Importing a car from China to Australia: full landed-cost guide 2026

Importing a car from China to Australia: import approval, ChAFTA duty and right-hand drive

A road vehicle may only be imported into Australia by someone permitted to import it under the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018: the holder of a type approval covering it, a person the holder authorises in writing, or the holder of an import approval for that vehicle. Chinese-originating cars are duty-free under the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement; GST of 10% applies, and luxury car tax of 33% on the value above the threshold. Australia drives on the left, so plan on a factory right-hand-drive export version.

Policy checked: 26 October 2026. Each rule links to the Act, rules or official page it comes from. Approval, valuation and registration are decided by the Department of Infrastructure, the Australian Border Force and the state registration authority; nothing here guarantees the outcome.

Read the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018.

Who can import, and what the car must be

Section 22 of the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 makes it an offence to import a road vehicle without being permitted to (120 penalty units). You are permitted if you:

• hold a road vehicle type approval that covers the vehicle, or are authorised in writing by its holder (in practice the manufacturer or its Australian distributor); or
• hold an import approval that names the vehicle, applied for through the ROVER system before the car ships.

Steering. Under section 133 of the Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019, a left-hand-drive car qualifies for the specialist and enthusiast route only if the model was originally made in left-hand drive and is not available in right-hand drive in any market. Chinese brands that sell in Australia build right-hand-drive versions, so their Chinese domestic-market cars do not qualify. Only a factory right-hand-drive export version, ideally one covered by the maker's Australian type approval, is a practical choice.

Taxes and the landed cost

1. Customs duty: free for Chinese-originating cars. The ChAFTA implementation Act sets the duty on Chinese originating goods to Free, and its phasing schedule brought the 8703 car lines to Free from year 3. Otherwise the general rate is 5%. The car must qualify as Chinese originating, with the origin evidence the customs broker asks for.
2. GST 10% (business.gov.au).
3. Luxury car tax 33% (LCT Imposition (Customs) Act 1999, s 4) on the value above the LCT threshold, which is indexed each financial year. The two examples below fall under it.

Two right-hand-drive petrol SUVs, calculated live by the same rules engine as this site's calculator. Duty and luxury car tax are zero for these examples. The approval, broker and registration rows are estimates, not official fees.

Landed charges come to about 27–29% of CIF, or 78–87% on top of the ex-works price. These are estimates, not a binding DDP offer; the Australian Border Force's assessment prevails.

Compliance and registration

A car covered by the manufacturer's type approval is supplied with that approval behind it. Otherwise the vehicle must enter through an approved pathway and meet the applicable standards before a state or territory will register it; check which route is open for the exact model in ROVER before paying a deposit. Registration is subject to the state or territory registration authority's review; LandedCar does not guarantee it.

Shipping and customs clearance

Cars ship from southern China to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane by roll-on/roll-off or container; the calculator uses the current reference freight and insurance and adds inland delivery. The seller provides the commercial invoice, Chinese export declaration, bill of lading and the manufacturer's documents; the importer's customs broker lodges the import declaration and the origin evidence. LandedCar delivers to the port (FOB or CIF); import approval, clearance, taxes and registration are in the importer's name. The responsibility for each step must be written into the quotation and pro forma invoice, and no car should ship before the import permission is in place.

Frequently asked questions

I am moving to Australia. Can I bring my own car? The personal-effects criterion in section 39 of the Road Vehicle Standards Rules requires that you became the owner while living permanently outside Australia, owned the car for at least 12 continuous months, apply within 6 months, intend to live in Australia indefinitely and have not used this route in the last 5 years. A left-hand-drive car still faces the steering rules above.

Can I convert a Chinese left-hand-drive car? A conversion does not make it eligible to import; start from a factory right-hand-drive car.

Do electric cars pay the same? Duty and GST apply in the same way; the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles is set separately by the ATO. Run the calculator with the actual model.

Sources, checked 26 October 2026: Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 · Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019 · ROVER · ChAFTA Implementation Act 2015 · World Bank WITS: Australian tariff · LCT Imposition (Customs) Act 1999 · business.gov.au: GST. Approval, broker and registration amounts are estimates, not official fees. Rules change; the decisions of the Department of Infrastructure, the Australian Border Force and the registration authority on the actual vehicle prevail.