How to import a used vehicle

Importing a new or used car into Australia gives you access to models you can’t get here and sometimes for a much cheaper price than something similar on the local market. The import regulations are strict; you can’t just order any car you like from overseas and when it turns up, give it a wash and go get it registered.

This article is meant as general advice only. Importing a car is full of traps if you’ve never done it before and we’d recommend getting an import broker to help smooth out the process.

What cars can be imported?

The Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 is what defines which vehicles can be imported into Australia by non-mainstream importers. In simple terms, you can import vehicles that fall into one of three categories.

These include any road vehicle that is at least 25 years old; any personally imported vehicle (that you have bought and used while overseas for a minimum of 12 months); or a vehicle that has been approved under conditions laid out in the Specialist or Enthusiast Vehicles (SEVs) rules (not to be confused with the Specialist Enthusiast Vehicle Scheme, the import rules in place before 2023).

Even if the car you want ticks all the legal boxes, you cannot just go ahead and import a car. You must apply for an import licence for any vehicle you intend to bring to Australia. If you intend to import a vehicle under a SEV criterion, it still must be on the SEV approved vehicle (called the Register of Approved Vehicles, or RAV) list and be complied by a Registered Automotive Workshop (RAW).

A RAW will charge roughly $2000 for such compliance, but make sure you get a quote before buying overseas so you know what you’re up for. Again, a broker can help guide you through this.

The 25-year rule means you can import a car that was manufactured at least 25 years ago, as of the time of importation. It can’t have substantial modifications less than 25 years old; this import gateway is meant to be for classic vehicles, not restomods.

Where the car manufacturer gives the exact date or month of manufacture (often publicly available on VIN-check websites, for example), that is what is counted as 25 years, and that’s what you need to supply proof of before importing. You can’t import a car that hasn’t had its 25th birthday yet.

What that means is, at the time of writing, a car built in or before October 2000 is good to be imported.

You can import any standard vehicle (or modified 25-plus years ago), within reason. You must apply to import it and it must comply with basic safety requirements (see ‘What compliance requirements are there?’ below).

Before it can even be assessed as a Specialist Enthusiast Vehicle, a vehicle must have been on sale overseas for at least three months and have never been genuinely available in Australia as an official import (that is, by its manufacturer or local Australian distributor).

The vehicle can be a variant of one on sale here (if that variant is not offered), where a variant is defined as a vehicle within a model that has a different body, transmission or propulsion system, or that is in a different vehicle category. As before, a SEV can be new or used, but if 25 or more years old, can be imported under that requirement rather than as a SEV.

Once the vehicle has a tick for these initial requirements, it must meet one of the following six criteria to get onto the starting blocks, then be applied for and then approved on the RAV.

To pass as a SEV performance import, the vehicle must meet a power-to-weight threshold, based on the year it was made. For cars built before 1 January 2020, it’s 110kW/tonne-plus. From New Year’s day in 2020, it’s a minimum 130kW/tonne.

If you want to do your bit for the environment and buy a low-emissions vehicle, then this criterion is for you.

Vehicles must meet or exceed our emissions standards and be an EV, hybrid or a microcar. Microcars under this rule are effectively Japanese ‘kei’ cars, so they must have a maximum 47kW 660cc engine and measure no more than 3.4 metres long or 1.48m wide.

Some kei cars like the Suzuki Hustler, can’t be imported. The Australian government discovered in 2024 that some kei cars, including the Hustler, did not meet local side-impact crash-safety regulations, so suspended their import approval.

To get the mobility tick a vehicle must be factory fitted (or have factory-approved) mobility features such as built-in wheelchair ramps, lift up and out seats or one or more portable wheelchair car seat.

This rarity requirement is for ultra-low volume (so we’re talking about supercars like Ferraris), with 100 variants made worldwide.

The brand itself has to sell less than 3000 units per year overall (that is, averaged over the number of years the make has been produced) and the variant you want to import has to be based on a model that is produced at less than 1000 examples a year (averaged over the production period for the model).

You can bring in left-hand drive rare models without having to convert them. The catch is that you can only register the car if the state allows left-hand drive registration.

The only state that you can currently do that with newer vehicles is the Northern Territory. If you are importing a 25-year-old rare left-hook car (which you can register in most states LHD), you’d just import it under the new 25-year rule anyway.

This is to basically make life easier for local left-to-right hand drive conversion specialists. LHD vehicles (that can’t be bought in RHD anywhere) can be imported in MA and MC (passenger vehicles) or NA and NB (light and medium commercial) categories but must be converted to RHD in Oz.

To satisfy this criterion, the vehicle must have been originally manufactured as a campervan or motorhome by the manufacturer or a company commissioned by the manufacturer. The Toyota Camroad is one example.

For 25-year-old cars and personal imports, you must apply under the ‘Single Road Vehicle Approvals’ on the Department of Infrastructure’s website, providing all details including photos of the vehicle. As for compliance, it’s up to the state registration authority to decide what needs to be done. There will likely be some compliance jobs to do things like child seat anchor points, possibly changing seatbelts to ADR approved ones and so on. It depends on the car and the relevant state registering authority requirements.

As for SEVs, they will have to undergo a more stringent process to gain compliance than the 25-year-old cars or personal imports, but not to the degree that vehicle manufacturers have to with new cars.

At a minimum, this means all fluids and tyres must be replaced. Components might need to be modified or replaced too, such as lights and mirrors, where they don’t meet Australian Design Rule (ADR) standards.

There are more than 500 (MA category) passenger cars (excluding 4WDs and commercials) alone on the SEV list at the time of writing. So, there is no lack of choice.

Under the performance criterion, cars such as the Subaru Impreza WRX STi GVB/GRB, Lexus RC-F, Nissan V35/V36 Skyline and Toyota Crown Athlete can be imported. There are some less popular performance choices such as the Mercedes-Benz S213 E63/E63S Estate on the SEV list.

Cars that meet the environmental criterion include Japanese hybrids variants such as the Toyota Corolla Touring hybrid and Honda Fit (Jazz) hybrid. A raft of kei cars will also meet this requirement, such as the Honda N Box.

There are very few camper vans or motor homes purpose-built by vehicle manufacturers in Japan, so the problem there will be finding one. The Toyota Camroad motorhome or Toyota HiAce campervan are examples. There are also motorhomes that could be imported from the UK. The Mobility Criterion includes Welcab (factory) mobility models such as the Toyota Alphard.

There are plenty of vehicles that will meet the 25-year rule, such as the Honda NSX, Toyota Celica GT-Four WRC, Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Mazda Cosmo, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo I, Porsche Boxster 986 and a number of supercars such as the Ferrari 308.

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