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Unlike other countries, in Australia you insure the car, not the person. You are also required to have compulsory third party (CTP) insurance and you may need an International Driving Permit (IDP) if your native language is not English.
The most cost effective way to see Australia is is to grab yourself a cheap car and put on third party property car insurance. This type of insurance will cover you if you crash into someone else and usually only costs around $25-$35 a month.
In Australia, car insurance works slightly differently. Here, you insure a car, not a person. So if you are coming from overseas with friends and you buy a car for a road trip, you will only need to insure the car. This means when you go off exploring Australia, you and your friends are allowed to drive the car, so long as you have a license that's valid in Australia and the car is properly insured.
You legally need to have compulsory third party (CTP) insurance as a minimum. CTP protects you if you crash into another driver and they have to go to hospital for injuries; it covers their hospital expenses. However, you should consider getting more cover. There are 3 tiers of car insurance in Australia to choose from:
This provides coverage for damage caused to someone else's vehicle or property by you. It doesn't cover your own car and is the cheapest and least comprehensive cover option.
This also protects you if your car causes damage to someone else's car or property, and if your car is stolen or damaged by fire.
This is the only type of cover that properly protects your car, for instance, if your car is damaged in an accident or a storm. It also covers you things like replacement keys and the contents inside your car, which can be helpful if you plan on travelling across parts of Australia in your car.
Finding cover for a backpacker is relatively straightforward. You'll need to make sure you have a main address you can put down, as all insurers require you to have one. This is mainly so that your insurer knows where your car is usually kept, helping them calculate your premium.
It's also a legal requirement throughout Australia to have compulsory third party (CTP) cover. CTP insurance is sometimes included as part of your car's registration, depending on the state you are registering it in. In New South Wales and Queensland for example, you'll need to purchase CTP cover separately.
How you get your mandatory CTP cover depends on where you register your vehicle.
In New South Wales and Queensland, you need to take out cover through an approved state insurer. There may be differences between the types of cover as well as the price.
In Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory, compulsory third party insurance is included as part of the vehicle registration process, and your premiums are part of the fee. You do not need to compare cover or policies.
You must have a valid driver's license on you at all times while driving. Whether you can use an overseas driver's license depends on which state you're in and how long you'll be staying. In all cases, you must meet the following criteria:
While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of this information, you should check for information specific to your situation and location at the relevant website.
Every backpacker has different travel plans when visiting Australia so there's no way of determining a policy that is best for everyone. However, most backpackers plan on doing quite a bit of driving on their trip, so it's worth considering getting cover for the following:
There are a few ways to find cheap car insurance that won't break the bank:
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