YOUR OWN WHEELS
From pricing your car to handing over the keys: the paperwork, payment and final checks before you leave.
State rules and sources reviewed 28 October 2026.
Gather service records, compare similar cars and allow time before your flight.
Use the registration state to check inspection certificates and disposal requirements.
Show the condition, registration expiry, included gear and handover date.
Verify the money in your account, sign the receipt and give the buyer their documents.
Lodge your disposal notice, remove your toll tag and tell your insurer.
Our recommendation: begin preparing a few weeks before departure, then adjust for your location and vehicle. That gives you time to fix small faults, arrange any required certificate and respond to buyers without “flight tomorrow” doing the negotiating for you.
Compare model, year, kilometres, mechanical condition and registration time remaining. Treat advertised prices as asking prices, not proof of completed sales. List the camping gear separately so buyers can see what they are paying for.
Somewhere you can stay without the car makes viewings and the final days easier. A larger market may give you more buyers, but an expensive detour can cancel out a higher selling price. Consider the registration state when choosing where to sell.
Decide in advance when you will lower the price or request a dealer purchase quote. A dealer offer may be lower than a private sale, but it gives you another option if departure is fixed.
Clean the vehicle and photograph it in daylight: outside, inside, sleeping setup, tyres, dashboard and any damage. Show what is included without publishing photographs of your identity documents or home address.
Carsales, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace are places to compare listings and advertise. Their listing fees and seller services differ.
Have the service folder ready and allow the buyer an independent inspection. Before a test drive, see the driver’s current licence and establish that your insurance permits them to drive, including any excess. Agree the route and accompany them where practical.
“Rego” is vehicle registration. The state on the plates determines the existing registration process. If you will register the car in another state, read the interstate route as well.
Ordinary privately used cars and light campervans. Heavy vehicles, gas systems, modifications and written-off vehicles can need extra approval.
Submit a notice of disposal when you sell. Give the buyer a signed receipt and the information needed for their transfer. Remove the car from your toll account after handover.
For a currently registered NSW car, an ordinary change of owner does not itself require a new pink slip. Most light vehicles over 5 years need a safety inspection for renewal. An interstate or unregistered vehicle follows the separate registration process.
Putting interstate plates into your name is not the same as establishing NSW registration. The latter generally needs an unregistered-vehicle inspection (blue slip), NSW CTP insurance, identity and entitlement documents.
Notify VicRoads within 14 days. For an ordinary registered private car sale, provide a roadworthy certificate issued less than 30 days before the sale, unless an exemption applies.
The roadworthy certificate supports the registration transfer. It is not a mechanical warranty: a separate pre-purchase inspection can reveal expensive engine, transmission or cooling-system faults.
A car brought from another state to be registered in Victoria follows the interstate registration process. Buying it from a seller is different from moving a car you already own; roadworthy exemptions are not interchangeable.
Most registered light-car private sales need a current Queensland safety certificate. Give the buyer the certificate information and complete your part of the transfer. The certificate can be obtained before sale; it is no longer required simply to advertise.
For a private seller, a safety certificate is generally valid for 2 months or 2,000 km, whichever comes first. A dealer certificate has a different validity period. LPG vehicles can require a separate gas certificate.
You cannot transfer Queensland registration into your name without a Queensland garaging address. If that does not fit your situation, arrange registration in your home state and a lawful way to move the car; a sale receipt alone does not authorise driving.
Notify DTMI within 7 days. With MR9, submit the seller copy and give the purchaser copy to the buyer. Transfer fees and vehicle licence duty are separate from the purchase price.
An ordinary transfer of a currently licensed WA light vehicle uses the ownership-transfer process. An interstate vehicle being licensed in WA needs an authorised inspection; defects, modifications or an expired licence can change the process.
WA provides a mail transfer route, but that does not remove another state’s registration obligations if you move there. A newly purchased interstate vehicle being licensed in WA needs inspection and a new WA vehicle licence.
Lodge the disposal notice within 14 days and keep a copy. Complete the buyer’s transfer paperwork as well; telling the buyer to handle everything does not complete your seller notification.
An ordinary already-registered SA light-car transfer does not routinely require a roadworthy certificate. Interstate purchases require a vehicle identity inspection, which is different from a comprehensive mechanical inspection.
An interstate vehicle bought for SA registration needs an identity inspection, registration application, identity documents and fees. SA recognises interstate registration for up to 90 days, including for visitors; a seller can cancel it sooner.
Submit the notice of disposal within 7 days. Give the buyer their transfer section and keep your sale records. Personalised TasPlates require arrangements before sale if you intend to keep them.
A car whose registration has expired for 3 months or more needs inspection before registration in the buyer’s name. A straightforward current Tasmanian registration transfer is a different process from registering an interstate car.
Tasmanian registration needs a Tasmanian garaging address. For an interstate car, use the registration process and inspection requirements rather than the local transfer portal. Include the cost of getting the car across Bass Strait in your budget.
Complete the sale and ownership documents, and notify MVR of disposal within 14 days. Keep the signed sale details and evidence of notification after handing over the vehicle.
The rules changed on 9 February 2026. The current transfer table requires a roadworthy inspection for light motor vehicles 7 years or older; the seller or buyer can arrange it. Older advice about annual inspections is out of date.
First NT registration needs a compliance check. Light vehicles 7 years or older also require a roadworthy inspection. Arrange inspections and NT identity/residency evidence before committing to an interstate purchase.
Complete the transfer and notice-of-disposal sections with the buyer. Give the buyer their transfer section and lodge your disposal notification. An interstate buyer does not remove this seller obligation.
ACT cars over 6 years old require a roadworthy inspection for transfer. Certificates are valid for one month. Interstate registration changes also require inspection; private interstate purchases 10 years old or newer additionally need an identity inspection.
Establish ACT registration through Access Canberra. A roadworthy certificate from another state is not a substitute for satisfying the ACT process. Allow time for any identity-inspection appointment.
If someone offers more than the asking price and asks you to pay a courier or refund the difference, stop the transaction. Do not pay an “account upgrade” or verification fee to receive a buyer’s payment.
Scamwatch: buying and selling scamsFor an unregistered sale, arrange the proper cancellation and plate process. A buyer cannot simply drive away on a receipt: they need valid registration or a permit that authorises that journey.
The state-specific transfer, inspection and disposal links above were reviewed on 28 October 2026. Timing and advertising advice are editorial recommendations, not a promise of a sale price or time to sell.
Buying a backpacker car · Compare ways to travel after selling · Find accommodation for your final days
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