Shipping bike to Australia
 

I need some advise on shipping a bike to Australia, possibly Sydney or Melbourne. Can you tell me (or give me the websites) the requirements and restrictions on shipping my bike from Vancouver.

I did ship a bike to Europe and that was a simple affair (i.e. no carnet requirement). How long can I keep a bike in OZ? Would I be required to have my bike pass an inspection in OZ? Can insurance coverage be bought prior to arriving in OZ?

Thanks

Weblookup VSB10 has the requirements for entering under a carnet - the only way if you are a tourist.


Quarantine cleaning to "as new standard". You have to be present and pay for the inspection.


Sydney is easier as you can ride out of the port without having to get inspections or permits from the State Government - other States require roadworthy inspections and "overseas registered vehicle permits".


Federal Government controls the entry of vehicles into Australia, but once in Australia the State Governments take over.


If you have a day you can do all the entry paperwork without a customs broker - get the carnet stamped by customs, get the clearance from the shipping company (pay any handling fees), get the quarantine inspection and clearance stamped, usually the customs inspection is done at the same time - push the bike to the gate and then ride off into the Sunset. Invariably the shipping company's offices will be on the opposite side of Sydney to the customs offices - so get a friend or a taxi to run you around.

Australia Registration / Insurance
 

Hey RogerM, I've got a year tourist visa to Oz, and about to bring my bike into Sydney on a carnet, the first time I've ever had to purchase a carnet. I was just looking into insurance, which apparently can't be obtained until the bike is registered. What happens in Sydney, do they not register there ? And/Or is it possible to get insurance there without needing to be registered ?

Cheers

OK I'm going to answer my own question here.

NSW does not require visiting overseas vehicles (with carnet) to register. A state CTP insurance is provided automatically, without any inspection, form filling or other form of registration.

Visiting Overseas Vehicles
Get a NSW registration - Registration - Roads - Roads and Maritime Services

But that is only for NSW. When you get to another state the rules change.

Armed with this information it maybe possible to get comprehensive cover from an insurer who understands the NSW regulations. Most insurers just say no until the bike is registered.

Hello

A few years back I had the same problem:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...nsurance-57660
#8

My advice is to avoid NSW as a entry for Australia.

sushi

We have two insurance systems in Australia, third party injury insurance which is compulsory when a vehicle is registered and vehicle insurance which covers damage to your vehicle and another person's property (comprehensive vehicle insurance) or just fire and theft to your vehicle and damage to another person's property.


It is a maze for overseas registered vehicles.


Most online insurers will accept a VIN to obtain vehicle insurance. I have a vehicle at present with comp. insurance that has never been registered.


NSW has gone out alone by allowing vehicles on carnets to use the roads without buying a permit and third party insurance. Some years ago (30 to 40) all of the States in Australia agreed to recognise each other's registration and third party insurance arrangements. So there is legislation in place that says a vehicle legally on the road in WA is legal in NSW and vice versa.


I wrote to VIC RTA and QLD dept of Transport a few years ago and posted their replies on here. And of course I don't have the time to search through my old posts.

NSW Roads and Maritime Services contact
 

Hi,

recently whilst talking to our NRMA ( a member of AAA ) about getting a carnet I was told about an email for asking more difficult questions to the RMS.
tech-enq@rms.nsw.gov.au

My question was 'how to renew registration' for my 2004 bike while it was overseas. OK, the answer was not much help: get it inspected by an approved garage that RMS trusts so that they will allow me to re-register the bike in NSW and hence extend the carnet/insurance/documentation. They couldn't however provide a list of approved garages so I'm now thinking of getting a new bike which is re-registerable for another fours years by virtue of being new.

I hope your answers are more useful
;)

Andy

Buy a QLD registered bike and just renew online. Simple.

Respond with the suggestion that the RMS could trust a garage that does similar inspections for a similar purpose in that country e.g. MOT testers in the UK. (you may also have to include a translation from the countries language to English too ..)(My personal recommendation is to take 2 copies of the last test report with you, one an exact copy, the other with the comments removed so it can be filled out and stamped by the garage of your choice.)

The problem with a new vehicle is that any carnet/insurance costs will be increased by the increased value of being 'new'.

I am trying to figure out how to bring an Indonesian Registered bike (on a carnet ) into Australia ...,

But I am an Australian citizen .., so i am not sure if that is permissible for Australian Citizens to do that or not ?

I am also not sure how long the bike can legally remain in the country for either ?

While overseas in the USA with a NSW registered bike we contacted NSW licensing to find out how to keep the bikes registration in NSW current. They told us that we would need to have it inspected by an approved inspector, and that should we find one in the States it wasn't guaranteed that NSW would even accept the inspection anyway. They basically told us that it was tough luck for us and the best way was to take the bike back to Australia to have it inspected. They refused to give us any help or details on what they wanted to see in the inspection report. Suffice to say we have been riding the bike through the Americas unlicensed for 12 months. Thanks NSW for making it harder than it needs to be.

I reregistered my NSW bike twice whilst it was in the UK. I talked to my local office before I left and they said they said an MOT inspection was fine but they would only accept it if it was emailed direct to them by the garage to prevent "doctoring". When I did this it worked fine except that the online payment system doesn't work in this case and I had to arrange afriend to go in and pau the bill.

My advice if you go this route is to make friends at your office before you go and try and get a direct email or phone number of a staff member.

Whilst all this worked last time it was a pain. For the next trip the bike will be on Queensland or Victorian rego to avoid the whole inspection issue.

Sent from my SM-A300Y using Tapatalk

Good advice from Martin (navalarchitect). Direct staff contact does help. I am not in NSW but chasing information while in NZ, a direct contact to a staff member takes stress off!

Possible? Yes.

12 months max.

Leaving UK bike in Australia whilst on Carnet
 

I have a question hopefully one you can help me with. I'm currently planning a RTW motorcycle trip starting in 2022. I'm planning on doing it in 3 stages due to seasonal work commitments. I was planning on leaving my motorcycle at my Brother's house in Manly (Sydney Australia) for 4 months, before completing the Sydney to London leg, but just discovered the Carnet de Passage does not allow for this?? Does anyone on here know of any other options that might be available to me where I can leave the motorbike for 4 months before continuing my journey??? Is the Carnet de Passage attached to your passport in Australia??
Many thanks

Where does it say you can't?
As long as the bike leaves the country within the time limit imposed by the country, the carnet is irrelevant. Where the carnet comes in is if the bike DOES NOT leave the country, then the country puts in a claim to the Carnet issuer for the funds.
The carnet is NOT on your passport.

In theory you could arrive with the bike on day 1, fly out, come back on "Country Requirement Last day possible" -1, and drive out with it immediately. No issue. UNLESS the country requires the bike to leave with you, and tracks both. I don't know of anywhere they do that - but doesn't mean someone doesn't. (Of course the Carnet must be VALID for the entire time.)
Anyone else with more info?

Conditions of use
 

It comes under the "conditions of use" section and states "The vehicle that is covered by a Carnet CPD must not remain in Australia when the owner is not in Australia".

I just understood it to mean you have to be in Australia whilst the bike is there??? Am I wrong in saying that?? Thanks

very interesting - that is clearly an Australian regulation as it specifically says Australia. And, it IS a problem. You might be tempted to sneak in and out, but that won't work because Australia stamps your passport, and they will see that you've been in and out when you return. Questions is, do they mark in your passport that you are there with a bike and a Carnet? Hmmm...
I would write, now, and ASK them if there is any flexibility on that, give them the details and see what they say. Given that it's at your Australian? brothers it may work out. Let us know what you find out!

Hello


You're not allowed to leave without the bike.
Also the bike has to be legally registered in your home country (valid plates).


sushi

I left my norwegian plated bike in Australia where it was temporary imported on a Carnet while I was away for approx 1,5 months Christmas and New Year 2015-2016. Before I did that I was in contact with the Australian Border Force and National Temporary Import and Securities enforcement and intervention dept and questioned them about this issue. According to them it was perfectly legit to leave my bike in Australia as long as I had a fair reason for that. My reason was a wish to travel home to Norway and see family and friends which I havent seen for 1,5 years during christmas and new year. That was a perfectly valid reason for them.
All I had to do was to send them an email with all the details of my bike, the details of the Carnet it was temporary imported on and the contact-person and adress in Australia where the bike should be stored while I was away. And another notification mail when I got back.

So according to Australian Border Force and Temporary Import Securities and Intervention dept - its perfectly legal to store a bike thats temporary imported on a Carnet in Australia when the owner is away if there is a legit and valid reason for that.

But - this was 5 years ago and it could of course has changed since then. I suggest you contact the above mentioned dept and question them.

Best of luck!

You need a carnet (Unfortunately this is more of a hassle and expense in Canada than many other places). You can keep the bike in Australia as long as the carnet is valid - I believe that a Canadian carnet can be extended once. There are ways to get another once after that...

You don;t need the inspection since you're not importing the bike and registering it in Australia - it does have to be legal in BC. You can get CTP on the phone - the insurers may tell you that it's not possible but it is. We found CTP from Queensland, and found (after some searching) that it covered us for all of Australia. NSW, as others note, includes CTP in fuel prices, however you'll need CTP if your bike is not registered in NSW (which it will not).

Although you can do the customs clearance yourself I suggest an agent - we used Colless Young and they are excellent.

I'd avoid NSW because of the CTP issue.

You don't need require roadworthy inspections and "overseas registered vehicle permits" since you'll be on the carnet.

We didn't need to be present for the quarantine check - in fact I don't think we'd have been allowed into the bonded area. We did a very good cleaning prior to shipping and Australian customs were happy - no cleaning required, no cost, no problem.

I'd check on the carnet conditions - we left our vehicle in Argentina to return home (visa requirements) and had no problem. In Brazil they record the vehicle TIP and link it to your passport but I don't think they do this in Australia.

AHa - you have already checked. You could look into whether you could put the bike into bond while out of the country - then it's technically not "in Australia".

PS: don;t worry about getting a toll pass - you don;t pay tolls in Australia if you're using a foreign vehicle/bike.

Thanks
 

Thanks for all the positive comments, at least I now know there is the possibility to leave the bike in Australia for a brief time. I will start making enquiries immediately just to be on the safe side. Thanks to all