Shipping Your Car to Australia? Car Shipping to Australia from the USA starts at a cost of $2,395 USD with an estimated turnaround time of 30 days, depending on the make and model of the vehicle and whether the origin in the USA is on the east or west coast. Below, our 2023 guide to shipping cars will explore everything you need to know about shipping cars to Australia.
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Read on below in our guide for our US to Australia Vehicle Shipping Checklist, Vehicle Import Options, US to Australia Car Shipping Costs & Time Frame, US to Australia Vehicle Shipping Options, Ports Served in the US & Australia, and other details on shipping a car to Australia.
Under the Road Vehicle Standards Act of 2018 (RVSA), Australia recently introduced the new ROVER (Road Vehicle Regulator) for vehicle importation. The ROVER system will collect the information necessary for approval of your vehicle import. While our agents can assist you with questions about the application process and provide insights into the likelihood your vehicle is eligible, you will need to fill out the application yourself in order to determine your vehicle’s eligibility for shipment.
To set up your account, you’ll need to navigate to the ROVER portal and create an account. To do so, click “Create an Account” and follow the prompts. You will be required to provide 100 points of identification in order to have your details registered in the ROVER system. Note that you will be asked to a copy of your passport and driver’s license in order to gain the full 100 points they require for the application.
The registration process will take 5 days before your account is approved (note that this is only account setup, not vehicle import approval). Once you have been approved and your account is set up, you can proceed with your vehicle import application using the steps below.
- Once you have access to your account, you can begin your application at the ROVER portal. Click on “Sign In” and enter your e-mail address and password.
- Click “New Application.”
- Click “Single Road Vehicle.”
- Scroll down the page and click the Privacy Declaration.
- On the next page, click “application is for myself.”
- On the question, “Has the vehicle been entered on the RAV or filled with an identification plate?” answer “No.”
- Scroll through the application questions and answer them.
- At the end of the application, you will be asked to pay an application fee of $42.00 via credit card.
Please note you will be asked to upload the following information into the application form:
- Photograph of each side of the vehicle
- VIN plate on the vehicle
- Engine bay of the vehicle
- Interior of the vehicle
- Bill of sale
The system will take approximately 30 business days to process your vehicle import approval; you should not proceed with the export of a vehicle to Australia until your application has been approved.
When your vehicle arrives at its final destination, you will have to obtain quarantine clearance from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. You will need to produce identification, proof of ownership, valid insurance and proof that all safety standards have been complied with.
Things to Consider
Car Shipping USA to Australia Options – Methods for Shipping Cars
Car shipping to Australia can be performed using a shared container, a sole container or a roll-on/roll-off service.
Roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) – This option tends to be one of the more affordable ones as you only must pay port charges and customs clearance charges in addition to the shipping charge. Your auto will be loaded into the holding area of a large vessel, one which resembles a big parking garage. This method is suitable for shipping and handling bulkier vehicles like work trucks, which are quite commonplace due to Australia’s large mining industry.
Transits tend to be faster than with the RoRo service as the containers depart on a weekly basis.
Shared container service – Several vehicles are shipped using one single container. The container must be processed, so more fees are involved than with the roll-on/roll-off method, however they are shared between several clients. Fees include customs clearance, trucking charge, terminal handling charge and a charge for unloading the vehicles at a bonded warehouse.
You may be required to wait for a longer period before your auto can be shipped as the container can only depart with a full load thanks to other clients.
Full container load – This method to ship your car is the same as the shared container load, except that one auto occupies the entire container and the fees, which are like those for shared containers, are borne by you alone.
Container shipping your car to Australia offers the benefit of added security. When the auto is received, photographs are taken of the auto itself as well as the loading process, after which the container door is locked and the auto is kept safe. The auto is only released when the container arrives at the destination, and an agent once again takes photographs of the uploading process. The car is kept secure, so clients may transport other items inside the auto, although they are advised to pack with care as we are not liable for any loss or damage sustained.
We choose not to use wood ramps to load cars like other companies but instead employ a steel loading system, which is more effective in preventing loss and damage – ideal for shipping cars that you may want more secure on their journey from the USA to Australia like muscle cars, classic cars, exotic cars, and more.
Additional Car Shipping Services
Sourcing Vehicles – Our long list of car buyers enables us to find and buy vehicles such as a classic or collector car for purchasers located overseas for a commission or additional fee to be paid to the car buyer.
Other Services – Some of the auto transport services we offer in overseas territories include domestic pickup of cars, vehicle importing assistance, tracking of your shipment, customs clearance in the USA and a full vehicle inspection report.
Cleaning Your Car of Biosecurity Concerns
If you are shipping your vehicle to Australia, it is your responsibility to ensure that the vehicle is clean and free of biosecurity concern. The Australian government is very serious about preventing the introduction of damaging non-native pests, plants and diseases to the continent.
Upon arrival in Australia, your vehicle will be subject to biosecurity control. Biosecurity officers may inspect your vehicle, and if contamination is found during inspection, it will need to be cleaned or fumigated. The officers may even require the quarantine, export or destruction of the goods.
As such, you must clean your vehicle before export, ensuring that it is free of contamination.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in Australia, such contamination includes, but is not limited to, “live insects, seeds, soil, mud, clay, animal feces, animal material, and plant material, such as straw, twigs, leaves, roots, and bark.”
Plating Your Vehicle in Austraila
If you intend to operate your vehicle on Australian roads, you’ll need to have the vehicle registered for road use. This is separate from your visa or driver’s license.
This requires you to fill out and submit an Endorsement of Compliance Certificate and register the vehicle in the appropriate State or Territory.