Import Regulation Changes – No News is Good News ?

We are asked on a daily basis when the vehicle import regulation changes will kick in.

New legislation has been proposed now for about 4 years !

Everyone is waiting for a refresh of the existing import regulations for Australia which are becoming somewhat stale and uninspiring – considering the reduced availability and rapidly rising costs of most of the desirable models out of Japan that are allowed for import.

Here’s the latest progress through Parliament of the Road Vehicle Standards Bill 2018:

You can monitor further progress of the Road Vehicle Standards Bill 2018 here.

From this point there could still be issues with the Bill raised in the Senate which would then have to be dealt with by amendments, causing delays.

To become law, the Bill must be passed by a majority vote in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Bill must be agreed to in identical form by both chambers, then given Royal Assent by the Governor-General.

Then 12 months AFTER that, the new regulations will come into force.

This makes the actual timeframe unpredictable, however we are hopeful that with no changes the Bill will be passed during the 13 to 23 August 2018 Senate sitting days:

That means we are looking at sometime between August and December 2019 before we can start using the new import regulations.

So, that’s where we are at !

YES, the 25 Year Rule WILL happen, opening up a range of different options, starting with 1994 models and rolling forward.

YES, secure indoor storage is available for vehicles purchased in advance, if you want to get a jump on the regulations and rising prices.

YES, significantly different variants of models sold here will become eligible for import – turbo vs non turbo etc.

Rare LHD models won’t require RHD conversion.

More hybrids and kei car options.

R35 GTR – 2007 to early 2009 models, yes probably.

We will provide further updates as news comes to hand…