# Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HM)

**Capital:** none  
**Currency:** Australian Dollar (AUD) (AUD)  
**Area:** 412 km²

> Heard Island and McDonald Islands are an uninhabited Australian external territory in the southern Indian Ocean. There is no permanent population, no port, no airport and no commercial trade. The only logistics activity is the supply of scientific expeditions by ship and the fishery (Patagonian toothfish, mackerel icefish) in the surrounding Australian EEZ, managed under CCAMLR and AFMA. The entire area is a strictly protected Commonwealth marine reserve; access is only possible with an EPBC permit issued by the Australian Antarctic Division. The currency is the Australian dollar.

Heard Island and McDonald Islands (ISO code: HM) are uninhabited subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about 4,100 km southwest of Perth. They are an external territory of Australia, administered directly by the Australian Antarctic Division within the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Heard Island holds Australia's only active volcanoes, including Mawson Peak on the Big Ben massif (2,745 m), the highest point in Australian territory outside the Antarctic. The islands and surrounding waters form a strictly protected Commonwealth marine reserve under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and are a UNESCO World Heritage site (inscribed 1997). There is no permanent population, no port and no airport, and no commercial trade takes place on the islands. Economic relevance is limited to scientific research and to the commercial fishery for Patagonian toothfish and mackerel icefish in the Australian exclusive economic zone, managed by AFMA under CCAMLR. The currency is the Australian dollar (AUD); access requires an EPBC permit.

**Top Import Partners:** keine

**Top Export Partners:** keine

**Top Import Goods:** Ausrüstung für wissenschaftliche Expeditionen

**Top Export Goods:** keine

**Key Airports:**
- [Atlas Cove Station Helipad](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/atlas-cove-station-helipad-airport-1907)
- [Spit Bay Helipad](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/spit-bay-helipad-airport-31611)

## Customs & Import

**Import VAT:** Keine lokale GST: Das Aussengebiet liegt ausserhalb der australischen Indirect Tax Zone (Festland-GST 10 Prozent). Stand 2026.  
**Customs complexity:** Sonderfall (kein regulaerer Handel)  
**Customs system:** Kein lokaler Zollbetrieb. Unbewohntes Gebiet ohne Hafen- oder Flughafeninfrastruktur; Gueter gelangen nur per Schiff fuer Forschung und Versorgung. Australisches Aussengebiet ausserhalb der GST-Zone.  
**Customs authority:** [Keine lokale Zollbehoerde; Australian Border Force (ABF) fuer Australien zustaendig, Gebietsverwaltung durch die Australian Antarctic Division (DCCEEW)](https://www.antarctica.gov.au)

## Logistics & Risk

**Logistics role:** Unbewohntes Naturschutzgebiet / CCAMLR-Fischereizone  
**Economic area:** Australisches Aussengebiet (ausserhalb der GST-Zone)  
**Logistics risk:** hoch (Naturgefahren, keine Infrastruktur)  
**Dangerous goods relevance:** gering  
**Pharma/cold chain:** keine

## Sources & Last Verified

- [https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations-and-field-locations/heard-island/](https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations-and-field-locations/heard-island/)
- [https://www.antarctica.gov.au](https://www.antarctica.gov.au)
- [https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations-and-field-locations/heard-island/protection-and-management/marine-reserve/](https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations-and-field-locations/heard-island/protection-and-management/marine-reserve/)
- [https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations-and-field-locations/heard-island/protection-and-management/management-plan/permits/](https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations-and-field-locations/heard-island/protection-and-management/management-plan/permits/)
- [https://www.afma.gov.au/fisheries/heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery](https://www.afma.gov.au/fisheries/heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery)
- [https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/law-and-treaty/ccamlr/australias-fisheries-in-the-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-region/](https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/law-and-treaty/ccamlr/australias-fisheries-in-the-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-region/)
- [https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/world/heard-mcdonald](https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/world/heard-mcdonald)
- [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/577/](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/577/)

*Last verified: 2026-06-23*

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*Freight Academy — Country Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/hm](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/hm)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/country/en/hm](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/country/en/hm)*