Importing a boat to Australia from the USA, Europe, and New Zealand can save you thousands of dollars and give you more choice when selecting the Boat that's perfect for you.
Is it worth importing a boat to Australia?
In most cases, most definitely. You’ll find many of the same boats are significantly cheaper in other markets.
How would I get started?
If you’re interested in purchasing a boat from overseas then you need to take into consideration the condition, hours and age of the boat. Compare the local market’s prices against international markets like the US, many websites auction boats and in most cases the boats are being sold by professional boat dealers or liquidation companies.
We strongly advise you avoid private boat sellers on sites like eBay, they almost always end up costing you more than you expected as a result of complications with the seller or boat.
I’ve found my boat, what now?
Once you have found a boat you’re interested in, try and get as much information about the boats dimensions as you can, especially the height. Anything on the boat that can be removed before shipping to reduce the dimensions should be considered before you get a shipping price. As an example if you remove the keel you can almost halve the shipping costs of most boats.
Once you have those dimensions get in touch and we can price it up for you so you can work out whether there’s a benefit to importing the boat.
My boat has a trailer
If your boat is on a trailer you must have an import permit for the trailer prior to it arriving in Australia, we recommend you get it before your boat leaves the departure country as it can be a big problem if your boat arrives and you still don’t have the permit. You will need to apply for this directly to the Australian Department of Infrastructure.
My boat has on-board refrigeration or air conditioning
Boats will on-board refrigeration or air conditioning will need to have them degassed and decommissioned prior to export, a certificate from the company involved is also required with your documents. It’s important to do this to avoid expensive pre-charged equipment licenses on arrival.
Are there any unknown costs I need to be made aware of?
Quarantine is the biggest unknown cost when importing a boat, because it’s impossible for us to know the condition of your boat when we quote for shipping. We allow in our quotes a single inspection charge, if as a result of the inspection a problem is found then any washing or fumigation is additional.
It’s a good idea to have the seller make sure the boat is as clean as possible, if it is very dirty then often it won’t be allowed on the ship, though we can take care of cleaning it at the port as an additional charge.
