I've been looking into this and am still to talk to the RTA (still waiting on them to call me back) For those of you considering importing a Cobra to NSW Australia, one that you haven’t owned and driven whilst you’ve been living overseas for more than 12 months, these seem to be the requirements:
Before you ship your vehicle you need to obtain a ‘Vehicle Import Approval’ from the Vehicle Safety Standards Branch (VSSB) of the Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS), allow a minimum of 17 days.
Then there are the various charges for shipping, customs duty 10% < 30 years 0% > 30 years, GST 10% and possibly Luxuary Car Tax which is about 25% of the landed value of the car (including all the charges) in excess of $57009 AUD.
Theoretically it is possible to register any vehicle that was manufactured before the 1st of January 1989
BUT only if the vehicle complies with the Australian Design Rules at the time the vehicle was manufactured. A statement from the manufacturer stateing that the vehicle was originally built and complies to Australian specifications relevant at the time of manufacture is a mandatory requirement.
Without seeking proffessional advice it seems to me that apart from the Road Vehicle Certification Scheme which is aimed at commercial enterprises, (Backdraft is listed but not approved) it seems to me that Conditional registration seems the only legal way to drive an imported car on NSW roads.
A car can be conditionally registered and driven on NSW roads even in LHD if older than 30 years. The headlights need to dip down or down and to the left and you need flat external mirrors that give a clear view to following and overtaking vehicles
. Depending on how you interpret the RTA’s forms and which one has precedence it may be (conditional registration form) or it may not be (Left hand drive form) necessary to display a left hand drive sign on the rear of the vehicle. You can get a copy of the publication here:
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registrati...vsi40_rev1.pdf
The manufactured date, which is the date that the car was first registered, must be older than 30 years. NB It doesn't matter what it is titled as, you have to produce documentary evidence of the car being registered a minimum of 30 years ago. Applications must be accompanied by a Historic Vehicle Declaration form (RTA 1259) and signed by a club official stating they are a financial member of an RTA recognised historic vehicle club. Vehicles can only be used for authorised club events or for servicing or inspection. You can get one here:
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/publicatio...s/45070967.pdf
.
You need to join an RTA recognized historic vehicle club. For a club to be recognized they need to contact the Historic Vehicle Coordinator, Driver and Vehicle administration at Grafton on (02) 6604 9391. This is the number I rang to ask about the requirements for the club to be recognized and I'm still waiting.
Don't take this as gospel as it's only what I've read and interpreted from the various government web sites regarding NSW requirements. If you know a better way please let me know.
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