation to have.

The people who plan a long move backwards from the delivery date are the ones who end up wondering what all the fuss was about. Worth the hour it takes.