Export Compliance

Some of the materials we sell — gallium and germanium in particular — are classified as dual-use items under export-control law in their country of origin. That sounds dramatic for a metal you can melt in your hand, but the rules exist because the same elements used in classroom demonstrations are also used in advanced electronics. We think the right response is to be openly, verifiably careful. This page describes how.

Who we are

Gallium Sales is an Australian import and distribution business (The Trustee for Davis Trading Trust 1, ABN 42 883 208 403), based in Perth, Western Australia. We supply gallium and other specialist metals in small bottled quantities to schools, universities, science educators, hobbyists and businesses across Australia for education, demonstration and basic scientific research.

Our end-use compliance program

Australia only. We sell and ship within Australia only. Our store does not accept international orders, and our terms prohibit export or re-export of our products without prior written consent.

A declaration on every order. Every order — no matter how small — includes a short end-use declaration: who you are (school, university, science educator, hobbyist or business), and what the material is for. Orders cannot be placed without it. The declaration confirms the purchase is for civilian educational, hobby or scientific use; that it will not be used for any military purpose, weapons development or semiconductor manufacturing; that it will not be commercially resold; and that it will not leave Australia.

Thresholds and review. Larger orders are automatically held for compliance review before dispatch, and institutional-scale orders require a signed end-user statement from the purchasing institution. We monitor for unusual ordering patterns, and we decline orders where the declared end use cannot reasonably be verified. We have a documented right of refusal and we use it.

Traceable supply. Each incoming consignment of controlled material is assigned a lot reference, and every outgoing order is linked to the lot it was filled from. We can account for where each consignment went — by customer, quantity and declared use.

Records and reporting. Declaration and order records are retained for at least five years. Aggregated and, where required, customer-level records may be provided on a confidential basis to our suppliers and to export-control regulators — this is disclosed in our Privacy Policy and consented to in the declaration itself. Your payment details are never part of these records.

What this means for you

For almost every customer: one checkbox and two dropdowns at checkout, and nothing else changes. Schools and universities placing large orders will be asked for a short signed statement on institutional letterhead — we provide the template and it takes a few minutes.

Schools and institutions — order the way you normally buy

We know schools, universities and government organisations usually can't pay by card at a website checkout. We support standard institutional purchasing: official purchase orders, invoice-first payment by EFT to your accounts-payable timeline, and written quotes for budgeting or approval processes. Email your PO to gallium@galliumsales.com.au and we will confirm, invoice and dispatch. The same end-use declaration applies — we simply capture it on the order we raise for you, and for larger quantities we will send the one-page end-user statement for signature with the quote.

Questions

We answer compliance questions ourselves — suppliers, regulators, teachers, parents and curious customers alike. Contact gallium@galliumsales.com.au.