Thinking of temp import into Australia?
 

Read this first...

Australia 2010.

Ch

I've self imported two campervans in last 5 years, and a lot of used parts as well.

Generally a steam clean of the underside is the best way to go - removes dirt, oils, etc. Last country visited will indicate severity of inspection. I imported ex Germany and had a cursory lookover by the inspector, ex UK and he was all over it because foot and mouth is considered to be endemic in the UK - the fact that Thailand and most of SE ASIA and Africa have it is overlooked. He insisted on another steam clean at my expense.

Good quality vacuum of the interior making sure all the nooks and crannies get a good suck. Areas that the AQIS inspectors look long and hard are things like door rubbers, water tanks, windscreen washer tanks, non tinned foods, chemical toilets (are ok as long as they are full of chemicals and not human waste).

Put bug killers in the cab and living area, make sure they are prominent.

A local importer showed me an inspected vehicle a few years ago when I wanted to self import - he had the front wings off and leaves, pine needles and a host of insects were on the floor waiting for a dose of insecticide. Its by no means a 100% inspection process and in reality if its not 100% it should be scrapped as being a waste of time and money. The AQIS rules (for vehicles) are more about making it very hard for small quantity vehicle importers and very easy for large volume importers and local manufacturers who the Government has given $billions to in the past 30 years.

"As new" gets used with stroppy owners who argue that dirt on the tyres came from the mud the wharfie just drove through!!

Since the fumigation/cleaning was privatised I've always felt uncomfortable that it is too easy for AQIS officers to be paid to fail vehicles and receive some sort of kickback from the cleaning companies.

As for the foreign registered vehicle permit - thats total bull. Just another grab by the QLD government for money. Australia is a signatory to the 1949 convention on road vehicle movements and the only thing they can insist on for a vehicle under carnet is the "minimum legal insurance required". With the now superceded "import approval" scheme then the overseas vehicle permits applied.

think I will hire a bike to do aus leg of my round the world and ship my landi and mt 350 to canada. this gives me more money and less hassle.

O well plans change and routes develope. all I have to worry about is fun

I have imported once temp and once permanent , into Fremantle (WA) , it does not matter howmuch you clean your vehicle they will get youto have it cleaned , as they need a quarantine clean certificate to be issued, and the company who do this will only issue if they have cleaned it (surprise surprise) . IIRC the landy 110 was $150 , cant remember the unimog price.
They dont rush , took 3 days, before I could collect. Dont complain if its not a particularly good job (my landy was still dirty on the inside of the chassis rails) :oops2: just get the cert and go. Dont get into any arguments with Ozzie authrities as they get really awkward if you question their authority at all, also dont mention cricket if we have just beaten them :rofl:

Agent
 

We used an agent and just paid the bill! It's a hassle free, but expensive way of doing it. But we had a secret plan .....

I ended up coming into Oz on a work (457) visa .... and you can claim back all your expenses -well you get about 40% of them back, which makes it easier to swallow.

we shipped from India, flew to Thailand for Christmas, and claimed all the expenses for the flights, shipping etc ... well worth it if you do end up stopping and working.

IIRC (just figured that acronym out) it was about £3000 all in for shipping both ways, the agent fees and clean. Bearing in mind that with the dire exchange rate that is actually cheaper than it sounds (ie 3 years ago it may have been £2000!!!) ...

Just a thought ...

Ps
 

PS

For New South Wales

Once you get there there is a conundrum with insurance.

Basically it is impossible to get insurance if you are not correctly registered in the UK (if you are you don't actually need insurance), but current advice from DVLA is that you must export your vehicle - which of course means you are not legal in the UK.

I have spoken with Paul Gowen from the RAC and NSW police, and this is a cul de sac that no one knows the way out of. Currently we are driving round incognito (in a pimped up landie with UK plates!!).....

I still think if you followed my original advice ie re-register it in the UK then immediately SORN it you'd be OK.

You are supposed to notify dvla if going for more than 12months, if you dont " intend" to be more than 12 months then no need to tell them , if you get delayed :innocent: ? .
Mine was delayed by 11 years, just took it for mot, and took V5 ,ins cert and relicenced it no probs . Its been made a little more difficult as you need to declare sorn now, was not in force when I left , but you can do that online anyway, and you are not telling any lies as it is not being taken on the road in UK .
One amusing thing when I licenced my 110 in Oz , they took my old licence plates, could not make them understand that you can get them from Halfords. :confused1: You should also surrender your OZ plates when leaving, otherwise they can fine you if you go back :innocent:.