West Coast Shipping is one of the largest shippers of classic vehicles to Australia . We offer cost effective classic car shipping solutions through to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle. What makes us unique is we have our own depots in California, New Jersey and Florida. At each of these locations we have our own staff, who receive your vehicle, arrange for asbestos sampling & fumigation, complete the export clearance, load and ship your vehicle via container or air.
There are several key steps to kick off the process of shipping your car to Australia. First, gather all necessary documents, get an instant rate, and book your shipment online. This will provide a clear understanding of costs and timelines involved in the process. Checking a comprehensive Pre-Shipment Checklist is of utmost importance to understand what cars can be imported to Australia, the associated costs, and the steps required for clearing duties and registering the car once it arrives.
The good news is that if the car that you are interested in is at least 25 years old and has not been modified, then there is no reason that it cannot be imported into Australia. You should check with your local State Road authority, but in most cases cars can be registered and driven as left-hand drivers, eliminating any need to convert your vehicle to a right-hand drive.
Make sure you have all the necessary documentation before shipping your car to Australia. This includes proof of ownership, typically the vehicle’s title or registration documents. Additionally, a US passport or an overseas passport is essential for exporting the vehicle from the US to Australia. These documents are vital for a legally compliant and smooth export and import process of your car.
Obtaining a Vehicle Import Approval (VIA) is mandatory before your vehicle leaves the USA, as required under Section 22 of the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA). Without this approval, the Australian Border Force (ABF) will not release your vehicle from customs control, potentially leading to significant storage costs. This approval is a vital step for your car to meet all Australian regulations, including emission levels and safety standards.
The Department of Infrastructure has developed the ROVER system to assist people interested in importing to Australia. There are many areas on the system that could be of interest. Click here for more details on Australia's ROVER program.
It is important to know that every vehicle shipped to Australia requires import approval by the Australian government. It is the importer's requirement to set up a profile in the ROVER system and submitting 100 points of ID . Upon verification you can apply for the import approval through the Rover system. We can also assist with this process.
How to apply for import approval in Australia
The application for a VIA must be made through the ROVER system, an online portal managed by the department for vehicle import approvals. The process can take up to 60 business days for assessment and approval.
Acquiring this approval before importing cars and shipping your car is vital to avoid storage and other charges upon arrival in Australia.
To import a vehicle to Australia, it must comply with the country’s safety and emission standards under the Motor Vehicles Standard Act of 1989. Additionally, the importation of vehicles containing asbestos components is prohibited. Necessary modifications might include changing headlights or installing child restraint anchor points to meet Australian standards. With the growing trend of Australia importing cars, it’s essential to be aware of these requirements.
Before registration, you may need to arrange for these modifications and conduct compliance testing.
Get a peace of mind with our accredited asbestos sampling program.
The importation of asbestos into Australia is strictly prohibited. How does this affect the import of classic cars into Australia? It is possible that cars from America's golden era have parts such as brake linings which may contain asbestos. Obviously decades have passed, and parts are likely to have been changed. It is difficult to know if parts contain asbestos without careful testing.
We offer a robust asbestos testing program, which samples cars and motorcycles for asbestos as nominated by our accredited asbestos sampler on staff. Parts which may contain asbestos are then tested by an accredited NATA approved lab. Parts found to contain asbestos are removed before shipping to avoid fines and delays in Australia.
See our Australian Car Import guide for more details on Asbestos when importing a car to Australia.
When your vehicle arrives at the port in Australia, our local agent there will guide you on all of the remaining import procedures. The agent will accept the container, transport it to their facilities for unloading, clear import customs, and fumigation. Our agents are also the ones to calculate and send you the invoice for the GST component of the move.
Download the Australia Import Guide to get answers to your questions about importing a car to Australia.
Vehicle documentation:
International residents:
US citizens:
We accept wire transfers, checks, and ban deposits only. Read more about banking fees when paying from overseas.
We do not accept credit card payments.
