Vehicle shipping
Vehicle Shipping to and from Australia — RORO, Container and Compliance
Cars, motorcycles, campers, boats, trucks and heavy machinery, shipped either on RORO vessels or braced inside containers — with the import approval, biosecurity cleaning and customs treatment sorted before the vehicle moves, not after it lands.
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The approval comes before the shipping
Vehicle shipping into Australia is not primarily a freight problem — it is a compliance problem with a freight leg attached. Australia controls road vehicle imports under the Road Vehicle Standards Act framework, and you generally need a Vehicle Import Approval granted before the vehicle is shipped. A vehicle that arrives without an approval can be refused entry and exported or destroyed at the importer’s cost.
So the order of operations matters. Establish the pathway, obtain the approval, then book the freight. We will not quote you a cheap ocean rate and let you discover the problem at the wharf.
- Vehicle Import Approval — obtained before shipping, not on arrival
- Eligibility pathway — personal import, 25-year rule, SEVs register, or approved entrant
- Biosecurity cleaning — steam-cleaned free of soil, seeds and plant material
- Duty, GST and possibly Luxury Car Tax — assessed on customs value plus freight and insurance
- Compliance and registration — modifications and state registration after clearance
Method
RORO or container? A straight comparison
| RORO (roll-on, roll-off) | Container (sole use or shared) | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Driven on and off a purpose-built vehicle deck | Loaded, braced and strapped inside a 20ft or 40ft container |
| Cost | Generally the cheaper option | Higher, but shared containers reduce the gap |
| Vehicle must run and steer | Yes | No — non-runners can be winched in |
| Weather and handling protection | Enclosed deck, but more handling by port staff | Sealed from origin to destination |
| Personal effects inside | Not permitted by carriers | Possible where declared, subject to clearance |
| Spare parts and accessories | Not permitted loose | Can travel alongside if declared |
| Best for | Standard running vehicles on lanes with regular RORO calls | High-value, classic, modified, oversized or non-running vehicles |
| Route availability | Limited to ports with RORO services | Almost any container port |
Oversized machinery that will not fit a container and cannot be driven onto a RORO deck moves as breakbulk or on a flat rack — see oversized freight and project cargo.
Biosecurity
Cleaning: where most vehicle shipments go wrong
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry inspects imported vehicles and machinery for biosecurity risk material. A vehicle that looks clean to an owner routinely fails inspection because the risk material is where nobody looks. If it fails, it goes to an approved facility for cleaning at your cost, and you pay storage while it waits.
| Area | What inspectors find |
|---|---|
| Underbody and chassis rails | Caked soil, mud, grass seeds |
| Wheel arches and inside the wheels | Soil and plant matter |
| Engine bay | Leaf litter, seeds, insect nests |
| Radiator and grille | Insects and seeds |
| Spare wheel well and boot | Soil, gravel, organic debris |
| Interior carpets and under seats | Food residue, plant material, soil from footwear |
| Roof racks, tow bars, canvas | Seeds and mud |
| Machinery attachments and buckets | Soil — the most common single failure on plant |
Costs
What you will actually pay
Freight is the number people compare. These are the numbers that decide whether the project made sense.
- Ocean freight — RORO or container, plus carrier surcharges
- Marine insurance — strongly recommended; vehicle claims are common and expensive
- Customs duty — rate depends on classification, vehicle type and origin, with FTA concessions available on some lanes
- GST — 10% of the customs value plus international transport and insurance plus duty
- Luxury Car Tax — applies above the LCT threshold, with a higher threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles
- Quarantine inspection and cleaning — inspection fee always, cleaning only if it fails
- Port, terminal and delivery charges — including transport from the wharf on a tilt tray if the vehicle is not registrable yet
- Compliance and modification — where the pathway requires it before registration
- State registration and stamp duty — the final step, and easy to forget in the budget
We itemise all of these in the quote, and we flag which are estimates and what would move them. See import duty and GST for how the tax calculation works.
What we ship
Not just cars
Cars, 4WDs and motorcycles
Daily drivers, classics, race and track cars, restoration projects and motorcycles. Motorcycles are often crated and consolidated, which makes them one of the more economical vehicle moves.
Campers, caravans and motorhomes
Frequently oversized for a standard container and very often carrying biosecurity risk in water tanks, awnings and storage lockers. Height and length need checking against equipment early.
Boats and trailers
On their trailers, cradled, or shipped as breakbulk depending on beam and height. Hulls attract close biosecurity attention for marine growth and fresh water residue.
Trucks, buses and heavy plant
Excavators, loaders, tractors, prime movers and attachments. Cleaning standards for used plant are the strictest of all, and dismantling for shipment is often the economical answer.
Vehicles in relocations
If the vehicle is part of a household move, it can often be planned alongside the household goods so the timing works and the clearances are handled together.
Fleet and dealer movements
Multiple units in one program, consolidated where possible, with a single point of contact and consolidated reporting rather than separate jobs.
FAQ
Vehicle shipping questions
Can I import any car into Australia?
No, and this is the single most important thing to establish before you spend money. Australia operates a Road Vehicle Standards Act framework administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. You generally need a Vehicle Import Approval granted before the vehicle is shipped. Common pathways include the personal import scheme, vehicles over 25 years old, the Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicle register, and vehicles imported by a manufacturer or approved entrant. Shipping a vehicle without an approval in place risks it being refused entry, exported at your cost or destroyed.
How much does it cost to ship a car to Australia?
The freight itself depends on the origin, the method and the size of the vehicle, but freight is rarely the largest number. Budget for freight, marine insurance, Australian customs duty, GST on the customs value plus freight and insurance, Luxury Car Tax if the value exceeds the threshold, quarantine inspection and cleaning, port and terminal charges, compliance and modification work where required, and state registration and stamp duty. We itemise all of it before you commit.
Is RORO or container shipping better for a vehicle?
RORO is usually cheaper and simpler for a running, road-registrable vehicle on a lane with regular RORO services. Container shipping costs more but protects the vehicle from weather and handling, allows personal effects and spare parts to travel with it where permitted, and works for non-running vehicles. High-value, modified or classic vehicles almost always go in a container, often braced in a sole-use 20ft.
Does my vehicle need to be cleaned before shipping?
Yes, thoroughly, and this is where more vehicles get held than anywhere else. Australian biosecurity requires vehicles and machinery to arrive free of soil, plant material, seeds, insects and animal matter. That means the engine bay, the underbody, the wheel arches, the chassis rails, the spare wheel well and the interior. If it fails inspection on arrival it is sent for cleaning at your cost, with delay and storage on top.
Can I ship personal belongings inside the car?
Sometimes, and only in a container — never in RORO, where carriers prohibit it. Even in a container, anything inside the vehicle must be declared on the packing list and cleared as part of the shipment. Undeclared goods found in a vehicle create a compliance problem out of all proportion to their value.
How long does it take to ship a vehicle to Australia?
Port to port, roughly 4 to 6 weeks from Europe or the UK, 3 to 5 weeks from North America, and 2 to 4 weeks from Asia, with sailing frequency mattering more than transit time on RORO lanes. Then add time for customs clearance, quarantine inspection, any cleaning, and compliance work before the vehicle can be registered.
Do I pay duty and GST on a car I have owned for years?
Generally yes. Personal ownership does not by itself make a vehicle duty and GST free — the value is assessed for customs purposes and duty, GST and potentially Luxury Car Tax are calculated on that. There are concessions in specific circumstances, so tell us the full history of the vehicle and how long you have owned it and we will set out the treatment.
Can you export a vehicle from Australia?
Yes. Outbound vehicles need an export declaration, deregistration evidence, and in many cases proof that no finance is owing. The destination country’s import rules then govern what is possible — some markets are straightforward and others effectively closed to used imports. We check the destination requirements before quoting so you are not shipping into a dead end.
Related pages
- International relocations — if the vehicle is moving as part of a household relocation
- Oversized freight — campers, boats and anything out of gauge
- Project cargo — heavy plant, breakbulk and RORO for machinery
- Customs clearance — classification, duty, GST and biosecurity on arrival
- Container shipping — sole-use and shared container options
- Sea freight — the wider ocean freight service
- Import duty and GST — how duty, GST and LCT are calculated
- Australian ports — where your vehicle can be discharged
Get a vehicle shipping quote
Tell us the make, model, year, dimensions and where the vehicle is now. We will confirm the import pathway, tell you honestly whether the vehicle is eligible, and quote RORO and container side by side with duty, GST and clearance included.