How do you register a vehicle in Australia in 2026?

When you settle in a new state, register the vehicle locally. VicRoads asks movers to book an appointment, prove a Victorian garage address, and bring identity plus vehicle details. A Victorian roadworthy certificate is often required within 30 days of the appointment, with exemptions when the car is currently registered in your name interstate and still current (or expired by less than three months), subject to ACT/Tasmania expiry rules published by VicRoads. You generally do not pay Victorian motor-vehicle duty when the car was already registered in your name elsewhere in Australia and not parked interstate to dodge duty.

Service NSW expects an application form, identity, registration entitlement, a current blue-slip inspection in many cases, old plates, and CTP insurance. Stamp-duty exemptions for same-name interstate transfers are available when you can show the prior registration and any state-specific duty evidence Revenue NSW lists. Other states run the same idea through their transport agencies. Update your residential address before the appointment: Update your address and How to rent a home.

Do not ship a car until the Department of Infrastructure issues an import approval through ROVER. Concessional personal-effects RAV entry is aimed at people who owned and used the vehicle overseas for at least 12 months and who are entitled to remain in Australia indefinitely; temporary residents and ordinary visitors are usually locked out of that permanent pathway. ABF still collects duty, GST, and possible luxury car tax unless a temporary importation (CPD carnet or security) applies for short stays. Biosecurity cleaning is mandatory. Household containers use a different B534 track and do not replace vehicle approval: Import household goods.

After federal clearance, complete state registration, CTP, and any local inspection before you drive regularly. A car changes monthly budgets outside dense transit cities: Utilities, internet, and transport and Living without a car. Wider arrival order: Paperwork after moving.