Importing motor vehicles into Australia carries lots of regulations, pitfalls and misconceptions. Don’t be one of those who is hit with nasty surprises after landing a second-hand car or motorcycle – do your homework before you even think about placing an order.
Before importing any motor vehicle, including a disassembled or partly-completed road vehicle, you will need to contact various authorities, including the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.
Colless Young’s specialised shipping services can assist with clearance through customs and biosecurity (quarantine) in Australia. Vehicle Import Approvals (VIA) are required for most types of conveyances. If you are permanently importing a vehicle, a Customs Entry must be lodged, accompanied by your VIA.
Colless Young offers shipping by Airfreight, Roll-On Roll-Off (Ro/Ro) vessels and Containerised sea freight movements. We handle specialised shipping for individuals and organisations bringing Caravans, Motor Homes, Motor Vehicles and Trailers importing from / exporting to Australia and all over the world, including the United Kingdom, USA, and New Zealand.
We also regularly ship Boats and Jet Skis. We can safely pack and stow these (with or without trailers) into containers, while we utilise Ro/Ro and other methods for the larger watercraft.
Here are a couple of issues we commonly get asked about.
Customs Duty: EVs and Luxury Car Tax Threshold
Luxury car tax (LCT) applies to more expensive vehicles with values over a specified threshold. This rule has been established by the Tax Office (ATO) rather than Australian Customs (ABF). In 2023-24 the LCT threshold was $89,332 and for 2024-25 it is $91,387. This tax (LCT) is on top of normal duties payable on petrol and diesel engine cars.
Australian Customs has ruled that electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with a customs value less than the fuel-efficient LCT have a ‘Free’ rate of duty. Any EV above this price will incur the LCT.
The LCT is calculated by an indexation factor. For 2024–25 the factor is:
– fuel-efficient vehicles is 1.023
– other vehicles is 1.047.
A fuel-efficient car is defined as having fuel consumption that does not exceed 7 litres per 100 kilometres.
People who visit Australia on a temporary basis may import their own vehicle duty-free, if it is to be re-exported again, using a Carnet document.
Motorcycle Cleaning
Importing motorcycles requires specialised shipping services, including clearance through customs and quarantine in Australia. It is an importer’s responsibility to ensure that motorbikes (or their parts) are clean and free from biosecurity hazards before they arrive in Australia.
The Recognised Offshore Cleaning and Pre-inspection Provider (ROCIP) Scheme allows used vehicles and motorcycles to be cleaned and pre-inspected by approved offshore service providers. Importers of used vehicles entering Australia under the ROCIP scheme are eligible to receive ‘reduced inspection’ once they are onshore.
Choosing the Best Method of Transport
Containerisation of vehicles is often the fastest and most economical way to ship your car or motorbike, and it doesn’t need to be a full container load (FCL). We offer LCL consolidation services from the West Coast USA and can arrange collection from any corner of the mainland USA. We load your vehicle into the container along with other shippers’ cargo which will reduce the cost while giving added protection.
Some vehicles, such as motor homes and trucks, simply will not fit inside containers. Cars, on the other hand, can usually be shipped by either mode. There are shipping containers specifically designed to move vehicles that offer slots for three or four vehicles, depending on their size, having ramps inside for double- or diagonal stacking.
Airfreight can be expensive, but often suitable for the urgent shipping of high-end vehicles.
Colless Young should be your first stop for the transport of motorcycles, cars, caravans and boats. Make sure you contact us prior to shipping so that we can help make all the necessary arrangements and make sure you do not encounter any surprises that could be expensive in the end. Our complete range of logistics services covers import and export cargo, both air and sea, through all Australian ports and airports.
Contact Andrew, email enq@collessyoung.com.au Tel: +61 7 3890 0800.
