Pre-Shipment Checklist - Importing Cars To Australia

Before committing to purchasing or shipping your car, please ensure you have considered all of the below points. If you can't provide one of these documents, then please contact us to discuss before committing to purchase your car. Some of these are prerequisites to importing, and without them you can't import your car.

Import Permit / Compliance & Registration

Whilst on-road compliance is outside our service, we’ll gladly assist with introductions to reputable compliance centres. Contact us for more information. We recommend you talk to a compliance centre before shipping to ensure you are aware of requirements and costs.

If collecting from the depot, you must arrange temporary permits with your local authority to drive an unregistered vehicle.

Obtaining a VIA is the single most important factor to consider before you ship your vehicle. The most commonly obtained approval is under the Personal Import Option, but there are other Vehicle Import Approval categories.

Have you considered GST & Duty?

Import GST and duties are payable on top of any quoted price we provide. However, certain exemptions may apply to caravans and re-imported vehicles. This depends on your specific circumstances—for example, whether the vehicle is being brought into Australia for the first time or is being re-imported.

NOT Tax Exempt

The rate payable to the Australian Customs Service at the Australian entry port are as follows:

• Vehicles up to 30 years old including forward control vehicles: 5% Duty + 10% GST
• 4WD “Off Road” vehicles and commercial vehicles: 5% Duty + 10% GST
• Vehicles over 30 years old and motorcycles: 0% Duty + 10% GST

Duties are levied on the Customs Value only whereas GST is levied on the Customs Value + the Duty + the total cost of shipment to Australia figure.

Luxury Car Tax (LCT) - is an additional tax levied at a rate of 33% on all vehicles (except motorcycles and some commercial vehicles) with a current GST inclusive value in excess of AU$76,950, or AU$89,332 for fuel-efficient vehicles. LCT is only payable on the amount in excess of the GST inclusive 'breakpoint'.

Note Calculate your Duty, GST and LCT, with our handy Import GST / Duty / LCT calculator.

Personal Effects - GST / Duty Exemption

In some cases you may be exempt from paying GST / Duty, you will need to meet all the following conditions:

Personal Effects - Vehicle Reimportation ONLY

If the vehicle is being brought back to Australia, you must provide evidence of its prior Australian registration to be exempt from paying GST and duties. Otherwise, GST and duties will apply to all imports. Additionally, the vehicle must be re-imported under the same name it was exported under.

Non-motorised Caravans

Qualifing goods, as follows :

• Non-motorised caravans

• The goods must be imported by an arriving resident.
• Caravan have been personally owned and used overseas for the 12 months preceding the person’s departure for Australia.
• They will not be sold or otherwise disposed of in Australia by or on behalf of the arriving person, within two years after the date of importation of the goods.

Quarantine requirements

You should aim to have your car in the cleanest possible condition. The best practice is to have the car thoroughly steam-cleaned and vacuumed before shipment. There is no need to get it "detailed" but the goal is to remove all dirt and contamination inside and out. We can offer this as an additional service in some locations.

All used vehicles are inspected by Quarantine on arrival, and only after this inspection is the cleanliness condition known. Due to this, we can’t quote the cleaning costs. But please allow AU$300-500 as an estimate to cover potential cleaning/vacuuming. Actual charge will be determined after inspection.

Vehicle / Caravan Preparation

Your car must be in good running condition and fully operational to be shipped RORO. Otherwise, containerisation is the only option.

• Keys: One key should be left in the ignition. For caravans, all compartments must remain unlocked, and an additional key should be securely stored in an accessible external location, in case it is needed.
• Vehicles leaking oil, water or petrol will not be loaded.
• Fuel tanks must not be more than 25% full but not less than 10% empty. The fuel gauge must be working.
• Vehicles that are not running (dead vehicles) will incur additional charges.
• Before export, de-register and remove your plates from the vehicle.
• Remove ALL personal items from your car.
• Remove all non-motive power Lithium batteries. i.e. batteries used for powering motorhome/caravan accessories.
• No dangerous goods. i.e. Caravan LPG bottles.
• When shipping on a RORO vessel, personal items must not be left in the vehicle or your vehicle may not be accepted on board the vessel.
• There is the option to load your car into a container which would allow you to also ship some personal belongings, but this is normally a more expensive option than RORO. Please contact us for a quotation.

• EV & Hybrid vehicles have shipping restictions. Please check Hybrid & EV Requirements.
• For Classic cars and vehicles manufactured before around mid 1990’s, check for Asbestos in vehicles.

Have you taken out Marine Insurance?

Not compulsory, but worth asking us for a quote. Your road insurance will not cover any damage that may occur while in transit. Taurus Logistics can arrange marine insurance on your behalf on ALL vehicles for 1% of the insured value, with a minimum premium of NZD250.00. Find out why you need Marine Insurance

Note Marine Insurance is not included unless itemised on the quotation. Don't take the risk and get a Marine Insurance Quote online. Takes less than 30 seconds. Marine Insurance Quote

Documentation Required

• Bill of Sale
• If purchasing the car, we will need a copy of the Bill Of Sale (commercial invoice / Purchase Invoice) from the seller. If you already own the car, then we need a copy of the original purchase Bill of Sale.
• If this has been misplaced, then it will need to have a valuation done on arrival.
• We must present to Australian Customs either the Original Purchase Price for the vehicle or a current Australian Valuation, we will use whichever works out to be the lowest value therefore reducing the amount of GST payable by you. If you would like us to do a valuation on your vehicle the cost for this is AU$270+GST. Obtaining a valuation is very easy using our online form Apply for Customs Valuation
• Registration / Ownership papers
• We will need a copy of the registration papers showing ownership.
• Depending on the country of purchase (i.e. USA) the original ownership / Title papers are needed to export the origin country.
• Do not have these sent to you, or altered, until our agent instructs the seller.
• Photo ID
• A high quality colour scan copy of the photo page from your passport, or your Australian Drivers Licence.

Summary

If you have ticked off all the above, then your car is ready to ship to Australia. Congratulations!