Allen
Thanks for that. Glad to see someone is finding it useful. However, there is some misunderstanding there. My mandola does not contain any CITES listed species, but a US F&W import/export permit was necessary because it contained Paua shell inlay. If the instrument involves a commercial transaction and it contains shell then a permit is necessary. If there was no shell then we would not have needed the permit. It does not matter what species the shelfish is, and does not matter how small or large the amount of shell is, if it is a commercial transaction, then a F&W import/export permit is definately required.
As far as CITES listed species is concerned, I recommend that Australian based Luthiers do not export CITES listed species. It is just too hard. You need an Australian export permit to do that and it won't necessarily always be approved. Australia has tougher rules than the minimum requirements of the CITES treaty. Appendix III are treated as if they were Appendix II and some Appendix II species are treated as if they were Appendix I, and as far as I am aware Appendix I are banned from import/export. There are exceptions, but we don't fit the exceptions. My tips do not cover the requirements for CITES. The CITES rules in the USA are different.
If there are no CITES listed species then import/export from Australia at the moment should be no problem so long as it follows the AQUIS rules on imports.