Note that a fundamental assumption for
the content of this page is that the vehicle is imported
to Australia only temporarily and under a so-called Carnet de Passages en Douane,
CPD.  Original German version. Introductory Comments
It is my hope that the information provided here will significantly reduce the time
required for a similar exercise, that stumbling blocks are identified and that uncertainties are eliminated. All informations on this page have been verified to the best knowledge and belief but are provided without warranty of any kind. Melbourne (Victoria) seems to be a very good destination to bring a vehicle into Australia for three reasons:
This is not so in other states, where either the insurance coverage is only for the issuing state (NSW to my knowledge) or excessive technical barriers are put up (WA, NT to my knowlege) Should anyone be able to contribute their own experiences from importing cars or motorcycles to other Australian states can, then I am most happy to integrate them here:
Documents in the Country of OriginThe most important document is the Carnet de Passage. It is often issued by an official automobile association of the country where the vehicle is registered. The CPD is essentially a passport for a motorvehicle; it is a UN document that enables you to temporarily import the car into a country accepting CPDs without having to pay import tax, without locally registering the vehicle and without it having to fully comply to local laws and regulations (e.g. left-hand drives vs. right-hand drives, emission standards, etc). In order to prevent you from selling your car without the government getting its import duty, you are required to put down a bond in the country issuing the CPD. The bond is paid back only after the vehicle returns or after import duty has been paid in the destination country. See this page (in German only) for more information about the CPD, about vehicle registration documents and driver's licenses.
Costs
Shipping from Cargo Terminal in Basel, Switzerland The most difficult part of shipping was to find a
suitable logistics partner. The major seaports in Europe also offer roll-on
roll-off shipping (RoRo), in which the motor vehicle is driven onto
and from the ship under its own power. My inquiries (including with Höegh Autoliners) yielded that no personal items may be
carried on the vehicle, and that the vehicle is transported unlocked.
Since this was non-negotiable to me, it was not the product I needed.
As a consequence I concentrated on container cargo and asked the following companies for a quote (in alphabetical order):
In 2010 we chose Mueller & Gysin. After that, everything was pretty easy. The same with ITS in 2014, where it was very easy. The vehicle was travelling in a 40-foot high-cube
container because of its height (2.55 m); there are 20-foot high-cube containers, but not in Europe. High-Cube ist the standard these days (rather than the exception) and only costs a few 100 EUR more; 40 foot costs only about EUR 800 more than 20 foot. The cheapest way is hence two vehicles in the same 40 foot container. However, be sure to have two separate waybill document issued. This allows independent processing of customs and quarantine. Otherwise both vehicles could end up being blocked if one of them is not released, e.g. because it is not clean enough. Our motor home was driven into the container under its own power at the depot of the cargo company, then the container was moved to Basel Rhine Port by truck. It continued on the Rhine to Rotterdam and on an ocean liner via Singapore to Melbourne container terminal. The whole trip lasted for 8 weeks (Rotterdam — Melbourne: 47 days, the offer said about 36 days — that's the only point in which I am not totally satisfied because it meant the vehicle was available two weeks late). Required Documents
Packing the ContainerSee here. The container is locked and a sealed ("bolt seal"; the seal can be broken only with a good pair of bolt cutters). The cabin of the vehicle remained unlocked and the keys were left in the glove box to avoid the customs having to break into the vehicle in case of an unplanned inspection on the way. Cargo InsuranceThis is the responsibility of the client (you); in my case the local cargo company organised a quote and completed the transaction at a reasonable price. This insures the cargo against theft, shipwreck, washing over board, crash when loading and unloading, etc. Insurance does not cover war and terrorism ( am unsure about whether the lot is insured if Somali pirates sank the ship) and ... natural disasters. The insurance terms and conditions (example: Baloise insurance) are in the Annex . Documents issued
Tracking
When the
container left Rotterdam, I was notified by the Swiss cargo company and got
the Sea Waybill document. Die Spedition gab mir auch den Namen und das
Kennzeichen des Schiffs bekannt. They was also sent
me name and identification of the vessel. I found out that the said vessel MOL Eminence could be tracked on marinetraffic.com. This made it
possible to calculate with increasing accuracy when the container would
arrive. Approx. 10 days before arrival I received the Arrival Notice (see below) by
email. Receiving the Container in Melbourne and Import Procedure PrefaceI spent a lot of time in Melbourne in 2010 in finding a simple and low-cost solution but did not do that again in 2014 — which wasn't more expensive eiher ….By the time the container arrived, I lived in Melbourne and had all resources and means of communication available. I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to receive the container at the terminal itself or in the immediate vicinity so it can be inspected by the authorities. In my opinion this must necessarily take place at the depot of an approved cargo handler, which has to be paid of course. Processing upon Arrival in DetailsYou can essentially skip this paragraph if you — as advised above — to for an all inclusive offer and a strong logistics partner => continue at Customs Regulations and Inspection Provisions. As soon as there are personal effects in the container (and thus noted on the Waybill), dealing with quarantine and customs authorities is much more complicated. Many cargo companies firm withdraw when they become aware of personal effects. All commercial freight (probably more than 99%) comes pre-registered and is processed electronically, while shipments containing personal effects are handled via physical documents and appointments for inspection by the authorities have to be arranged specifically. It would probably be possible to arrange all of this yourself, but after several days of research, phone calls, and even on-site visits I threw the towel and contracted a customs broker.
After this it was actually pretty easy and I could have spared myself some tedious research. Below I focus on the procedure as carried out by Johnson-Wills. The detailed results of my preliminary "investigation" are documented here (German only, still there are some useful links should you be inclined to doing it yourself) and provide some background to the steps carried out behind the scenes. The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) has a description of the import conditions organised by state. From the moment the container arrives at the container terminal until you drives away with your vehicle, a week goes by. It seems quite impossible to get this over with quicker, and should there be problems with customs or quarantine authorities, then the delay increases. It is advisable to buy an Australian prepaid SIM card for your mobile phone because always and everywhere you will have to provide a phone number; a foreign phone number would technically work, but presents an obstacle for Australian callers (a clerk might not be able to dial numbers abroad). In March 2010, Virgin Mobile had a very attractive offer ("Bean Counter") with an appealing web site.The SIM card arrived by Post within three days. Process in Detail
Contract Customs
Broker
The customs broker should be contracted at minimum a week before the arrival of the cargo at
destination port. Once the container has arrived at the container terminal (i.e. is unloaded from the ship and stored at the dock), you have three business days to pick it up from there, otherwise serious storage fees apply. Pay Container Handling FeesSeveral days before the container ship entered the destination port, I received the Arrival Notice from the container company as well as an invoice for the container-handling fees at the container terminal. Once they were paid, I received the delivery order. This latter enables the local cargo company (subcontracted by the broker) to pick up the container from the container terminal. The delivery order can be issued before the arrival of the ship which gives you more time to organise ahead. If possible have this sent to you electronically.Depending on who is listed as recipient of the cargo, the arrival notice could also be sent directly to a local logistics company or broker. Prepare Documents Wayne Johnson of
Johnson-Wills required the following documents (Examples of documents
can be found below):
Thereby he already proved to be a cost saver: for new goods in the personal effects there are certain value limits that should not be exceeded in the customs declaration, otherwise this gets the attention of the customs. New goods are anything you have not owned for at least twelve months. Note: today you can order almost anything through the Internet and the customs authority can thus assess the real value of things with relative ease. The limit for new goods was at $ 1500 per person (please double-check this figure). It was well worth filling in the customs declaration honestly. Eventually, customs released the container based on the documents only, i.e. without a physical inspection of its contents. The customs broker subcontracts a local cargo company that is certified for the handling of personal effects. They pick up the containers from the container terminal on your behalf and cart it to their own depot (usually in the vicinity of the airport). There the container is opened, the vehicle is pulled out with a fork lift or truck, and stored securely (access control, video surveillance). This is also the place where customs and quarantine inspections take place. Customs Regulations and Inspection Provisions
Here are
some stumbling blocks you can avoid:
A vehicle under a CPD can remain in Australia remain for at most 12 months, for more it must be permanently imported and be converted to right-hand drive. Quarantine Regulations and Inspection Provisions
Again,
there are some stumbling blocks you can avoid:
Reminder: Background information on the entire procedure can be found on this page (German only but certainly some useful links). Documents
Registration and InsurancesHere are the facts: a vehicle imported to Australia temporarily under a CPD
Liability insurance (personal injury)
In contrast to e.g. New South Wales,
Victoria liability insurance against personal injury
(third-party personal insurance) is exclusively issued by VicRoads and not by private insurers. For CPD vehicles, this is a so-called
Non-Registered Vehicle
Accident Cover. Note : non-registered, not
unregistered (the latter also exists and is much more common).  (Click
picture to enlarge) Required Documents
It took me several days to figure out how the vehicle has to be registered and insured here (or to be precise: is not just registered, see above). The problem was that only VicRoads staff with many years of experience seem to know what a CPD is and what they have to do with it. Several times my phone enquiries and a visit to VicRoads office ended with some team leader for whom "CPD" did nothing and who was not willing dig into it. The answer was always a referral to the Department of Infrastructure, to private insurers, etc. In the end, it was the customs broker, Wayne Johnson, who (coincidentally?) got a VicRoads-person on the phone who knew her way and who pointed him to the TAC form. After that, once again, everything was very simple. So just print out the TAC form above and take it to the VicRoads office as a sample. With VicRoads almost anything can be settled over the phone 13 11 71 . The TAC-form was issued at a VicRoads office, which took about 8 minutes.
Melbourne: 459 Lygon Street Carlton, VIC 3053 (2 km north of the centre) Johnstone St Broadmeadows VIC 3047 (7 km east Tullamarine Airport) Insurance (own property damage)Private insurers will provide insurance for the vehicle itself and the valuables on board. For regular cars there is a wide choice, but only a minority insures vehicles under a CPD. Among them is the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, RACV, but they rejected our vehicle (see below).The insurance cover is obtained via about this procedure : the coverage is guaranteed over the phone from the very date and the paperwork follows by mail. Then you have 28 days to complete the application; to provide all the information and documentation requested (photos, no-claims bonus certificate of insurance in Europe, etc.); and to pay the premium. Required Documents
Insurance Providers In addition to normal cars, the RACV insures motor
homes as well, however, our T-Rex was rejected because it is a non-standard
vehicle and it was apparently difficult to assess the insurance risk. If you're rejected they are quick in referring you to the Victorian ombudsman for insurance matters, who, unfortunately, will probably not be of any help either.The Caravan and Motorhome Club of Australia CMCA offers to its members very good coverage at attractive rates, however, the policy is offered under certain conditions only:
CIL is an insurer that specialises in mobile homes, caravans, etc. The agency left me with a very positive impression from the beginning, albeit the policy conditions were not quite as good as those of the CMCA, such as no breakdown hotline, slightly lower coverage levels. After all, the vehicle was insured at its full value. Again, "all new customers receive the maximum no-claims bonus to start with". Eventually the premium was a bit cheaper than at CMCA / Ken Tame and the personal assistance more competent and forthcoming. Recommended. Road-Side AssistanceThe automobile clubs of all Australian states (in our case RACV) offer roadside assistance. For regular cars, this insurance is arranged within 15 minutes over the phone or at an office of the respective automobile club; however, they would offer only a very limited kind of insurance for our campervan, such as on-site assistance but no towing (too heavy) or transport (too high) in the event of a breakdown. Value for money was rather poor and it is not much of an insurance for the worst case either. One would therefore have to try one's luck in the truck segment which I did not venture into.Even under a regular policy, breakdown assistance is restricted to the urban centres pretty much and towing or transport is only included only for the first 30 km or so. Still, in the event of a breakdown someone comes along and tries to fix the problem on site. On the other hand, we were assured by Australian 4x4 drivers that away from the busy roads and the cities, one can count on the help of local people and truck drivers. These people would not even ask about weight or height, and the mechanic in the nearest village has worked on all kinds of vehicles from a lawn mower to a road train and are almost sure to find some kind of solution to your problem. Either way, it's worth carrying any special tools (e.g. for the removing a drive shaft, etc.) yourself because the mechanics of both the village workshop and the breakdown service will not have these handy. We have purchased a satellite phone and would try to contact local or remote help in case of a breakdown or emergency. Tourist brochures always list phone numbers of local information offices which can refer to the local mechanic or towing assistance. Shipping back to Switzerland Shipping the vehicle back in a container works the same way. Unfortunately none of the contacted logistics company in Australia were able to provide a quote for the shipment back to Basle within the given time frame; the stumbling block seems to be the transport from a European sea port to Basle—a territory they are not familiar with.We finally went for a fixed-price offer by Müller & Gysin again (see costs table at the top of this page). The Swiss Federal Customs Administration has an informative web page regarding Moving to Switzerland from abroad (relocation goods). Essentially, you have to fill in the Form 18.44 and provide several annexes: a list of the imported goods, official confirmations of your absence from Switzerland for at least six months, and, if applicable, a confirmation of a house-rental contract or similar abroad. Important: you must have the CPD stamped by the customs officer when the vehicle enters Switzerland. Only this stamp will enable you to claim back the deposit you had to make for obtaining the CPD in the first place. |
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