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Nie, dziękuję Przekieruj mnie tamIs ut a worth importing copper i t o a Australia. And stripping t h e insulation then cash in just the copper
Usually, no — it is very unlikely to be worth importing insulated copper wire into Australia, stripping it, and selling only the copper. The margin normally disappears once you include:
If you already have local scrap cable from legal work, stripping thick cable can be worthwhile. But importing insulated scrap cable specifically to strip in Australia is generally a poor business model unless you are a licensed industrial recycler operating at container scale with proper permits, contracts, equipment, and waste-disposal arrangements.
Insulated cable is not pure copper. Depending on cable type, the recoverable copper may be roughly:
| Cable type | Approximate copper recovery |
|---|---|
| Heavy power cable | 65–80% |
| Domestic TPS / building wire | 40–60% |
| Data cable / small appliance wire | 20–40% |
| Mixed unknown cable | highly variable |
So if you import 10 tonnes of insulated wire, you may only get 4–6 tonnes of copper from ordinary mixed cable. The rest is plastic, rubber, fillers, paper, armour, dirt, contamination, or sometimes aluminium/steel.
The simple profit equation is:
\[ \text{Profit} = (\text{copper yield} \times \text{bare copper sell price})
For the idea to work, the imported insulated cable must be very cheap, high-copper-content, clean, legally importable, and bought in enough volume to justify machinery and compliance. That is uncommon.
Australian 2026 public scrap guides show clean bare bright copper often quoted around A$10–14/kg, while insulated copper wire varies widely, from about A$1.50–8.50/kg depending on copper content and grade. Some “live” indicative sites show higher spot-linked values, but yard payouts vary by city, grade, volume, and daily market conditions. (northshorescrapmetals.com.au)
Example:
\[ 5{,}000 \times 12 = A\$60{,}000 \]
That sounds good, but from that you must subtract:
If the imported insulated wire cost even A$4/kg landed before processing:
\[ 10{,}000 \times 4 = A\$40{,}000 \]
That leaves only A$20,000 gross before all processing, disposal, compliance, and business overheads. For many real shipments, that margin is gone quickly.
This is the big killer. If the wire is 50% copper, then half the container is waste insulation. You are paying international freight, port handling, and local transport on material you will later throw away or pay to process.
Australia is not a low-cost place to do manual stripping. Labour, rent, compliance, electricity, waste handling, and insurance are relatively expensive. This makes Australia a poor destination for low-margin, labour-intensive scrap upgrading.
If the material is treated as waste, e-waste, hazardous waste, or Basel-controlled material, you may need formal authorisation. Australia’s hazardous-waste import/export regime requires permits for controlled hazardous waste movements, and the government notes that permits, consents from involved countries, facility authorisations, biosecurity permits where relevant, and proof of sound recovery/disposal may be required. (dcceew.gov.au)
DCCEEW/National EPA information states that Australia’s hazardous-waste controls are tied to the Basel Convention, and that importing hazardous waste requires a valid permit. The 2025–26 listed fee for a hazardous-waste import permit was A$9,025 plus a flat levy of A$5,539; current fees should be confirmed before any commercial decision because the National Environmental Protection Agency transition began on 1 July 2026. (dcceew.gov.au)
Even if the copper itself is valuable, the insulation may be PVC or other plastic. DCCEEW guidance on waste plastic notes that halogenated polymers such as PVC and contaminated plastic waste can trigger hazardous-waste controls in some circumstances. (dcceew.gov.au)
Australia has strict biosecurity import controls. DAFF requires importers to check the Biosecurity Import Conditions system, and imported goods may be subject to inspection or treatment. (agriculture.gov.au)
For scrap metal, BICON-related conditions can include evidence that the scrap has not been stockpiled outside where it could become contaminated with biosecurity-risk material. (bicon.agriculture.gov.au)
In practical terms, imported scrap can be delayed or charged for inspection, cleaning, fumigation, re-export, or destruction if contaminated with soil, plant matter, insects, seeds, oils, residues, or mixed waste.
After stripping, you are left with large quantities of plastic/rubber waste. You cannot just dump industrial quantities of insulation. Depending on the state, landfill levies and commercial waste fees can be significant; NSW and Victoria both publish current waste-levy systems and rates. (epa.nsw.gov.au)
Also, do not burn the insulation off. Burning coated wire is an air-pollution and environmental compliance problem; NSW EPA guidance on open burning specifically warns against burning specified articles including coated wire. (epa.nsw.gov.au)
From an engineering and safety standpoint, burning PVC-insulated cable can release hydrochloric acid fumes, dioxin-forming combustion products, particulates, and metal oxides. It also downgrades the copper and creates fire and workplace-safety risks.
Do not assume you can simply turn up and get cash. Scrap-metal rules differ by state, but copper theft has made the industry highly regulated.
Examples:
The ATO also has specific GST and compliance guidance for the scrap-metal industry, including record keeping and no-ABN withholding issues. (ato.gov.au)
So if you are doing this repeatedly, it is a business activity. You would generally need to consider:
The current trend is more regulation, not less. Copper theft has increased pressure on Australian states to tighten scrap-metal rules, especially around identity checks, non-cash payment, transaction reporting, and police traceability. (qld.gov.au)
At the same time, global waste movement is becoming more controlled under Basel-related rules, particularly for e-waste, mixed waste, and plastics. This makes importing low-grade insulated scrap less attractive unless you are a properly licensed recycling operator with established compliance systems.
If you still want to investigate it, do this before spending money:
Ask Australian scrap yards for live prices
Do a burn-test-free recovery test
Get landed-cost quotes Include:
Check legality before importing Contact:
Do not rely on manual stripping Manual stripping is usually too slow. A proper business would need:
Consider local sourcing instead A better model is usually to source scrap cable locally from:
This avoids international freight, customs, import compliance, and biosecurity risk.
It might be worth considering only if:
Even then, the better opportunity may be to sell the insulated cable as insulated copper wire, or process it in the country of origin where labour and disposal costs may be lower — provided that is lawful and environmentally responsible.
For a small operator: no, it is probably not worth importing insulated copper into Australia just to strip and sell the copper. The apparent profit between insulated wire and bare bright copper is usually consumed by freight, permits, biosecurity, labour, machinery, plastic disposal, tax, and scrap-yard compliance. If you want to make money from copper scrap in Australia, the more realistic path is to source legal scrap locally, sort it properly, strip only the thick/high-yield cable, and sell through compliant scrap-metal channels.