Short answer: an Australian import bill has three parts that are each charged on a different value: customs duty on the price you paid, 10% GST on a bigger number that also includes your freight and insurance, and — only on expensive cars — 33% Luxury Car Tax on the GST-inclusive value above a threshold. Age doesn’t exempt a car from any of these. Two worked examples below show a car that stays under the Luxury Car Tax threshold and one that doesn’t.
Customs duty is charged on the price paid, not on freight
Australia’s customs value is essentially the price actually paid for the car, converted to Australian dollars. International freight and insurance are not part of it.
The rate depends on where the car was made. The Customs Tariff lists a 5% general rate for used passenger vehicles in most engine sizes (it is free for used petrol cars of 1,000–1,500 cc and used diesels up to 1,500 cc). But Schedule 11 of the Customs Tariff Act covers “Japanese originating goods” and sets every rate to Free except a short list of items — alcohol, some textiles and a few others — that does not include motor vehicles. So a car that originates in Japan enters duty-free under the Japan–Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA).
The condition is the origin. Only goods that originate in Japan qualify, and the importer needs origin documentation. A Japanese-brand car assembled in Thailand, for example, does not qualify and pays the general rate. Our calculator defaults to 0% for a Japan-built car and lets you switch to 5% to see the difference.
GST is charged on a bigger base
GST is 10% of the “value of the taxable importation”: the customs value plus any duty plus international freight and insurance. This is the number most simple calculators get wrong, because they take 10% of the price alone and understate GST by the tax on your shipping.
Luxury Car Tax: only above the threshold
Luxury Car Tax (LCT) is 33%, paid on top of GST, on the part of the GST-inclusive value that is above a threshold. From 1 July 2026 the thresholds are A$80,809 for a standard vehicle and A$91,661 for a fuel-efficient one. The formula is (value − threshold) × 10/11 × 33%. Being an older or classic car does not take it out of LCT.
Worked example 1: 1997 Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear
| Price in Japan | ¥1,200,000 |
|---|---|
| Exchange rate used | ¥1 = A$0.0100 |
| Freight & insurance | A$2,200 |
| Government charges | A$270 (approval, RAV entry, ABF processing, biosecurity) |
| JAEPA 0% | General rate 5% | |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle (customs value) | A$12,000 | A$12,000 |
| Freight & insurance | A$2,200 | A$2,200 |
| Customs duty (on the price) | A$0 | A$600 |
| GST (10% of price + duty + freight) | A$1,420 | A$1,480 |
| Luxury Car Tax | A$0 | A$0 |
| Government charges | A$270 | A$270 |
| Total | A$15,890 | A$16,550 |
Worked example 2: 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec
A ¥9,800,000 car lands well above the Luxury Car Tax threshold, so LCT becomes a real line item. This uses JAEPA 0% duty and the standard threshold.
| Vehicle (customs value) | A$98,000 |
|---|---|
| Freight & insurance | A$2,200 |
| Customs duty | A$0 |
| GST (10% of A$100,200) | A$10,020 |
| Luxury Car Tax (33% above A$80,809, ÷ 11 × 10) | A$8,823 |
| Government charges | A$270 |
| Total | A$119,313 |
Run your own car through the Australia landed cost calculator to see whether you cross the threshold.
Government charges: about A$270 on a typical car
Alongside the taxes there are fixed charges, all published by the agencies involved:
| Import approval application (older vehicle, Department of Infrastructure) | about A$42 (the department’s schedules show A$35 and A$42.20) |
|---|---|
| RAV entry charge (passenger vehicle) | A$7.20 |
| Import processing charge (Australian Border Force) | A$152 for a consignment of A$10,000 or more; A$50 between A$1,000 and A$10,000 |
| Biosecurity charge (sea cargo, from 1 July 2026) | A$71 |
| Total used in our examples | about A$270 |
Cars imported through other pathways, such as the Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicle Scheme, have different approval fees and need workshop compliance, so budget separately for those.
Which cars can you import at all?
Tax is only half the question. A used car generally has to be either at least 25 years old (the older-vehicle route, counted from its manufacture date) or on the Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicle Scheme (SEVS) register, in which case it also needs workshop compliance. That is why the examples above are 1990s cars. Check eligibility for your exact vehicle before you pay a deposit.
What isn’t in the number
- Asbestos testing, which is required for older vehicles.
- Workshop compliance for SEVS-pathway cars, and state inspection and registration.
- Port, cartage and insurance charges beyond the freight line.
The rates and fees in this article were checked against the Australian Border Force Customs Tariff, ABF, ATO and Department of Infrastructure pages listed below on 27 October 2026. They change periodically — the Luxury Car Tax thresholds are indexed every 1 July — so confirm the current figures, and your car’s origin, with a customs broker before buying.