RORO Shipping from Australia to New Zealand
[2024 Complete Guide]
Looking to ship your vehicle from Australia to New Zealand using Roll On Roll Off (RORO) shipping? PeachT can help make your international move as easy as possible.
🙋 Introduction to NZ / AU shipping
When considering moving a car from between New Zealand and Australia there are several considerations, contained within are some key clarifications that should assist. Of course, we are here to help and discuss at any point, as well as further assist with any questions you may have.
🤷 What is the most efficient way to ship my car?
There are two main ways in which you can ship your car:
The first and most efficient is Roll On Roll Off (RORO), whereby a car is driven onto a ship specially designed to transport anything that can roll on wheels (drivable or not). Unless you drive an Australian-manufactured vehicle, your car would have originally arrived in Australia on a Roll On Roll Off (RORO) ship.
When transporting via Roll On Roll Off shipping you cannot put any personal belongings in the vehicle, however, the vehicle will be transported in the most efficient manner available.
The second and generally more expensive option is to load your vehicle into a container and secure it inside the container. This can either be done in a 20-foot or a 40-foot container (the two mainly used international shipping container sizes).
When transporting in a container, you can normally load the container with personal belongings along with the car. This can be great if moving from one country to another, as it may offset the extra cost associated with containerising a car.
⏳ How Long does it take to ship my car?
In the best case scenario with “All the stars aligning” vehicle shipping from east coast Australia to all ports in New Zealand can take 12 to 19 days, in reverse from all ports of New Zealand to Australia shipping times are between 12 to 22 days. This depends on your selected ports of loading and unloading, as well as if the ship is running directly from the loading port to the unloading port or has other “Ports of call” along its way.
There are many factors to consider when talking about transit times. The most important factor is transparency from your shipping provider of choice. Anyone can quote a favourable time frame to secure a booking, however, at PeachT we value clear and realistic communication at all times.
🚢 How often do ships sail?
Ships sail weekly from Australia to New Zealand and vice versa. Some options are faster or slower depending on the route the ship will take as well as the uncontrollable factor of delays when calling and/or leaving ports.
🌏 What routes do ships take?
Ships from Australia to New Zealand generally run directly from east coast Australia calling at west coast ports in New Zealand first and working their way around.
When ships sail from New Zealand to Australia there are options for direct sailing from New Zealand ports to Australian ports, as well as options that run via Japan which while slower overall can carry a cost-saving accordingly.
⚓ What ports do ships sail from?
The main ports of call in Australia are Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. If you are wanting to ship from other ports in Australia this is very achievable, it will normally just mean the car will be trans-shipped (change ships) at a point along its journey.
There is nothing extra you have to handle, it is all taken care of and comes with minimal extra delays or risks. This is no different to connecting flights when you go on holiday somewhere without direct flights.
🚗 Roll on Roll off (RORO) Information
Roll on Roll off (RORO) is where a vehicle is driven aboard a shipping vessel and lashed to the deck during shipment. This is the cheapest option with shipping, but you cannot put any personal belongings in the vehicle.
🛄 What's included?
- Collection of the vehicle from the Brisbane, Australia metro area
- All Australian local charges
- Export documentation
- Ocean freight
- NZ and AUS port handling charges
- Full customs and quarantine clearance
- NZ border examination charges
- Local delivery to compliance yard
💸 Other potential costs
- Cleaning and re-inspection costs if the vehicle fails the initial inspection
(Follow the information below to give your vehicle the best chance of passing its inspection) - Wharf storage or demurrage as a result of a GST exemption delay with NZ customs (only applicable if you are claiming a full tax exemption)
- All duties, taxes, GST and government charges if applicable
- Vehicle registration and compliance
- Transit Insurance
- Costs involved with random customs examination
⚠️ Important Information
On top of the above pricing, you will need to factor in several other costs to get an overall figure for the shipment from Australia to New Zealand.
You need to:
- Decide whether or not you want to take out transit insurance;
- Determine if you will be eligible for the New Zealand Import GST exemption;
- And you will need to factor in your compliance and registration costs to get an overall total for the move.
We have provided additional information on each of these steps below.
🚢 1. Transit Insurance
We can arrange transit insurance on your behalf. While this cost is optional we recommend it as it gives you peace of mind when it comes to potential damages or loss.
The rate for most vehicles is 1.25% of the value + freight costs. The minimum policy premium is AUD 325. The value you allocate will be the maximum amount paid in the unlikely event of a claim. You can choose the value allocated to your vehicle.
There is an excess of AUD 500. This is not an upfront payment; it will be deducted from the total claim amount should you need to go down this path.
For more information about why transit insurance is important please contact us to discuss further.
🇳🇿 2. New Zealand Import Goods and Service Tax (GST)
Many people are eligible for import GST exemption (you pay no GST on import), but please read below for the criteria to apply for the exemption.
Usually, if you match the criteria below then you will be successful when applying for the exemption:
- Be a first-time immigrant or a returning New Zealand citizen.
- If you are a returning citizen, you must have lived outside of New Zealand for the last 21 months consecutively and are moving there to live for at least one year.
- There must be no finance owed on the cargo.
- Be prepared to sign a deed where you agree not to sell the vehicle for at least 2 years.
- You have owned and used the cargo in a personal name while you have been in Australia for at least 12 months before handing it over for shipping and before you leave the country.
- You must be physically in New Zealand before the vessel arrives with your cargo.
- If you do not meet the above criteria, import GST will be applicable. Import GST is 15% of the landed value of the vehicle (Landed Value = value of vehicle + freight costs + transit insurance). We can provide you with more information on calculating the value if necessary.
📄 3. Compliance
Once the vehicle has cleared customs and quarantine (MPI), it will need to undergo compliance before it can be registered for use on New Zealand roads. PeachT can handle the basic compliance process for you for AUD 620.
This cost covers all the relevant checks and documentation required to receive the Statement of Compliance and Warrant of Fitness, which is needed to register the vehicle in New Zealand.
If the vehicle is not up to New Zealand standards, then our workshop can complete the repairs/work required to get it up to standard to complete all relevant work if needed.
Certain conditions may affect your Vehicle passing the Compliance Process. What the assessors are looking for is to confirm that your vehicle structure has no deformation, cracking, fractures, corrosive damage, modifications or poor repairs that affect the safe tolerance of the structure.
Then a final inspection is run which includes testing the vehicle emissions, lighting and brakes to ensure everything is functional and performing as it should be.
🛂 Do you need an immigrant exemption to comply with your vehicle?
You may need an immigrant exemption depending on the age of the vehicle, whether it has an ADR/VIN plate, and whether or not it has an ESC (electronic stability control).
An immigrant exemption exempts you from certain NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) rules.
An immigrant exemption is designed to allow people that are moving to NZ to live to get their vehicle on the road without having to meet all of the usual on-road standards. This exemption is required for vehicles that don’t meet the Euro 4 emission or frontal impact standard or are not installed with ESC.
This exemption will usually be required for diesel vehicles that were manufactured before January 2007 and petrol vehicles that were manufactured before July 2010. However, it is not required for vehicles over 20 years old.
The Immigrant Exemption will incur an additional fee of AUD 210 (this is on top of the compliance cost of AUD 620, so the total would be AUD 830).
The time frame for vehicle compliance can vary but is most commonly around 3-5 working days from when it is delivered to the compliance facility.
For more information on immigrant exemption see here: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/importing-a-vehicle/exceptions/immigrants-vehicles/
⚡ 4. Registration and New Zealand Clean Car Standard
Registration costs in New Zealand are much cheaper than in Australia. Costs are generally between NZD 200 and NZD 300 depending on the specifics of the vehicle. You can find out your exact costs here: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/vehicle-fees/registration-fees/
As of the 1st of April 2022, the New Zealand government has implemented a “Clean Car Discount Programme.” Its objective is to make it more affordable to buy low CO2 emission options by making their cost more comparable to petrol and diesel-fuelled vehicles.
This means that imported vehicles will either be given a rebate or will be charged a fee upon registration depending on the emissions that the specific vehicle produces. More information can be found here: https://rightcar.co.nz/
For example, if you import an Electric vehicle, you could receive an NZD 3,450 rebate upon registration. Keep in mind this would likely cover the cost of shipping the vehicle!
If you’re importing a new or used petrol or diesel vehicle, this means there will be an additional fee that’s applied to the registration. This fee can range from only a couple of hundred dollars to a maximum of around NZD 3,300.
For example:
A vehicle like a Toyota Corolla may incur a fee based on its emissions around NZD 650.
The good news is that these used petrol vehicles (like Holden Commodores, Toyota Hilux, etc.) will continue to increase in value significantly over the next few years because they will become rarer and harder to come by.
It is still worth considering sending petrol & diesel vehicles across and paying the new registration emission fee considering the values of used vehicles are already significantly higher in New Zealand than they are in Australia.
If it is a personal vehicle and you meet the import tax exemption criteria, then this extra cost shouldn’t necessarily deter you from the decision to import.
As of the 1st of December, the New Zealand Government has implemented the Clean Car Standard. The Clean Car Standard (CCS) aims to incentivise cleaner vehicle imports.
The CO2 charge or credit is based on a weight-adjusted CO2 value, not the Clean Car Discount CO2 value. This means that a Clean Car Discount charge on a vehicle is not necessarily a charge on the vehicle for weight-adjusted CO2.
Please let us know if you have any questions on what potential extra costs will be for your specific vehicle. You can also contact the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) directly here: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/contact-us/
Feel free to reach out to us and we can help you figure out these details. We are here to help you in any way we can.
📦 5. Export ready: cleaning and preparation of cargo
New Zealand is a beautiful country with some of the most amazing native plants and wildlife anywhere in the world. This is why you must take the time to clean your vehicle as much as possible before handing it over for shipment.
The New Zealand government is doing all it can to ensure the environment is protected from foreign pests and diseases. This means that the Ministry for Primary Industries (New Zealand Quarantine/Biosecurity) is quite strict and thorough when it comes to inspecting imported cargo.
On arrival, the vehicle will be driven over a ramp and a New Zealand quarantine officer will inspect all areas of the vehicle from top to bottom to ensure that there is nothing harmful that could potentially damage the New Zealand environment.
New Zealand Quarantine officers are on the lookout for anything biological.
- This includes:
- Grass
- Seeds
- Plant material
- Bugs
- Mud
- Etc.
All other biological matter is also inspected, so be sure to thoroughly clean your vehicle before import.
When you are cleaning your vehicle, we recommend giving it a really good vacuum on the inside and using a high-pressure hose on the exterior.
Remember to clean areas such as wheel arches, engine bay, and any areas where dirt or plant material may be able to hide. Try and put yourself in the shoes of the quarantine officer when cleaning over your vehicle. If you think like a quarantine officer then you will likely be fine with passing the initial inspection.
Please take this seriously: there are a large amount (80% roughly) of cargo imports that fail this initial New Zealand quarantine inspection at the border. These imports then require some form of cleaning and treatment. Thoroughly clean your vehicle and you should be ok.
If the vehicle does fail and requires cleaning/treatment, then the vehicle will not be released into New Zealand until it has been cleaned/treated, re-inspected and cleared for entry by a quarantine officer. If this happens, there will be various additional charges depending on what is ordered by quarantine (e.g., internal vacuum/underbody wash, etc.).
✅ 6. Final checklist and total costs
It’s always important to know exactly what you are up for financially for an international vehicle movement. Here is a quick checklist covering each step, adding these up will give you an estimated total for the move.
- Freight Costs
- Transit Insurance (recommended)
- AUD 620
- Import Taxes and Duties
- Varies on the vehicle (emissions tax)
- Potential Re-inspection in New Zealand
- Compliance (Immigrants Exemption)
- Registration
- New Zealand Clean Car Tax/Rebate
***Pricing is based on the information provided, if anything differs from the original information provided then the pricing may change. Please reach out to us directly for an up-to-date and fully accurate quote today! ***
