Driving a car in australia

DRIVING IN AUSTRALIA
For many the immediate thought is do we hire or do we buy a car. Regardless you will need an Australian driver’s license which also provides one of the most commonly used piece of photo identification. Visit AIAC www.australianimmigrationadvice.com to find out about purchasing and renting cars from a reputable source.

OBTAINING A DRIVER’S LICENSE
Migrants with an overseas license must obtain an Australian State driver’s license within 3 months of arrival if you wish to continue driving on Australian roads. Temporary visa holders may drive on their overseas license for 12 months.
If you migrate from a recognised country you can obtain a local license without having to sit a test. However if you are from a country not listed you may have to sit a theory and/or practical test.
DO I BRING MY OWN CAR OUT?
In most cases this would not be an appropriate idea as the cost of shipping, passing quarantine restrictions, having the vehicle achieve local registration requirements and then be affordably insurable as a potentially no standard vehicle in Australia could be exorbitant. Also imported vehicles have very poor resale values at the end of the process and you may find restricts in their eventual disposal.
BUYING A CAR
Choosing and buying car can be long process. www.australianimmigrationadvice.com is an excellent place to start to get a feel for pricing of both new and used cars in each state.
Our experience has showed that new cars tend to be a little cheaper than in the likes of the UK or New Zealand, whilst second hand cars can be a little more expensive. However if you search www.australianimmigrationadvice.com you can determine this for yourself.
Note that the purchase price of vehicles is the ‘drive away’ price. There is a state government stamp duty applied to all vehicles sold in Australia. Recent legislation now States that this duty must be included in the stated purchase price of the vehicle.
VEHICLE REGISTRATION & INSURANCE
A local state body administers the licensing of all vehicles. Registration costs vary per state and by type of vehicle and includes a fee for a compulsory third party (CTP) insurance.
Although there is no legal requirement to take out another insurance policy this is fairly common as the CTP insurance doesn’t cover damage to your own vehicle.
Insurance costs vary greatly, and insurance companies take several things into account including the make, model and age of the vehicle you own, the suburb that you live in and how and where your vehicle is stored (amongst other criteria).
Visit www.australianimmigrationadvice.com to find out more.

HIRING A CAR
New migrants might find that hiring a car is a sensible option for when you first arrive in the country and need to get around.
www.australianimmigrationadvice.com will have very useful links in this and can help you to obtain comparative quotes from major hire car agencies such as Hertz, Budget, Avis and Thrifty.
OUR EXPERIENCE
Upon arrival I set up an appointment with the local authorities to get our Western Australian License. As New Zealand citizens we were given three months to transfer. The soonest booking was about two weeks away but the process upon arrival was very smooth.
For you, i would recommend visiting the www.australianimmigrationadvice.com site as it will be very useful and only connects you very credible organisations.