Before an international package reaches Australia, there are several tracking statuses we see, and one of the most common ones is, “Cleared And Awaiting International Departure.”
What does it mean? What can I do to necessitate a faster delivery if my package is stuck for too long in this update? For these, and finer details, let’s start.
What Does, “Cleared And Awaiting International Departure” Mean On AusPost?
When Australia Post says that your package has “Cleared and awaiting international departure,” it means that the item has successfully gone through customs clearance in the origin country, and it’s ready for loading onto a plane coming to Australia.
Why Is My Package Stuck On This Update For So Long?
Plane Shortages
Sometimes, the ratio of the planes to the available international packages coming to Australia is disproportionate.
Depending on how far in the queue is before it gets to a flight, it might end up taking longer than a week before it gets loaded.
We have seen instances where due to few planes, packages ended up getting delayed for up to several weeks before they could move.
The problem is even worse during peak shopping times such as Black Fridays, Cyber Mondays, Christmas, and New Year.
Inclement Weather
Since planes rely on clear skies to fly, it means that there will be little movement when faced with bad weather.
Depending on the season it is in the package’s origin country, it might take a few days or even weeks before it’s clear enough for packages to start moving.
Again, when the weather is bad, it means that there will be slowed to no loading of packages onto the plane, making it possible for several days of delays to happen.
Backlogs
While there might be enough planes to carry your package, the staff might not be enough to handle international packages as fast as expected.
Backlogs usually happen at the peak shopping times when there are many packages to be imported into Australia, and depending on how far yours is in the queue, it can take several days before the cargo plane gets fully loaded to start its international journey.
Missed Scan
Under most circumstances, we established that packages run from “Cleared And Awaiting International Departure” to “Arrived Awaiting Clearance (Inbound)” without any scans in-between to show if the package has been loaded onto a plane or whatever.
In rare incidences, too, we have seen packages jumping from “Cleared and awaiting international departure” to getting delivered without any updates on when the package reached Australia customs.
Due to a missed scan, you might think that your package is stuck on a specific tracking status, while in the real sense, it might be coming toward you.
Since you will most likely be relying on chance hoping that your stuck package will come, we usually recommend using free Third-party tracking sites such as Parcelsapp and Track and get the real-time status of your package whenever it is stuck.
The Package Was Temporarily Lost
While waiting to be loaded onto a plane, a package, especially small-sized ones can be easily misplaced as inspections happen.
When the tracking status doesn’t seem to change for several days, it could be that the staff is working hard to retrieve it and load it into the relevant plane.
Depending on how long it will take to retrieve it, the status might stay on “Cleared and awaiting international departure” for days or weeks. Until then, the status won’t change as there is no new scan made to that item.
What Do I Do When My Package Is Stuck On “Cleared And Awaiting International Departure?”
If your package status doesn’t move past the estimated delivery date, we recommend that you contact the sender. From there, they could check with the carrier that took the package to the international airport.
If the sender can’t find a solution after talking with the courier or the customs office in their country, you can agree with them to send you a replacement package or a refund.
We, however, don’t recommend getting in touch with Australia Post at this point as packages that are outside the country are beyond them. The same applies to packages that are stuck in the customs offices.
