Licensing left hand drive vehicles
Australian Residents
From January 2003 new provisions have taken effect relating to Left Hand Drive (LHD) vehicles in WA.
If you are a resident of Australia and you import a LHD vehicle, you may need to convert the vehicle to RHD before it can be registered if your LHD vehicle was manufactured up to 15 years ago.
However if your left hand drive (LHD) vehicle is less than 4.5 tonne, and was manufactured more than 15 years ago, it may be possible to register it without the need for a right hand drive conversion. It must however be intended for personal use only.
Bona fide migrants
A bona fide migrant importing a LHD vehicle may be able to be conditionally register the vehicle for a period of six months. This concession applies only if the vehicle is imported with the migrant as personal property.
The LHD vehicle must be converted to RHD before this conditional vehicle license will be renewed.
Department for Planning and Infrastructure may also approve the migrant concession to returning nationals provided they have worked overseas for a considerable period of time (some years). Written applications must be made to the Executive Director - Licensing Services for consideration.
Further Information
In all cases you will need a Temporary (Movement) Permit to move your unregistered vehicle on Western Australian roads to a place of repair or to a Vehicle Examination Centre.
Vehicles built for use in Australia must comply with standards known as the Australian Design Rules (ADRs). The ADRs that apply vary according to the date of manufacture and the category of the vehicle in question. The Road Traffic (Vehicle Standards) Rules - 2002 provides a partial exemption from most of the ADR requirements for vehicles that have been personally imported. Exemption applies for certain ADR related items.
More detailed information on licensing LHD vehicles, can be found in the following bulletin:
Vehicle Safety Branch Information Bulletin - IB-106A LEFT HAND DRIVE VEHICLES
It defines what work should be performed on a vehicle before presenting the vehicle for inspection, and also refers to a national code of practice entitled:
Vehicle Standards Bulletin Number 4 - Steering conversions for left hand drive vehicles (VSB4)
This Code of Practice may be downloaded from the Commonwealth's Department of Transport and Regional Services website: http://www.dotars.gov.au/. It describes various methods of steering conversion and the minimum standards of workmanship expected.
