How to Import a Car from Japan to Australia: Approvals, Taxes and Registration

Older vehicles: 25 years from the relevant build date

Section 36 of the Rules (compilation dated 19 January 2024) sets the older-vehicle criterion. The vehicle must be in a listed category and have a relevant build date at least 25 years before the date of the application. The listed categories include Passenger Car (MA), Forward-control Passenger Vehicle (MB), Off-road Passenger Vehicle (MC) and Light Goods Vehicle (NA), as well as moped and motorcycle categories.

The relevant build date is the date assembly of the vehicle was first completed. If significant modifications were made after that, it is the date the last of them was completed. The Department of Infrastructure's guidance note on significant modifications describes it as the later of those two dates.

The guidance note lists non-standard engine changes, and the addition or upgrade of turbochargers or superchargers where the installation is not a factory option, among changes likely to be significant. It lists changes to springs and shock absorbers as likely not significant. These are examples, and section 36 requires the Minister to be satisfied about the build date for each vehicle.

The Department's May 2025 guide to concessional RAV entry approvals says the application defaults to December if the month of manufacture cannot be demonstrated. It says evidence of the build date can include the original sales document, a deregistration certificate from certain countries and a photograph of the VIN. The guide also says this criterion is not intended for vehicles that need significant restoration to become suitable for use on a public road.

The Department's older-vehicle checklist (December 2023) asks for proof of ownership or that the vehicle is being bought, photographs, the VIN or chassis number, and the type and dates of any significant modifications.

The Australian Design Rules definitions describe Light Goods Vehicle (NA) as a goods vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes. The older-vehicle checklist asks for documentation showing that a light commercial vehicle's gross vehicle mass is less than 3,500 kg. A vehicle at exactly 3.5 tonnes should be confirmed with the Department before purchase.

Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles (SEVS)

The Department says most vehicles 25 years and older do not need to be entered on the SEVS Register. They can apply for entry on the RAV as a single road vehicle under the older-vehicle criterion.

An entry on the SEVS Register is not an approval to import the vehicle. The Department's February 2025 RAW checklist says the SEVS Register entry must be current when the application is made and when the decision is made, and recommends applying at least 30 business days before the entry expires. The Department's November 2025 guide says entries expire after 3 years and cannot be renewed, although a model or variant that is still eligible can be entered again with a new entry number.

A vehicle entering through a RAW also needs an approved Model Report that covers it, and the Department says to ensure the vehicle meets the specification of the vehicle the Model Report covers. A condition of the approval is that the vehicle is modified in accordance with the approved Model Report and that the vehicle or its modifications are verified by an authorised vehicle verifier (AVV). The AVV enters the vehicle on the RAV once satisfied that a RAW has modified it in accordance with the Model Report. The Department says all vehicles must be entered on the RAV before they can be presented for state or territory registration.

To be entered on the SEVS Register, a model or variant must meet the conditions in section 129 of the Rules. They include having first been made available in an overseas market at least 3 months ago and meeting one of six criteria: performance, environmental, mobility, left-hand drive, campervans and motorhomes, or rarity. The Department's page also sets out cases where a vehicle that was sold as new in Australia can still be entered, for example when it is no longer genuinely available to consumers in Australia as a new vehicle.

The performance criterion needs a power-to-weight ratio above 110 kW per tonne for vehicles originally manufactured before 1 January 2020, and above 130 kW per tonne for those originally manufactured on or after that date. Section 130 of the Rules lets a variant manufactured across that date keep the 110 kW per tonne threshold for its vehicles made on or after 1 January 2020. The Department's guide says the mass used is the tare mass.

The Department's guide says a vehicle that has demonstrated its emissions performance against only the Japan 09, Japan 2018 and Japan 2018 low emission standards for light passenger vehicles will not be accepted as meeting the environmental criterion. The guide gives the reason that those standards have lesser durability requirements, including an endurance test of only half the driven distance.

Personal effects

A vehicle that is part of a person's personal effects can be approved when the applicant meets all of the Department's criteria. The criteria in the Department's personal-effects overview include the following.

• The applicant owns the vehicle when applying, and became its owner while living overseas.
• The applicant owned the vehicle continuously for at least 12 months immediately before first arriving in Australia with the intention to remain indefinitely.
• The applicant has not previously been granted a personal effects import approval, or more than 5 years have passed since the last one.
• The application is submitted within 6 months of the applicant's first arrival in Australia.
• Continuous ownership must be shown by the vehicle being available for use on a public road in the overseas country where the applicant was residing permanently, and regularly used by the applicant. The Department's example says a car that was bought and kept garaged, or whose odometer shows minimal use, does not meet the requirement.
• The applicant must show they are entitled to remain in Australia indefinitely: as an Australian citizen, by applying to become a permanent resident, by having or applying for a visa that allows them to remain indefinitely, or by holding a visa that will allow them to apply to become a permanent resident.

Applying and timing

The Department of Infrastructure says all concessional applications are submitted through ROVER, its online applications and approvals portal, and that an applicant or agent must first create a ROVER user account. The Single Road Vehicle application option starts a concessional RAV approval application. An agent acting for an applicant must obtain an authority to act and upload documentation, for example a signed letter, stating that the agent is authorised.

The Department's ROVER identity document guide says an application for a ROVER account needs a minimum of 100 points of identification, including at least one primary document. It asks applicants to allow up to 5 business days for the documents to be checked.

Section 44 of the Rules requires the Minister to decide a concessional RAV entry approval application within 30 business days after receiving it. Days between a request for information, or an inspection, and the applicant's response are not counted. The Department's May 2025 guide says the time to decide is paused until the requested information is supplied or the inspection is completed.

Two other timing statements exist. The Department's page on importing a road vehicle says it may take up to 60 business days for an application to be assessed and decided, and ABF says a completed application will generally be assessed within 30 working days of receipt.

The Department's older-vehicle article says it can take up to 48 hours after approval before the vehicle appears on the RAV, and advises checking the RAV before presenting the vehicle to the registration authority. It also says that if a vehicle has no VIN, the Department issues one during the approval process, and that the VIN must be permanently marked on or affixed to an integral part of the vehicle in line with the registration authority's requirements.

Government fees

The Department's fee table (May 2023) lists these application fees and charges, in Australian dollars.

• Older-vehicle application: AUD 35.
• Personal-effects application: AUD 50.
• Application for a vehicle to be modified by the holder of a RAW approval: AUD 95. The Department's RAW overview says the RAV entry charge for this route is paid by the AVV, and gives AUD 109 for a passenger vehicle as an example.
• RAV entry charge for concessional approvals other than vehicles modified by a RAW: AUD 7.20 for a passenger vehicle and AUD 5.25 for a goods vehicle.

Other costs ABF lists

ABF tells importers to consider pre-shipment costs such as removing asbestos and steam cleaning for biosecurity, freight and insurance, customs duties, GST and LCT, storage and delivery charges, logistics service provider charges, customs brokers' charges, import processing charges, wharf and transport charges, and the cost of meeting state or territory registration and insurance requirements.

What ABF requires

ABF says the asbestos import prohibition applies to all vehicles of any type, age or value, and that tolerance levels for asbestos set by other countries will not be accepted at the Australian border. When ABF identifies an imported vehicle as at risk of containing asbestos, the owner is required to provide sufficient assurance that the vehicle, including all parts and components, does not contain asbestos.

Testing before shipment is the preferred option, ABF says, but the assurance process can include evidence of manufacturing specifications showing that no asbestos was used in parts and components, whether original or after-market. A direction to sample and test a vehicle at the border occurs when ABF judges the assurance inadequate.

The most common vehicle parts found to contain asbestos at the border are brakes and gaskets in locations designed to resist heat, according to ABF. Its list of other parts of risk includes insulation, bonnet liners, brake pads and shoes, valve rings, seals, clutch linings, gaskets and heat shields.

Testing evidence and penalties

ABF accepts only accredited laboratory testing using a recognised method of scientific microscopy, and does not accept reports from portable devices such as digital analysers. For testing done overseas, certification must come from a laboratory accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), or by an equivalent authority that is a signatory to a Mutual Recognition Arrangement with NATA. The certification must show that the samples tested were drawn from the actual shipment of goods.

The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says goods found to unlawfully contain asbestos at the border are seized as a prohibited import and forfeited for disposal, and that sampling and testing directed at the border is at the goods owner's expense. ABF says a person convicted of an offence under section 233BAA of the Customs Act 1901 is punishable by a maximum fine of 1000 penalty units and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years.

The Agency also says that importing a classic car containing asbestos parts for display at vehicle shows does not meet the permissible purpose of display and will not be considered for import permission.

Brown marmorated stink bug season

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry applies seasonal measures for brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) to targeted goods shipped from target risk countries between 1 September and 30 April (inclusive), and to vessels that berth, load or tranship from those countries in the same period. Its page lists Japan as a target risk country for heightened vessel surveillance only. It also lists Japan as an emerging risk country, and says random inspections apply to goods shipped from Japan between 1 September and 30 April (inclusive).

Heightened vessel surveillance applies to roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels that have berthed, loaded or transhipped from the listed countries between 1 September and 30 June. Those vessels are subject to a mandatory seasonal pest inspection on arrival in Australian territory. The Department says this applies to the vessels themselves and not to goods on the vessel.

The Department says the shipped on board date shown on the Ocean Bill of Lading is the date used to determine when goods have been shipped, and that gate-in dates and times are not accepted.

Customs duty

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) fact sheet on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), last updated in August 2018, says the five per cent tariff on Japanese passenger and goods motor vehicles is being removed. DFAT's guide says only goods that originate in Australia or Japan are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under JAEPA, and that goods seeking it must be accompanied by appropriate origin documentation.

DFAT says origin can be shown by a Certificate of Origin from an organisation authorised by the Australian or Japanese Governments, or by an Origin Certification Document completed by an importer, exporter or producer. It says an Origin Certification Document may be in any format but must include information under five headings, which JAEPA Annex 3 sets out.

The listed rate differs by line. In ABF's current Chapter 87 tariff table, line 8703.23.11 (used or secondhand passenger motor vehicles of 1,500 to 3,000 cm3) lists 5%, while line 8703.22.11 (used or second-hand vehicles of 1,000 to 1,500 cm3) lists Free. The table's notes say that, unless indicated in the relevant Schedule, rates for originating goods under a free trade agreement are Free.

Item 36 of Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff lists vehicles aged 30 years or more at a duty rate of Free. The item covers passenger motor vehicles, and utilities or pick-ups with a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3.5 tonnes that are classified under subheadings 8704.21.10, 8704.31.10, 8704.41.10 or 8704.51.10.

ABF's vehicle valuation fact sheet says the transaction value method uses the price actually paid or payable for the vehicle. It converts the purchase price to Australian dollars at the official rate of exchange on the date of export of the vehicle from the place of export.

GST

ABF says GST is payable on imported goods unless an exemption applies, and that the rate on a taxable importation is 10% of the value of the taxable importation. It says that value is the sum of the customs value, any duty payable, the amount paid or payable to transport the goods to Australia and insure them for that transport, and any wine equalisation tax payable.

Luxury car tax

ABF says all imports of luxury cars are liable for LCT when their GST-inclusive value exceeds the LCT threshold, and that LCT is paid in addition to GST. Australian Customs Notice 2026/19 sets the thresholds from 1 July 2026 at AUD 80,809 for other vehicles and AUD 91,661 for fuel-efficient vehicles. The notice gives the 2025-26 figures as AUD 80,567 and AUD 91,387.

From 1 July 2025, ABF generally uses a fuel-consumption limit of 3.5 litres per 100 kilometres for the fuel-efficient LCT threshold. The former 7-litre definition remains available where, before that date, the car was supplied or imported and used in Australia for a purpose other than one permitting an LCT quote. Confirm whether this transition provision applies to the car.

Section 7-15 of the Luxury Car Tax Act 1999 builds the LCT value from the customs value, international transport and insurance not already included, customs duty payable and GST payable. Section 25-1 excludes some vehicles from the definition of a luxury car, including a commercial vehicle that is not designed for the principal purpose of carrying passengers, and a motor home or campervan.

Section 7-10(3)(c) of the Act takes a car out of LCT on importation when it is covered by item 10, 11, 15, 18, 21 or 24 in Schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff. Item 36, the 30-year vehicle item, is not on that list, so age alone does not remove a car from LCT under that paragraph.

Border charges

ABF lists an import processing charge of AUD 50 for an electronic import declaration with a consignment value above AUD 1,000 and below AUD 10,000, and AUD 152 for a value of AUD 10,000 or more. Australian Customs Notice 2026/23 sets the biosecurity cost recovery charge on a sea Full Import Declaration at AUD 71 from 1 July 2026. The notice says it applies only to imported goods with a customs value over AUD 1,000.