During the process of shipping a car from USA to Australia, you are more likely to answer a few common questions, such as:
Is the manufacturing date of the car is before or after January 1989?
Are you the current owner of the car?
Is the car’s ownership in your name for at least 12 months?
Are you permanently keeping the car in Australia?
To check whether you are eligible for shipping a car from USA to Australia, you can check out the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development page.
Import Option
Which route is the cheapest?
Which route is the fastest?
You can import your car to Australia via air freight or sea freight. Undoubtedly, Airfreight is the fastest route that will make your vehicle reach its destination within 2-5 days. However, it will cost you at least five times higher than sea freight’s cost. Meanwhile, shipping through the sea will take at least 1-2 months.
The costs can differ as per your car’s make & model, nearest departure port, shipping model, current location, shipping method, your freight forwarder fees, storage fees, vendor fees, taxes, duties and the port of arrival.
Import Approval
Before you start the shipment, you need to submit a valid import approval to Australian customs. For can apply for an import approval online.
For approval, you need to make sure your car complies with the Motor Vehicles Standard Act of 1989. CFC gases are banned in Australia, so check your air conditioning unit for sure.
Custom Duty
If your car is over 30 years, you don’t have to pay customs duty, but only 10 % as GST. If your vehicle is up to 30 years older, you can pay 10% as duty plus 10 % as GST. All off-road (four wheels) and commercial vehicles are levied to 5% customs duty and 10 % GST.
If you are in Australia as a tourist or on a temporary visa, then you can import the car for up to 12 months without paying the customs. However, you still have to pay the GST and LCT.
Container Options
Roll-on/ roll-off: It is the cheaper and most convenient method to ship a car from the USA to Australia. All you have to pay is the port charges, custom clearance charges including the shipping charge.
Shared container: The car will be shipped in a single container along with several other vehicles. As more processes are involved, you need to pay additional fees such as customs clearance, terminal-handling charges, trucking and unloading charges.
Full container load: Its process of a full container load is similar to a shared container load, expect you pay for the whole container. The charges are higher, but it comes with added security. Your car will be photographed before it enters the container door. Then it is locked and only opened after it arrives at the destination. Then it is photographed again for checking the before and after condition.
If you’re looking for an international shipping company who can take care of this job well, contact Willship without giving any second thoughts.
Willship International 