We found it quite difficult to find the below information so we have summarized it for your convenience. We hope this will be helpful!

This information was gathered by us through internet research, talking to several customs brokers and shipping agents, and through trial and error. We cannot guarantee that this information is 100% accurate and valid or applies to all countries and individual situations. Please verify all information before importation!

All contact information is listed at the end of the document.

A few general guidelines:
+ Your vehicle must remain registered outside Australia for the entire duration of your stay. If your registration expires while you are in Australia, make sure to make arrangements for a renewal. In the US, you can appoint a representative (relative or friend) by signing a Power of Attorney who can handle your affairs on your behalf.
+ If your vehicle is left-hand drive, you will not have to convert it to right-hand drive as long as you're not staying in the same state for more than 6 months. You will need to put up a "Left Hand Drive" sign if your vehicle weighs more than 4 metric tons.
+ You need Third Party Bodily Injury insurance so you can legally drive on Australian roads. This insurance will cover any medical expenses for other drivers if you caused the accident. We found NRMA, the New South Wales automotive association (located in the Central Business District of Sydney), to be the best source. If you also want the damages on their vehicle covered, get Third Party Property Damage insurance. This is available from Kings Cross Carmarket and Travellers Autobarn in Sydney.
+ All our research indicated that we would not be able to insure our own vehicle in Australia as nobody offers insurance for privately imported vehicles. However, a fellow traveler from Canada has advised us that he was able to get insurance for his car from the following source:
Ken Tame and Associates, phone: (03) 9853 5555.
They were required to belong to the CMCA (Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia) in order to qualify for the insurance.
+ Travel insurance with medical coverage may be available through your health insurance at home.

To temporarily import your vehicle from the United States, you have two options:
1. Under a carnet de passage (won't pay customs duties and tax)
2. Without a carnet (paying customs duties and tax)

1. Carnet de passage
A carnet is basically a stack of documents that proves that you have temporarily imported the vehicle for private use for a limited period of time. Your intent is to export the vehicle at the end of your visit.
The procedure is roughly this:
- Contact a body with authority to issue a carnet (for example CAA).
- Establish the value of your vehicle and pay a financial security. This is usually 100% of the value of the vehicle and is a safeguard that you will export the vehicle. This security will be reimbursed to you after export.
- Once the vehicle has been imported to Australia, your customs agent will hand over the carnet documents to you. After you've exported the vehicle again, your agent will close out the carnet for you and you can reclaim the security.

Since the US is not a signatory for carnets, you have to go through the Canadian Automotive Association (CAA).

Most shippers have experience only with commercial carnets called ATA. The carnet you need is a CPD and cannot be procured by any US shippers, no matter what they tell you. We learned this the hard way when our shipper Rinkens dissuaded us from obtaining the carnet from CAA claiming that their own customs broker was very experienced. They screwed up the process and caused huge delays and additional expenses that negatively affected our trip. For that reason we have to strongly advice to stay away from Rinkens!

2. Without a carnet:
An alternative is to import your vehicle to Australia paying all customs duties and tax. This could be quite an expensive process but you will get the duties reimbursed when you export the vehicle within a certain time frame. You have to apply for a Temporary Vehicle Import Approval with Australian customs prior to shipping the vehicle; the current waiting time is approximately 20 days.
We don't have any personal experience with this process but have been told by AAA (see below) that the carnet is the preferred process.

The NRMA website is quite helpful to obtain a general overview:
http://www.mynrma.com.au/driving_overseas.asp
They recommend General Cargo (www.generalcargo.com.au) for shipping a vehicle to Australia. We found them to be very helpful and professional but can't say anything about their actual shipping services as we didn't use them. Another company that impressed us with their detailed knowledge is OBM (www.obmpl.com.au)

Some other helpful hints:
- If you need mail sent to you while you're on the road, use Poste Restante. Just notify the sender of the next major town with a post office that you will travel through. They may send your mail to your name, Poste Restante, city and postal (zip) code. You can pick it up with a picture ID at the main post office in said town.
- Most charges can be paid with credit cards such as Mastercard, Visa etc. However, some car insurances might require you have a credit card with a local bank.
- If you would like to open a bank account with an Australian bank, all you need is 2 picture IDs (eg driver license, passport) and a local mailing address. A Poste Restante address is fine. We had brought the last few statements from our US bank account but didn't need them. Currently, Commonwealth Bank has most ATMs and EFTPOS in Australia, followed by National Bank.

We have heard from fellow international travelers that cities other than Sydney have less strict import regulations. Obviously we don't have any personal experience but it's probably worth looking into.

Contact Information:
Kings Cross Carmarket: www.carmarket.com.au, Sydney 1800 808 188
Travellers Autobarn: travellersautobarn.com, Sydney 02 9360 1500
NRMA: www.nrma.com.au, Sydney 02-132 132
RL Felton (if you run into any problems with customs, they might be able to help you): www.felton.com.au, Sydney 02 8353 8700
CAA: www.caa.ca, Ottawa, 1800 267 8713
Commonwealth Bank: www.commbank.com.au
National Bank: www.national.com.au

Some useful links:
Automotive club: www.aaa.asn.au (lots of useful information about temporarily importing and registering your car)
Australian customs: www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4371