Importing a Boat to Australia

[Boracay]

Before assuming that bringing a yacht into Oz from New Zealand it may be instructive to ask Australian Customs for their opinion, and maybe even to talk to a customs agent.

In particular it may be interesting to ask how G.S.T., duty and any surcharges are levied.

My recollection is that there have been free trade agreements between the two countries for a long time now.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by savoir

Entering Australia with your new toy is not compulsory. There are plenty of nice places to hang out while you contemplate the meaning of life and pay no tax to anyone.

I hear you mate but, unfortunatly, I would need to come back to Oz every four or six months. Okay, so I just jump on a plane and get back to Oz but where would a good place to register and keep me toy I have thought of Malaysia but that's not set in stone. Any suggestions.

[savoir]

There would be worse places to spend your time than cruising between Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Each one has daily flights to Australia and the tax + marina fees you save buys a helluva lotta plane tickets.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Boracay

Before assuming that bringing a yacht into Oz from New Zealand it may be instructive to ask Australian Customs for their opinion, and maybe even to talk to a customs agent.

In particular it may be interesting to ask how G.S.T., duty and any surcharges are levied.

My recollection is that there have been free trade agreements between the two countries for a long time now.

Correct, but you still pay 10% GST on a NZ boat.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by savoir

There would be worse places to spend your time than cruising between Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Each one has daily flights to Australia and the tax + marina fees you save buys a helluva lotta plane tickets.

Sounds great to me mate but where do I register my home on the water...(What flag would I fly) that would cause me (with my Oz pasport) "not" to have to many problems with relevant customs and other authorities

[savoir]

There are plenty of countries to pick from. The Caribbean is full of flag of convenience arrangements. You could also register in Australia.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by savoir

There are plenty of countries to pick from. The Caribbean is full of flag of convenience arrangements. You could also register in Australia.

I would like to register the boat in Australia but can I register to fly the Oz Red Duster without ever bringing the boat into Oz waters
I think I'll need to do some more reading up on that subject.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by BillAU

Sounds great to me mate but where do I register my home on the water...(What flag would I fly) that would cause me (with my Oz pasport) "not" to have to many problems with relevant customs and other authorities

Just fly the Aussie flag. You only have to pay the taxes once you arrive in Aussie waters. In the past few weeks I've come across a few aussie rego yachts here in Greece and most have not been out of the med and i highly doubt any taxes ave been paid.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by BillAU

I hear you mate but, unfortunatly, I would need to come back to Oz every four or six months. Okay, so I just jump on a plane and get back to Oz but where would a good place to register and keep me toy I have thought of Malaysia but that's not set in stone. Any suggestions.

Somewhere on the forum people have suggested Malaysia is a good option for Aussies wanting their boat relatively close to home but avoid paying taxes.

As my father has a yacht in Melbourne he has suggested that when i return i use his boat locally and keep mine of shore, so perhap one day i will be researching this a bit more

[savoir]

Originally Posted by BillAU

I would like to register the boat in Australia but can I register to fly the Oz Red Duster without ever bringing the boat into Oz waters
I think I'll need to do some more reading up on that subject.

Sure you can. Read this thread. Lots of detail within.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by hoppy

Somewhere on the forum people have suggested Malaysia is a good option for Aussies wanting their boat relatively close to home but avoid paying taxes.

As my father has a yacht in Melbourne he has suggested that when i return i use his boat locally and keep mine of shore, so perhap one day i will be researching this a bit more

I too believe Malaysia to be a good spot to live/sail (I've checked up on doing so) with the low cost of living and security of a stable government. Registering a yacht in Malaysia cost $300AU then $300AU per year.

[tuskie]

Originally Posted by Jamel

My new purchase from California has a load of 110-115v equipment....apart from boat 110-115v wiring circuit there is a Honda 2000i gen set, onboard inverter and various 110-115v appliances( water heater, coffee m/c, mirowave etc).

Question is, am I obliged to throw all this stuff off after entry, or, which I would prefer to do, keep everything functioning as is as a completely isolated onboard system.

I don't intend to suck shore power back in Australia very much, prehaps rarely via a 240v to 110v transformer now and again but be mostly self sufficient with onboard charging via 200amp eng alternator and solar.

Do I have to change to 240volts onboard being an Australian registered ship?

Congratulations and good luck with your import.

Nothing wrong with maintaining an AC 110 volt boat in private (non-charter) operation in Australia. As mentioned previously, an inverter powered by house batteries, your 110 v honda generator or a transformer powered by shore power will service those appliances just fine.

Unlike LP gas systems, which may have to be altered to meet Australian certification to get vessel registration, electrical systems are OK staying at 110 volt. This is the case in Queensland, at least.

Problems may arise however, if you wish to get repairs or alterations done to a 110 volt system in Australia, although this should be able to be sorted. International vessels with 110 volt systems must be repaired in Australia, although finding the parts and suitable tradesman may be a hassle.
Last problem is that of buying new 110 volt appliances in Australia. If your wife falls in love with the latest compo automatic coffee machine/hairdryer, it won't work on your 110 volt boat system. Perhaps this isn't really a problem! Appliances can always be bought in 110v on the internet.

[Morrissey]

Originally Posted by tuskie

......
Last problem is that of buying new 110 volt appliances in Australia. If your wife falls in love with the latest compo automatic coffee machine/hairdryer, it won't work on your 110 volt boat system. Perhaps this isn't really a problem! Appliances can always be bought in 110v on the internet.

Many small appliances available in Australia or SE Asia are manufactured as dual voltage, with some auto-sensing. Just look out for that aspect when checking them out. I only have limited experience in looking, but have found it difficult to find dual voltage stuff in US.

[Aussie_Sequoia]

Originally Posted by Armagh

Many small appliances available in Australia or SE Asia are manufactured as dual voltage, with some auto-sensing. Just look out for that aspect when checking them out. I only have limited experience in looking, but have found it difficult to find dual voltage stuff in US.

Almost everything that is digital and is produced for the global market in China, Malaysia, Japan, etc. runs on low voltage DC current. It is therefor the step down converter (or sometimes charger if it's a portable appliance) from high voltage AC to low voltage DC that is all that needs to be changed and yes, most of these are auto-sensing and therefore many times all that really needs to be changed/replaced is the actual plug shape. I have been importing appliances and electronics and computer gear from the US to Australia for years and have had absolutely no issue. This includes most stereos, cameras, phones, computers etc.

This makes perfect sense because the one factory can produce goods for the global market and the only thing that changes is the final thing to go in the box - the black-box charger and/or plug shape.

Now, items with heating elements like hair dryers or coffee makers and things with motors such as shavers, pumps etc. usually are built to accept only one voltage and frequency (in Australia it's 240 volts at 50 hertz in the US it's 120 volts at 60 hertz) therefore these items are harder to convert cheaply. These you will likely have to order from the US via the internet or actually change your inverter on the boat to produce 240v/50htz.

[Jim Cate]

Dennis, FWIW,

We've been running basically 110 V boats in Oz for years now. Our current (!!) setup uses a 110/240 volt powered battery charger (Pro Mariner) to help out the solar.wind setup when plugged in. A mere 600 W 110 volt inverter has served our needs when on the hook, and we have a giant step up or down transformer which can either convert the on board 110 to 240 to run Aussie-sourced items, or shore 240 to 110 to run a few big-current appliances that we have (hot air gun, etc).

Using the transformer is a PITA, and pretty damn inefficient as well, so we will soon replace it with a 240 volt inverter. Get rid of 80 lbs of iron and copper, too! It will not be hardwired on its output side... just use it's built-in sockets.

I don't think that any of these things will inherently rile the authorities if you should emulate our system.

Cheers,

Jim