Hiring a Car in Australia

FREEDOM can arrange rental cars throughout Australia. Please find below an overview of the main terms and conditions of hire.

The Rental

On collection of your vehicle, you will be asked to sign the hire company’s own terms and conditions of hire, making the rental subject to a direct contract between you and the car hire company. A credit card bond will be taken to cover any additional costs, such as damage excess, fuel and airport surcharges – only physical credit/debit card transactions are accepted.

Driver Qualifications

All drivers must have held a valid drivers licence for 12 months or more. Drivers must be 21 years of age old or over to drive a Group B, C, D or S hire car, and 25 years old or over to drive a Group E, V, K, H or W hire car. There is no upper age limit.

Additional Drivers

One additional driver can be added free of charge. To add other additional drivers there is a fee of $5.50 (including GST) per driver per day, up to a maximum charge of $38.50 per driver. All additional driver fees are paid locally.

Child Safety Seats

Child safety seats are available to hire from $16.50 per day.

One Way Fees & Minimum Hire

The following one way fees and minimum hire periods apply:

One way hire under 3 days – up to $330
One way hire within the Northern Territory – $550, 4 day minimum hire
One way hire within Western Australia – $110 to $1100, 5 day minimum hire
One way hire travelling into or out of the Northern Territory or Western Australia – $1100, 7 day minimum hire

All one way fees are payable locally.

Remote Locations

Vehicle hire in remote locations, excluding the Northern Territory, is subject to a kilometre allowance of 100 km per day. Additional kilometres will be charged at 27.5c per kilometre, paid locally on the return of your vehicle. A $77 fee is payable for pick-up or drop-off in Learmonth, Western Australia.

Route Restrictions

Cars may only be driven on properly formed or sealed roads and may not be taken on any ferry, except those to Magnetic Island, Cape Tribulation or Kangaroo Island.

Cars may not be driven on the Birdsville Track in Queensland, Gibb River Road in Western Australia, nor various other unsealed roads.

Insurance & Excess Reduction

If the hire vehicle is lost, stolen or damaged you are liable to pay an excess of $5,445 ($5760 for Group W vehicles). Excess reduction is available to reduce this liability to nil, and can be pre-purchased for £20 per day, or £28 per day including airport collection fees.

Please note, you are not covered for loss or damage to the vehicle caused by driver negligence or reckless driving, nor overhead, underbody or water damage.

The following costs and fees will not be covered by Inclusive Insurance: damage to the vehicle or property of any third party caused by the vehicle coming into contact with anything above the top of the door seal and the top of the front and back windscreens, damage to the vehicle caused by the vehicle coming into contact with anything below the bottom of the door seal and the bottom of the front and rear bumper bars, water damage to the vehicle, damage to the vehicle or to the property of any third party caused by a breach of the Rental Agreement, damage to a tyre or an accessory not attributable to normal wear and tear.

Mechanical Breakdown Assistance

Mechanical Breakdown Assistance is included in your hire.

Callouts for non-mechanical faults, such as running out of fuel or locking the keys inside the hire vehicle, are subject to a fee of $255.62. Roadside Assistance Cover can be pre-purchased or paid for locally to reduce this fee to nil.