Bigjohn72

Hi pal. First make sure you get import approval. Then your shipping company. Once arrived you need to get the gas pipes and regulator changed (roughly £300) then all appliances need to be certified ( roughly £600). Electrics are ok nothing to be done until you sell it. Then you have to register the caravan think it's a couple of hundred I'll check. If the caravan is pretty modern then that's all that needs changing. Hope this helps

John

Anybody importing a caravan into Queensland and needs a bit of advice send us a message. Just gone through process and now in caravan on Sunshine Coast

Hi All

 

Just another quick up date - I got the info wrong, or should I say the shippers did!! They have tried to invoice us for the caravan, however have spoken to customs who state that no, we don't pay GST and duty as it's owned for more than 12 mths and for personal use in Oz. Phew, just having a battle with the shippers now, who want payment upfront before they will release it! Make sure you fill in a form B534 Unaccompanied personal effects, from customs@gov.au otherwise they will treat it as taxable import. Hopefully collecting the van on the 27th.

@ Metoo - loving Australia, wish I'd made the move sooner. Many thanks x

That's great got a bit of a panic on when you mentioned the gst charge but all sounds good cant wait to ship the van over and get the wheels rolling. Have you joined the Aussie equivalent of caravn club or anything?

happy adventures

john

Hi yes from Southampton. We originally wanted it to go in a container, but it's too big. Both bailey and swift sell vans out here and they import using the RORO. It takes about 6 weeks and costs between 3500 - 4500 depending on the size of your van. As we have owned ours for 4 yrs we won't pay duty on it. Hope that helps

Hi Rachall. Has your van arrived yet just wandering how smooth it went with the shipping and getting it registered, we've just decided which shipping company were using and get the ball rolling.

regards john

Thanks for that, don't understand why they want braided pipes, we seem to manage ok with rubber pipes as do all bbq's, but thanks for the clarification.

I'm not sure what they want in oz for replacing the rubber and braided pipes seems like a waste of time to me

I think it will be worth it cos the equivalent van in oz is around £30000.

we toured oz a few years ago and if you stick to sealed roads you'll be fine, we went down a few corrugated roads and my fillings nearly fell out so uk vans not built for this, unfortunately some of the best camp sites are on these roads.

I have read about the gas braiding that's needs to be changed, could you please clarify what this is, as I am not sure.

Older model vans had the regulator on the gas bottle with a pipe to the caravan inlet, later vans have the regulator permanently fixed in the front locker with a braided gas pipe from here to the gas bottle, it's this bit that needs changing

Hi yes from Southampton. We originally wanted it to go in a container, but it's too big. Both bailey and swift sell vans out here and they import using the RORO. It takes about 6 weeks and costs between 3500 - 4500 depending on the size of your van. As we have owned ours for 4 yrs we won't pay duty on it. Hope that helps

Hi rachall thanks for the good advice it's helped a lot, it's good to hear other people doing the same. Hope the van has a smooth trip. Be good to know how you get on with registration. Cheers John

We are looking at this now - we have a Swift Challenger 570 (2011 model) and were going to sell before going over (it doesn't have air con at the moment)...but I hear "rumours" that the re-sale in OZ is much higher..we were "toying" with the idea of sending it over "earlier" than us and actually using it as our temporary home for the first few weeks until we settle on final area and getting a rental/buying...any idea on approximate costs for shipping? Anything else to look out for - has anyone else actually done this as a temporary accommodation option? Good to hear thoughts...if the numbers work - then it may be an option

We have got the same caravan as you and are also going to stay in the van when we get to oz to save money and try different areas. We are just looking at which shipping company to use but it will cost about £4000.

you will need to get a vehicle import approval before shipping.

when you get to oz you have to register the van ( like an m.o.t) and get number plates they charge for this but doesnt seem too bad.

ive been trying to get a definite answer from as to what alterations may need to be done to gas and electrics to comply, 13 pin plug easy to change.

if you have owned the van for 12 months or more then its classed as personal possessions and you don't pay import duty

Hey Big John We are about to import a brand new Swift van to Oz VAT free. The only thing you absolutely have to have done, is the gas braiding requires changing. The UK plugs are not required by law to be changed, but probably a good idea at some point for resale etc. As someone else has said get all the work done here, if for no other reason than warranty etc. If you have aircon in the van it will need to be degassed prior to shipping.

Hi georginaway thanks for responding , so changing the braided gas pipe is all that's required to get the caravan registered, thought I might have to alter the internal electrics and gas piping slightly. Which model are you getting we have the challenger 570 and love it.

Does anyone know what modifications need to be done to a 2011 swift caravan to meet the Aussie standards. I know the the gas and electric has to be altered but can't find out to what extent. I could do some of the modifications before its shipped. Cheers John