Buying, licensing, tranfer of ownership, interstate travel and staying legal!

Hi Alan

Obtain an International Driver's Licence.

Contact the NSW Road Transport Authority... www.rta.nsw.gov.au

Use your sister's address as your address and point of contact.

Travelling state to state should pose no great problems apart from minor things like don't risk transporting fruit and vegetables across borders...surpriszingly large fines. Some areas a alcohol free or have restrictions, usually remote outback indigenous lands of which some require pemits to travel through.

I won't go into the issue about the various in driving styles, courtesy etc across states. NSW is one of the better ones...this is coming from a South Aussie.

Most road rules and regulations are downloadable from the various state authorities, usually either transport or police.

If you are going outback somewhere make sure you heed any warnings about fuel, water, distance, heat, rain, road closures & dangers etc.


And genrally just enjoy yourself..we do!

Cheers
Brad

You don't need any paperwork to cross borders etc and the State Registration (Road Tax and 3rd Party Insurance) will be valid for whatever it states on the label. If you want to renew it during your 12 months stay it will be easier to do that in the state of origin or purchase so your sisters address will be needed for paperwork to be sent to.
When you sell, it is the buyers responsibility to get it registered in the state they live in once the original registration expires. If you sell a NSW car in QLD it may be treated as unregistered requiring a roadworthy (MOT) certificate - reducing the value somewhat. So you are best to try and sell it in NSW if you can.
You may need permits depending on where you travel to enter Aboriginal land.
Insurance is much as per the UK - get a cover note initially and then shop around for the best rate (there are brokers here that will help if you need them).
I would suggest getting an International License before you arrive. They are cheap and avoid issues with the cops (they may even let you off the hook on occasion!)
Otherwise it should all be pretty straightforward.

Stephen

G'day Alan. Welcome to our great land (shortly). Some friends of my dad came over from ze fazerland a few years ago. They bought my Patrol and toured the country. I'm sure they used dad's address as their postal base. No prob's with rego, insurance, etc. Hell, they didn't even have a problem with crocs. And everyone knows crocs just love Germans!

As Brad said, make sure you get an International Drivers License. It would also pay to become a member of one of the state motoring associations. I think they have cross-border affiliations with each other. Someone on here will confirm if that's right.

Enjoy our land but stay safe and don't take any risks.

Louie the Fly

you only need to change regestration for the state you are in if living there for more than 3 months or working there.

keep in mind it is alot easier to sell a vehicle within the state it is registered
- its alot less hassel for the buyer

If you are on a pension check registration it may be a bit cheaper

If you are on a pension check registration it may be a bit cheaper for the van

Hi Alan
I am a NZ citizen and own a 4x4 camper in Australia
Here are some experiences I encountered.
From NZ anyway you do not need a International drivers license.
You can get what is basically a letter of Introduction from your automobile Assoc. which gets some of the cover and rights reciprocally. ie RACQ
I bought my vehicle new in Qld, research on the Internet suggested that it was cheaper to register a vehicle there.
To register a vehicle you need an Aus garage address.
If you are buying a new vehicle there is stamp duty to pay, 3%. I think it was.
3rd party Insurance is paid along with registration.
Before my new vehicle could be registered it had to be inspected for road worthiness, another cost, the guy that made the inspection thought it was ridiculous that a new vehicle needed inspection.
Got all that organised,and the papers filled in appropriately, back to finish the registration, the vehicle will need to be taken down and put over the scales, another form. Joined yet another queue, along came the Inspector, showed him the form, bloody ridiculous was the comment, he opened the door looked at the plate and entered the weight that was stamped on there onto the form, signed it and said take that back up to them.
4 hours and around $4,000.00 later finally attached the license plates.
You do not get the license label with the plates, it is posted to the Garage address, not a lot of use when you are touring, some 3 months later I attached it to the vehicle when I arrived back in Brisbane, I carried a covering note, but never had any problems.
Make sure you re register on time, this can be done on line, slip up or be late and you could have to renew the plates, more cost.
All correspondence that is posted goes to the Garage Address, It can't be sent to your home address so make sure you have a system in place so mail is forwarded on.
I found the people I encountered that were involved with inspections etc were most helpful, unfortunately I cannot say the same for the bureaucratic types sitting behind the grill at the counter, only time one of them smiled was when she smirked and said that will be $3000.00 stamp duty, then said I bet you hadn't allowed for that, and she was right too.
Registration, fuel, service costs are higher than equivalent in NZ. Incs. is on a par, vehicles were 15-20% dearer than NZ. Toyota's that I priced anyway.
Once you get away from the Big city's you will find it is all worth while, the further out you go the friendlier the locals are.
I would suggest to join the Campervan and Motorhome Cub of Australia.
Make sure you have up to date Travel / Health Insc. As far as I know Australia has only reciprocal Health and Medical cover with New Zealand and Ireland.
I hope this can be of some assistance.
Cheers
Russ

allen
stupid question but are you being picked up from the airport I live one km from tarrawanna and only to pleased, phone no 0439841474 will be pleased to answer any questions, maybe a barby and a beer cheers bill.

UK Alan,

can I make a suggestion:

join up here on ExplorOz. You will find a lot of members are prepared to help but would prefer to send personal details, like phone numbers etc, via a Member Message which, as it implies, is only available to Members instead of putting in in a Post, as above, for all and sundry to see.

As you make your way around OZ keep posting updates to the Forum and you will be surprised how many invitations you get to BBQs etc.

Check Members Trips/Gatherings under the Members tab above and you might even find yourself at St George in QLD at the end of September for a big pi$$ up.

By the way, it would help if you actually agree that Andrew Strauss DID drop that ball he claimed he caught, lying bugger.

Welcome to OZ.