Under South Australian legislation, a motor vehicle must be right-hand drive. You must apply for an exemption to this rule in order to register and drive a left-hand drive vehicle. This applies to:
- a left-hand drive vehicle that is 25 years of age or older as of 1 January of the year of vehicle manufacture and imported under the former Motor Vehicle Standards Act (Commonwealth) (MVSA) and current Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (Commonwealth) (RVSA).
- a left-hand drive vehicle imported under 25 years of age which has completed a RAWS process, has a RAV entry, and meets the specific Rarity criteria under the Commonwealth RVSA.
- a left-hand drive vehicle imported under Personal Effects criteria in accordance with the Commonwealth RVSA.
This information and application guidance is for light vehicles only. If your vehicle has gross vehicle mass greater than 4,500 kg you need to contact the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator or phone 1300 696 487.
Apply for an exemption to register and drive a left-hand drive vehicle
What you'll need
To apply you will need to make sure that the vehicle is in roadworthy condition and provide:
- VIN or chassis number of vehicle
- vehicle make, model, body type, and year of manufacture
- if the vehicle has previously been registered elsewhere in Australia, verification of vehicle registration in Australia
- if the vehicle has not previously been registered in Australia, an import approval document issued by the Australian government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
- if the vehicle is privately imported, an import document issued by the Australian government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts
- RAWS certification where this has been completed as part of the entry process for a vehicle imported under Rarity criteria
- a ‘passed’ vehicle identity inspection report MR29 no older than 2 months (the vehicle must have passed identity inspection)
What happens next
It may take up to 3 weeks from receipt of all the relevant information for Vehicle Standards to review your application and provide advice back to you.
Please note following the vehicles will be issued statement of requirements by Vehicle Standards section which allows booking roadworthy inspection:
- a left-hand drive vehicle that is 25 years of age or older as of 1 January of the year of vehicle manufacture and imported under the former Motor Vehicle Standards Act (Commonwealth) (MVSA) and current Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (Commonwealth) (RVSA).
- left-hand drive vehicles imported under the Personal Effects criteria under the Commonwealth RVSA.
If you apply using your mySAGOV account, you can check the status of your application.
Vehicle Standards reference: MR1722.
