Importing a car from Japan to Australia: the 25-year rule, the costs and what stops cars at the border

You need an import approval before a car leaves Japan for Australia. For many private buyers, as we read the department's guidance, that means the "older vehicle" pathway: the car must have been built more than 25 years ago, and any significant modifications must be more than 25 years old too. Some younger Japanese models on the Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles (SEVs) Register can come in another way, through a Registered Automotive Workshop.

Once approved, a car from Japan pays no customs duty if it qualifies as Japanese-originating, then 10% GST, and luxury car tax if it's valuable enough. As we read the rules, the things that hold cars up are often ones a listing doesn't show: modifications nobody can date, asbestos in parts, and dirt underneath.

Which cars can come in

• No approval, no shipping. The Australian Border Force says not to arrange transport until you hold an import approval. Importing a road vehicle without one is an offence, and a car that arrives early can face storage charges, or be exported or destroyed at your cost.
• Older vehicles: built more than 25 years ago. Approval comes through a concessional Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV) entry, applied for in the department's ROVER portal. An approved application is also your permission to import.
• Significant modifications reset the clock. Body, chassis, drivetrain, braking or steering changes count. If they were made in the last 25 years, the car isn't an "older vehicle" any more. It may be importable as a significantly modified vehicle, but those aren't added to the RAV and aren't eligible for general registration.
• Younger cars: some models are on the SEVs Register and can be imported for a Registered Automotive Workshop to modify to Australian standards.
• Right-hand drive. Japanese-market cars are already right-hand drive. Your state or territory still decides whether to register the car, so check its rules before you start.

Proving the age, and the modifications

The department says a build date usually has a month and a year, and lists evidence such as the original sales document, a deregistration certificate (in some countries), and a photo of the chassis number or plate from the country the car was first registered in. For a car leaving Japan, we'd expect that to be the export certificate issued when the Japanese registration is cancelled for export.

Modifications are where Japanese cars get complicated. Our founder has been modifying cars since 18 and has owned an R33 Skyline GT-R, a 180SX and two Civics, several of them cars of the age this rule is about. For the older vehicle pathway, you need to show what each significant modification is, when it was done, and photos of it.

We photograph what's fitted to a car, clearly and in place. We don't judge whether parts are genuine, legal or when they were fitted. The dates have to come from the seller's records, and that's worth asking for before you buy.

What it costs

Item	How much	Notes
Customs duty	Free for Japanese-originating cars	The general rate for used passenger cars is 5%. Free under the Japan–Australia agreement if the car qualifies as Japanese-originating and your broker can support it
GST	10%	Of the value of the taxable importation, which includes duty, and international transport and insurance
Luxury car tax	33% of the amount over the threshold	Threshold for 2026–27: A$80,809 (A$91,661 for fuel-efficient vehicles), on the GST-inclusive value
Import approval	Application fee	Paid in ROVER. Applications are assessed within 30 business days
Asbestos testing, cleaning, inspection	Your cost	Any testing at the border and the biosecurity inspection are charged to you
Freight, broker, wharf, storage, registration	Quoted separately

A rough example. For every ¥1,000,000 of customs value (about A$9,110 on 1 October 2026), GST comes to about ¥100,000 (about A$910) on a Japanese-originating car, plus GST on the freight and insurance. At the general 5% duty rate, duty and GST together would be about ¥155,000 (about A$1,410). These are estimates at the European Central Bank's reference rate of 1 October 2026 (A$1 = about ¥110). The ABF sends you an Outstanding Payment Advice with the real amounts.

The steps, in order

1. Before you pay for the car: collect the build date evidence and the modification history, and check your state or territory's registration rules.
2. Create a ROVER account and verify your identity (100 points of ID). The department says this can take a couple of weeks.
3. Apply for the concessional RAV entry approval and pay the fee. Assessment takes up to 30 business days.
4. Get asbestos assurance and clean the car before it ships. Australia prohibits asbestos imports, and the ABF expects the car to be clean inside and out.
5. Check the air conditioning gas. A car with air conditioning may need a licence for the refrigerant it contains, so find out the type and quantity.
6. Ship, lodge the import declaration and pay duty, GST and any LCT.
7. Biosecurity inspection on arrival. You arrange it with the agriculture department's regional office at the port, and you pay for it.
8. Register it in your state or territory, once the car appears on the RAV (up to 48 hours after approval).

Where Japanese imports get stuck

Asbestos. If the ABF judges a car to be at risk, it requires assurance that parts don't contain asbestos. Without it, the car is held for sampling and testing at your expense. Ask your shipper before you buy how they handle asbestos assurance.

Dirt and plant material. The car must arrive clean, inside and out. Soil collects in the wheel arches and on the underside, places dealers' photos rarely show.

Undated modifications. A body, chassis, drivetrain, brake or steering change made in the last 25 years turns an "older vehicle" into a "significantly modified" one. Know what's on the car before the application, not after.

Rust you didn't see. Our founder, who works in paintless dent repair and detailing, puts the underside and the strut tops well ahead of the outside panels on a used car from Japan. More on that in what dealer photos miss.

What this page can't tell you

• Whether your application will be approved. The department decides, and your state or territory decides on registration.
• Whether a car contains asbestos. That needs proper testing, which we don't do.
• When a modification was made, or whether a part is genuine. We record what we see; we don't judge parts.
• The car's full underside. We don't lift cars, so we photograph what can be seen from ground level.
• Legal or customs advice. This is a plain summary of the official guidance, checked on the date below.

The paperwork is done from Australia. What's actually on the car is only visible in Japan. Send us the listing and tell us what you need recorded: the modified parts, the arches, the sills, the strut tops, the underside. We can go and photograph what can be seen without lifting the car or removing anything, and tell you what we couldn't see. See how a viewing works.

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What to ask the seller before you buy

• The first registration month from the Japanese papers, and anything showing the build month
• A list of modifications, with dates and receipts where they exist
• Close photos of each modified part, in place
• The inner wheel arches and the underside from ground level at each corner, in daylight
• Whether the car will be cleaned underneath, and how asbestos assurance will be handled, before it ships

This page covers only the Australian end. Choosing a seller, checking the car, paying and shipping work the same for every country: see the five stages of importing a car from Japan.

Written by Yoshiaki Sagara, a paintless dent repair and detailing technician in Japan. He looks at cars for overseas buyers through Ninja Desk Japan. About us

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