31 How should I go about importing a bike to Australia?
Description
This article is from the Australia Motorcycles FAQ, by Cameron Simpson cs@zip.com.au with numerous contributions by others.
31 How should I go about importing a bike to Australia?
From Roy Armstrong <roy@mlb.dmt.csiro.au> Thu Apr 13
22:10:22 1995:
We recently imported two bikes from the USA after a 7 week
holiday there. There are many avenues open to importing
bikes into Aus. The first and most IMPORTANT step is to
contact the:
Department of Transport
GPO Box 1553
Canberra
ACT 2601
Fax: +61 6 274 6013
Tel: +61 6 274 7506
+61 6 274 7111
If you contact them first you should have no problems
importing bikes into Aus. You may even find that they will
not have to comply with Australian Design Rules (ADR).
The Federal Office of Road Safety will send you the
information that you need about importing bikes to Aus.
There are a number of different classifications that a
bike may fall into. Approval can take up to 3 weeks and
costs $50.00 per application. You can put more than one
bike on an application. With the info you get from
Canberra there is also a list of people who can issue ADR
plates in different states. This may solve any problems
but as with all services you will have to pay someone
something. Once you get the bike imported you then have
to sort out registration in your state. Below is an
extract of relevant information from the booklet that the
Federal Office of Road Safety will send out.
The Motor Vehicle Standards Act
The Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989, which came into
effect on 1 August 1989, makes it an offence to import a
new or secondhand vehicle unless:
* it meets the safety and emissions standards applying
to vehicles to be used on Australian roads (the ADRs)
and has a valid Australian compliance plate fitted;
or
* arrangements are in place, by way of written
agreement, for an organisation holding Compliance
Plate Approval from the Federal Office of Road Safety
to modify the vehicle to meet the ADRs and to fit a
compliance plate, after its arrival in Australia
The importer will require a Vehicle Import Approval from
the Federal Office of Road Safety to obtain clearance at
the port of entry. The vehicle cannot be given into your
possession without this approval and any delays may prove
costly.
Import approval will be granted if the above two
requirements are met. Import approval will also be granted
if:
* you obtained a letter of compliance from the
manufacture
or
* you have owned and used the vehicle overseas for a
continuous period of not less than three months, you
are of driving age and are an Australian citizen or
migrant holding permanent residency in Australia
or
* the vehicle was manufactured before January 1974 (for
vehicles other than motorcycles small trailers,
trucks and buses), or 1 July 1975 (for motorcycles),
or 1 July 1988 (for small trailers less than 4.5
tonnes ladden weight). These will be known as
`specified dates' for the remainder of this brochure.
Before importing a vehicle it is essential that you ensure
it will be allowed into Australia. Otherwise you may have
to export or scrap the vehicle, or be penalised with a
fine of up to $12 000. Potential importers should check
with the Australian Customs Service for requirements
relating to tariffs and quarantine.
EXEMPTIONS
There are vehicles such as agricultural and earthmoving
equipment, competition, display, farm and evaluation
vehicles which are not subject to the Motor Vehicle
Standards Act. Contact the Federal Office of Road Safety
for further advise on these vehicles as an import approval
may still be required to gain clearance at the port of
entry.
REGISTRATION
These guidelines relate to the import of vehicles before
first registration. If some of these requirements are not
met at the time of importation, then they must be met
before registration. A vehicle must also meet the
registering authority's requirements for registration,
such as roadworthiness.
NOTE: Not mentioned in the main text of the book but on
the Application for Vehicle Import Approval:
APPLICATION FOR VEHICLE IMPORT APPROVAL
Part 4 - Date of manufacture
Was the vehicle manufactured:
* 15 or more years ago? or
* before 30/6/88 for trailers under 4.5t ATM?
| Y | | N |
Go to Part 10 Go to Part 5
This means that if your motorcycle is 15 or more years old
then it may not be required to have an ADR to obtain an
Import Approval.
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