How to import a used vehicle: The list of cars you can import to Australia
New laws for concessional imports — what do they mean?New legislation will this year change which vehicles can be imported into Australia.
When the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 is introduced later this year it will drastically change what vehicles can be imported into Australia by non-mainstream importers.
A 12-month transition period will allow vehicles to be imported both under the new standards or the outgoing legislation, which dates back to 1989.
After 12 months has expired, sometime in 2019 (it depends on when the new rules come in this year), only the new regulations will apply.
Details about the new rules, which affect many popular used Japanese models, can be found here but here's the rundown in simple terms.
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What do the changes mean?
Under the new Concessional Vehicle Imports scheme, you'll be able to import vehicles that fall into one of three categories.
These include any 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 as a Specialist or Enthusiast Vehicle (SEV).
You still need to get an import licence for any vehicle and, if it's imported under a SEV criterion, it has to be on the SEV list and be complied by a Registered Automotive Workshop (RAW).
You'll pay a RAW about $2000 for such compliance under the current scheme; it's too early to estimate costs under the new scheme.
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What's the 25-year rule about?
The rolling 25-year rule replaces the previous pre-1989 rule (that allowed vehicles built before 1989 to be imported), only now you can bring in younger cars on a rolling 25-year basis.
What that means is that once the new RVS bill has passed this year, you will be able to bring in vehicles built up to and including 1993. In 2019, the 25-year rule will include cars built in 1994, and so on.
When you apply to import a vehicle under the 25-year rule, you have to prove its month/year of manufacture is 25 years ago or more.
As with the outgoing pre-1989 rule, you can import any vehicle, but it must comply with basic safety requirements (see 'What compliance requirements are there?' below).
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What about SEVS?
We already have a Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles Scheme (SEVS), but it's been given a big pull-though. Many SEVs you can import now you won't be able to under the new rules (see below).
So what can you import under the new SEV rules?
Before it can even be assessed as a SEV, a vehicle has to have been on sale overseas for at least three months and have never been sold in Australia as an official import (that is, by its manufacturer or local distributor).
The vehicle can be a variant of a vehicle 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.
Once the vehicle has a tick for these initial requirements, it has to meet one of the following six criteria to get onto the starting blocks.
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Performance
The big lure for ex-Japan used import buyers have been performance cars. But to meet the new rules, such cars will have to jump through a new hoop.
To pass as a SEV performance import, the vehicle has to meet a power-to-weight threshold, based on the year it was made. That calculation is based on 1992 models as the 'base year of manufacture'.
For 1992 models, the power-to-weight ratio threshold is 110kW per tonne. So if a 1992 model weighs 1500kg, its engine has to develop a minimum of 165kW.
For each year after that, you have to add a kiloWatt to meet the threshold. So for example, a 2017 model needs to develop 135kW/tonne.
Environmental
If you want to do your bit for the environment and buy a low-emissions vehicle, then this criterion is for you.
Vehicles have to meet or exceed our emissions standards and be a hybrid or a micro-car. Micro-cars under this rule are effectively Japanese 'kei' cars, so they must have a maximum 47kW 660cc engine and measure no more than 3.4m long or 1.48m wide.
Mobility
This criterion basically formalises the permission to bring in vehicles that have already been imported from Japan for years under existing rules.
To get the mobility tick a vehicle has to 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.
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Rare has hens teeth
This is for ultra-low volume (so we're talking supercars like Ferraris), with 100 variants made worldwide.
It's not over there; the brand itself has to sell less than 3000 units per year overall (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.
Left-hand drive
This is to basically make life easier for local 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.
Campervans and Motorhomes
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.
What compliance requirements are there?
For 25-year-old cars and personal imports, there are no federal compliance requirements as such; it's up to the state registration authority to decide what needs to be done.
At the moment (under the pre-1989 rule), that might include safety items like door intrusion barriers where required and child seat top-tether anchorage points.
However under the 2018 RVS that may change: the feds have said that, under the RVS, it "will work with State and Territory regulators to establish appropriate requirements for these vehicles".
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.
Under the existing SEVS requirements, vehicles "must undergo a range of modifications and maintenance procedures to ensure that they meet minimum safety and environmental standards".
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.
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What models can I import?
There have been no SEV applications yet under the new rules - let alone any approvals - so the vehicles below are what we estimate will be allowed in.
Under the performance criterion, it's likely that cars such as the 2005 Subaru Forester STI, 2005 Mitsubishi Evo IX wagon, Nissan V35/V36 Skyline, Toyota Crown Athlete and Toyota Mark X will be imported.
In practical terms, no-one is going to import an early to mid-1990s performance car under this rule. Later this year, you'll already be able to bring in 1993 models under the 25-year rule (which has much less expensive or difficult safety homologation requirements).
Cars that will likely meet the environmental criterion include a raft of Japanese hybrids variants such as the Honda Legend Hybrid and the Toyota Estima Hybrid. A raft of kei cars will also meet this requirement, such as Honda S660 (which is imported under existing legislation).
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, although both have import approval under the current regs.
The Mobility Criterion is already well covered off with existing legislation and this just formalises it. So existing Welcab (factory) mobility models such as the Toyota Alphard will continue to be imported.
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 and a number of supercars such as the Ferrari 308.
Some of these cars are available under existing SEVS rules, but are not economically viable because of more stringent and expensive SEV compliance.
Is there a limit on numbers?
Registered Accredited Workshops (RAWs) can now only comply a certain number of a SEV vehicle type. Under the new rules, there are no caps imposed.
What can't be imported anymore?
The biggest chunk of imports (as of 2016, more than 70 per cent) are people-movers like the Nissan Elgrand and Mitsubishi Delica D5.
These are brought in as SEVs through a loophole in current legislation but that has closed with the new rules, so no more people-movers (except for hybrids, such as the Toyota Estima Hybrid).
Many cars that have come in under current SEVS regs — such as the Honda Civic Type R, Nissan Cube, S15 Nissan Sylvia Convertible, Rover Mini and Toyota Caldina — won't meet the new import requirements.
The new regs also close the door on odd-ball imports approved under the current SEV scheme, such as the ex-Japan factory RHD Chevrolet Blazer and Cadillac Seville.
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