Which Import Approval Option should I use?
 

I'm importing my '96 Harley Sportster to Melbourne next month. I'll be living in Australia for a year and then selling the bike and moving on to other parts of the world. I'm confused about whether the "Letter of Compliance" option is the way to go or if the "Discretionary Approval" option would be better.
I'm also a bit concerned about the Australian Design Rules (ADR) requirement and the Identification Plate Approval (IPA)... I don't see many others talking about dealing with these issues... perhaps this is because they are selecting other Import Approval Options..

It will depend totally on whether or not you are eligible to import a vehicle, you might need to give us some more details - Australian nationality, how long overseas, etc. Have you done the "quiz" on the VSB10 pages?

If you are importing it to sell later, then I would not mention that anywhere. DOTARS will not like that much!

If the bike is arriving next month you may already be in trouble. DOTARS can take weeks to process the approval and you cannot import the bike at all until you have approval granted!

If you have owned it for over a year overseas and have evidence of this, then Personal Import is easiest and fastest. If not, try for a Letter of Compliance option since that model was sold in Aus. Discretionary would be a last resort as you would need to have a really good reason for it to be granted.

Be aware that with the importing hassles, registration/compliance expenses and duties/GST it may actually be a better option financially to bring it in on a carnet then export the bike again and sell it at home. Or even buy one here and sell it when you leave.

Cheers,
Brett.

Yes, very true! :oops2: