You Don’t Have to Leave Your Car Behind
If you’re relocating to Australia from overseas and own a vehicle you want to bring with you, there’s a specific import pathway designed for exactly that situation: the personal import.
Rather than selling your car overseas and buying an equivalent in Australia – often at a significant premium, a personal import may allow you to bring the vehicle you already know, have maintained, and trust.
It’s not the right choice for everyone, and it’s not without cost. But for specific circumstances – particularly for rare, high-spec, or well-known vehicles, it can make considerable sense.
What Is a Personal Import?
A personal import allows an individual moving to Australia to bring a vehicle they own and have been using overseas. It operates under different conditions from a standard commercial import.
The key requirement: you must have owned and used the vehicle overseas for a continuous period of at least 12 months immediately before arriving in Australia. This isn’t a pathway for purchasing a vehicle overseas specifically to bring it to Australia – genuine, documented prior ownership and use is assessed.
You’re also generally limited to importing one vehicle under this pathway every five years. If you’re bringing in more than one vehicle, or have used this pathway recently, confirm your eligibility before purchasing.
Why a Personal Import Might Make Sense
You Know the Car
The practical advantage of a personal import that’s easy to understate: you know this vehicle. You know its service history, its quirks, what work has been done on it, and how it drives. Purchasing an equivalent in Australia involves trusting auction sheets, seller representations, and inspection reports. Your own car is a known quantity.
Cost Savings for Rare or High-Spec Vehicles
For vehicles that command significant premiums in Australia – due to scarcity, specification, or simply Australian market conditions – bringing your own can be substantially cheaper than buying an equivalent locally. This is particularly true for:
- Highly specified variants not sold in Australia
- Low-kilometre examples that are difficult to find locally
- Models where the Australian secondhand market is thin
The comparison should factor in shipping, compliance, and registration costs on your end, but for the right vehicle, the math can favour the import.
Preserving a Specific Specification
Some vehicles have trim levels, engine options, or features not available in the Australian market. If your car has a specification that simply doesn’t exist in Australia, importing it is the only way to have that exact vehicle here.
No Waiting for the Right Example
Finding the right vehicle in a new country takes time – sometimes months. Bringing your own means you arrive with transport already sorted.
The Import Requirements
Personal imports still require compliance with Australian vehicle standards. You are not exempt from ADR compliance simply because the vehicle was yours overseas.
Vehicle Import Approval
A Vehicle Import Approval (VIA) is required through the ROVER portal. For personal imports, the application requires:
- Vehicle details (make, model, VIN)
- Evidence of personal ownership and prior use (registration, insurance records)
- Photos of the vehicle
- Documentation of the vehicle’s history with you
Compliance
The vehicle must still be assessed and complied by a Registered Automotive Workshop (RAW). If the vehicle meets SEVS eligibility criteria or is 25 years or older, those pathways may apply. If not, the personal import pathway has specific compliance provisions that may reduce (but not eliminate) the ADR modification requirements.
Confirm with a RAW whether your specific vehicle and its condition can be efficiently brought into compliance before you ship it.
Roadworthy Certificate and Registration
As with any import, a RWC is required before registration, and state registration requirements apply.
When It Might Not Make Sense
The Vehicle Is Available in Australia
If your overseas vehicle is the same specification as what’s sold locally by the same manufacturer, the compliance cost advantage of a personal import is reduced, and you’re essentially paying freight and compliance to bring in something you could source locally.
The Vehicle Is Too Modified
As with any import, significantly modified vehicles face compliance challenges. If your overseas car has been substantially modified from standard specification, the compliance process may be expensive or impractical.
The Vehicle Is Old and in Poor Condition
Older vehicles in poor mechanical condition face a longer and more expensive compliance process. The cost of bringing a tired vehicle to RWC standard in Australia – using parts potentially sourced internationally, may exceed the cost of simply purchasing something locally.
Sentimental vs Practical
For vehicles with sentimental value rather than practical or financial value, it’s worth being realistic about whether the cost of import, compliance, and registration – which can run to several thousand dollars, is the right use of that money versus sourcing an equivalent locally.
Cost Considerations
Personal imports carry the following costs, which vary by vehicle, origin country, and compliance requirements:
| Cost Component | Notes |
| International freight | Varies by origin and destination port. Japan to Melbourne typically $1,200–$3,000+ for a standard vehicle |
| Marine insurance | Typically 1.5–2% of vehicle value |
| Customs duty | 0% for Japanese-built vehicles under JAEPA (proof of origin required); 5% for most other countries without a relevant FTA |
| GST | 10% on vehicle value plus duty |
| ROVER application | Government fee |
| Compliance (RAW) | Varies significantly – get a quote for your specific vehicle |
| RWC | Varies by state and vehicle condition |
| Registration | State registration fees and stamp duty |
For accurate cost modelling on your specific vehicle, you’ll need quotes from a freight forwarder, a compliance workshop, and your state registration authority.
Countries with Free Trade Agreements
If your vehicle was manufactured in Japan, the standard 5% customs duty is eliminated entirely under the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), provided you supply proof of Japanese origin (typically a Statement on Origin from the exporter or a JAEPA Certificate of Origin). GST at 10% still applies regardless of origin.
For vehicles manufactured elsewhere, the applicable duty rate depends on whether Australia has a relevant free trade agreement with that country. Confirm duty rates for your specific vehicle and country of origin with a customs broker before shipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I import a vehicle I’ve only owned briefly?
The personal import pathway is designed for vehicles you own and have been using overseas. A vehicle purchased specifically to be imported under the personal effects provision would not qualify. The duration and genuineness of prior personal use is assessed.
Do I need to have lived overseas for a specific period?
Requirements vary depending on the specific pathway and circumstances. Discuss your situation with an importer or customs broker who is familiar with the personal import provisions.
Can my family bring more than one vehicle?
Generally, personal imports are limited to one vehicle per person every five years. If your family is relocating together, each eligible adult may be able to import their own vehicle under this limit, but multiple vehicles per person, or vehicles imported outside the five-year window, may raise questions about whether the import is genuinely for personal use.
What if my vehicle isn’t eligible under SEVS and isn’t 25 years old?
The personal import pathway has provisions that may allow compliance for vehicles that don’t fall into standard SEVS or 25-year categories, but this depends on the specific circumstances. Discuss with a RAW before assuming the vehicle can be imported.
Is left-hand drive legal in Australia?
Left-hand drive vehicles can be registered in Australia for specific purposes (primarily collection and limited private use), but are not permitted for general daily road use. If your overseas vehicle is left-hand drive, its use in Australia will be restricted accordingly.
What about the car I leave behind – are there tax implications?
The personal import is a vehicle-in, not a vehicle-out scenario. Any tax implications of selling a vehicle in your home country are a matter for that country’s tax laws.
Considering a Personal Import?
If you’re relocating to Australia and want to understand whether bringing your current vehicle makes financial and practical sense, contact the Garage Apex team.
We can walk through the eligibility, compliance requirements, and cost picture for your specific vehicle and situation.
*Garage Apex – 54 Miller Street, Epping VIC 3076 | 1300 112 220 | VicRoads approved, ISO9001 certified*
