Will foreigners get a CDP in Australia?
 

Mates,

some time ago (1992) I was astonished how straight forward it was to buy a vehicle and get it registered (as s foreigner) in Australia.

I arrived to Sydney, got a Saturday newspaper with all the classifieds, chose a nice car, paid, got new papers at the RTA and took off. This was all manageable in one day only.

Now I again have plans to get a vehicle, ideally a nice old motorcycle, but this time take it to Indonesia (Dili) and even further, hence my question.

Is is possible as a foreigner not just to locally register a vehicle but also to get a CDP? I assume it is more tricky as one will need a bank account and local address, etc...

Any advice is highly appreciated.

Cheers,
Wauschi

P.S.:
Back then, without internet, everything was managed by talking to the great locals sharing some VB at the local hotel. Why am I missing the good old days if typing into the computer is so convenient?

The 'good old days' had face to face social contact. Now 'we' have social media .. and no 'real' personal interaction.

But information is much easier to come by, but you need to filter out the rubbish.

So CDP... you will need to join the local motoring 'club' NRMA for NSW. Then apply for the CDP ... see Carnet (Vehicle Identification) ... $400 fee + deposit/insurance/security .. it is not cheap. Particularly for Iran where the deposit would be some 470% of the value of the vehicle! How much it will be depends on where your going and the value of the vehicle.

No requirement for you to be an Australian citizen... so that bit is easy enough.

---------------------
Personally I am swinging to the buy locally and sell then repeat, rather than the shipping + CDP + stuff.

Buying a car in NSW is slightly more complex than it used to be as you may need a verified address - still relatively easy to arrange - and liability insurance is obtained prior to registration. Pink slip roadworthy also probably needs to be provided by the seller.
But yes, still no problem owning a car in Australia

Thank you for the quick response!

400.- NRMA fee hurts. The plan is to get an old vehicle in the range of 1k (so this is 40% of what it's worth).

Back than the insurance came with the vehicle (a sticker on the windscreen). I didn't have to worry about additional upfront insurance. (I found additional details on SLI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicl...ance#Australia) I think this can be sorted out when I get there.

However, all seems very doable.
The next step would be to find a motorcycle enthusiast just like me to help me with a local address and find a cheap bike.

How does one get the address verified?

Thank you so much.
Wauschi

Personally I'd buy a vehicle in a State that does not require an annual roadworthy inspection to register - QLD and Vic on the East coast. You can renew rego via the Internet so don't have to return to NSW for re registration. A condition of the CDP is that the vehicle has to be registered.


Any of the motoring clubs will issue a CDP via the AAA.


Verified address is usually something along the lines of a rental receipt/hotel bill, plus photo ID (passport and driver's licence), Australian bank account.


Double check on the conditions of the CDP as some countries require that you and the vehicle return to the issuing country for the carnet to be finalised and to get the bond released.

Roger, thank you for your feedback!

I couldn't find a list of states not asking for roadworthy inspection to register. I am aware of the situation in QLD, VIC, NSW but how about the other states SA, NT, TAS and WA in particular?

I recall not being able to rent a ridiculous VHS cassette back then. I had Driving Licence, Passport, Bank Account, Vehicle Papers none of them proved my address. They asked for a paid gas or electricity bill to verify my address, which I couldn't provide back then. I ended up going to the cinema. Sure this can be managed with the help of a friend but for sure not straight forward in one day.

Cheers,
Wauschi

Western Australia is relatively cooperative. There the registration AND liability insurance IS in the one package unlike NSW where you first have to get a roadworthy then pay for the liability insurance then get it registered.
Neither states have windscreen stickers now.

Western Australia - just need a verifiable address - as it their computer system needs to be able to find it on the database. Don't know for sure but I'm told you can just get any address out of the phone book with your name c/o ... but would be more sensible to use a hostel or caravan park. The postal address can be different and interstate. No annual roadworthy required and it can be renewed on line as well. The only wrinkle they have is for vehicles under 4.5 tonne there must be an immobiliser fitted so if it is particularly old you need to check that because they aren't cheap to add.
Obviously you won't have the renewal paperwork the next year unless you have access to your postal address, but at the right time you can give them a call and explain you are away and could they give you the reference number for payment on-line. Don't know about the other states as my vehicles are registered in NSW and Western Australia.

If you do this in WA you could probably find a kind HUBB member to lend you his address. No, not me because I live in NSW. In Tasmania when I needed to sort out a drivers license, I paid a friend $1 to rent a tiny bit of her land for 12 months (we were camped on it at the time) and she gave me a rent receipt. That was accepted by the Roads department as proof of address. Receipt from a hostel may also be enough for NSW, but they are generally a bigger pain in the a... than the other states

Apparently to finalize the carnet, some carnet issuers will accept a certificate of location from a country of final destination provided that country isn't a carnet country. Maybe filled out by police or customs.

Tony, Roger, do you know the itchy feeling you get when you try to figure out a new adventure and suddenly all falls into place, everything seems to fit, the tour turns out to be very possible and nothing is in the way to get started?

I am very happy with the information you helped me with.

Thank you.
Wauschi

I just came from WA, as a foreigner. It's easy to buy and register a vehicle there. The immobiliser is a requirement, but I didn't have one on my ute... And the only time you'll need a roadworthiness certificate is if you get pulled by the police and they find something they don't like.
I used the address of the flat I was in, but any address will do.

I'm intending to do the same as you with the carnet next year, so thanks for asking the question!

In NSW
 

Forget getting opinions. Contact Roads and Maritime for the correct advice. The police here have number plate scanning in all HWP police vehicles. If there is anything at all dodgy you will get pulled off the road and the vehicle impounded. So do it by the book.
As for registering in another state and driving interstate, you have 3 months to change the registration from the first state you were in to the new state. This will also be flagged by the scanner. So its not quite so simple. For a permanent address its also more strict. Hotels and hostels won't cut it anymore. Ask RMS.