Bridging Import Scheme Streeeeeetched until June 2023

Latest News 4 April 2022 – the 12 month extension detailed below also applies to the old SEVS.

The Govt. has made an absolute mess of the transition from the old to new import scheme (SEVS), to the point where compliance for many popular import models ran out in Oct 2021 and is still not available at the end of March 2022 !

A 12 month “Interim scheme” was intended to bridge the gap between old and new SEVS and started operating in 2020.

Due to the extended delays by the Govt., the new scheme is still virtually unusable and a 12 month extension to the Interim scheme was passed by the Senate today, pushing this option out to June 2023.

Will it help the current limited compliance situation ?

Probably not a lot.

The problem is, the Interim approved model list of almost 100 models contains only a handful of the popular mainstream models that are really viable to import such as the Nissan Leaf e+, Toyota Estima hybrid, Prius PHEV, Mazda 3 (Axela) hybrid, Honda Vezel hybrid, Fit hybrid and Mercedes S400 hybrid. Since these are popular models, compliance under the new SEVS is either available already (Estima hybrid) or just a few weeks away.

For models not yet on the Interim list a request for addition would have to be submitted to and approved by the Govt. AND compliance approved before this option could be used, ie. months of paperwork and extra costs. Given that compliance will probably be available under new SEVS for all these cars well before then anyway, there seems little point spending the time and money required.

That leaves us all still waiting for new SEVS to get properly underway, which is likely to take at least the next few months.

Instead of extending the Interim scheme, the Govt. simply needs to make the new import scheme work. After all, they’ve only been planning this now for 7 years…

Check currently approved import models and available compliance

How direct import works

Research market pricing and availability for any model

Read about the New Vehicle Import Regulations for Australia here