Is car rental a good business in Australia?

We cannot tell you whether it will be profitable, because we do not have margin data. What we can measure is the market you would enter: 1,027 independent car rental businesses in our national census across 22 cities, 350 of them with no Google rating at all. Of the 9 that publish a weekly rate, prices run from $169 to $350. Run your own numbers against those.

How do I start a car hire business in Australia?

Register an ABN, register a business name with ASIC if you want to trade under one, register for GST if your turnover reaches $75,000, then check with your state or territory which licences and permits apply to hiring out cars. Business.gov.au’s ABLIS search tool is the place to look. Then arrange public liability and vehicle insurance.

What are the requirements to start a rental car business?

An ABN, a registered business name if you use one, GST registration at $75,000 of turnover, the licences and permits your state or territory requires, and insurance. Business.gov.au names public liability and vehicle insurance for the rental and hiring industry. The licence rules differ by state, so check yours before you buy a car.

Do I need to register for GST?

Business.gov.au says registration is required when your business has a GST turnover of $75,000 or more. Separately, a driver who provides ride-sourcing services such as Uber or DiDi must register for GST regardless of turnover. That obligation sits with the driver, not with the company that rents them the car.

How to Start a Car Rental Business in Australia

The short answer

To start a car rental business in Australia you register an ABN, register a business name with ASIC if you want one, and register for GST once turnover reaches $75,000. Licences and permits are set by each state or territory. You would be joining 1,027 independent car rental businesses in our national census; of the 9 that publish a weekly rate, prices run from $169 to $350 a week.

Starting a car rental business in Australia takes three registrations, a licence check with your state, and insurance. The registrations are quick. The harder part is the market, meaning how many businesses already rent cars and what they charge. We keep that data, so this guide gives the official steps first and then the numbers.

Every regulatory fact below was read from an official page on 2 October 2026, and the link is next to it. Rules change. Check the source before you act on any of them.

The market you are entering

Our national census lists 1,027 independent car rental businesses across 22 Australian cities. Melbourne (312), Sydney (246) and Perth (91) have the most. Of the 1,027, 350 have no Google rating at all, and the other 677 average 4.43★ across their ratings.

Price is thinner still. Of the 81 independent operators in our city comparisons, 9 publish a weekly rate on their own website. Those rates run from $169 to $350 a week. The rest do not publish one, so a clear weekly price on your site would set you apart from most operators in our comparisons.

We compare operators city by city on their Google rating, weighted by how many reviews stand behind it. 350 of the census were compared and classified but never scored, because they have no rating. Read the comparison for your city:

The national comparison page has the rest. If you want the renter’s side of the same market, see long term car rental in Australia.

To see how searches compare with the number of operators in each city, read our page on demand and supply by city.

Register the business

ABN. “Not everyone needs an ABN. To get one you need to be running a business or other enterprise.” It is free to register through the Australian Business Register. business.gov.au, checked 2 October 2026.
Business name. You register it with ASIC, and you need an ABN first. It costs $47 for 1 year or $108 for 3 years. It does not give you exclusive rights to the name; for that you need a trade mark. business.gov.au, checked 2 October 2026.
GST. Registration is required when your business has a GST turnover of $75,000 or more. business.gov.au, checked 2 October 2026.

Licences are state by state

Business.gov.au says state and territory governments manage the licences and permits for the rental, hiring and real estate services industry. The examples it lists include hire car operator accreditation, vehicle permits and licences, and a luxury car licence. Source, checked 2 October 2026.

We have not read each state’s rules, so we will not summarise them. Business.gov.au points to its search tool, ABLIS, for finding the licences and permits that apply to your business.

Insurance

For this industry, business.gov.au names public liability and vehicle insurance. Source, checked 2 October 2026. It gives no cover amounts and neither do we. Ask your insurer what a rental fleet needs, and get the answer in writing before the first car goes out.

If your cars will be used for Uber or DiDi

Many independent operators rent weekly to rideshare drivers, and a driver who provides ride-sourcing services must register for GST whatever their turnover. Source, checked 2 October 2026. That duty belongs to the driver. It matters to you because they will ask.

In New South Wales the owner has duties of their own. The point to point regulator says “the owner of a vehicle used to provide a booked passenger service has a specific obligation to ensure the vehicle is appropriately registered and safe to be driven on the road (roadworthy).” Every such vehicle needs an annual safety check, even one under five years old, and the owner must keep it regularly and properly maintained. Source, checked 2 October 2026.

Other states differ. Our state-by-state guide to car rental for Uber drivers has the table with its sources, and there are city versions for Brisbane and Sydney.

Pricing a weekly rental

The 9 operators who publish a weekly rate range from $169 to $350. That is a spread of $181, and the rate alone does not tell you what is included: kilometres, bond, excess and servicing all change what the same number costs a renter. Our guide to pricing weekly car rentals shows how operators set theirs, and rental car unit economics works the payback on a single car.

Contracts, bond and excess

Bond, minimum age and excess are the terms the agreement has to settle. We read the policies of 62 operators from their own sites, and only 32 of the 81 state a minimum age. Our guide to rental contracts, deposit, excess and GST covers what to put in the agreement.

Running it day to day

Once cars are out, the work is bookings, weekly payments, contracts and inspections, repeated for every car. A spreadsheet holds up for a few cars. If you plan to grow, car rental software takes over the repeating parts; Carz is priced per rented car, and nothing is charged for cars sitting in the yard. When you are ready to add cars, see how operators grow a rental fleet with investors.

Frequently asked questions

Is car rental a good business in Australia?: We cannot tell you whether it will be profitable, because we do not have margin data. What we can measure is the market you would enter: 1,027 independent car rental businesses in our national census across 22 cities, 350 of them with no Google rating at all. Of the 9 that publish a weekly rate, prices run from $169 to $350. Run your own numbers against those.
How do I start a car hire business in Australia?: Register an ABN, register a business name with ASIC if you want to trade under one, register for GST if your turnover reaches $75,000, then check with your state or territory which licences and permits apply to hiring out cars. Business.gov.au’s ABLIS search tool is the place to look. Then arrange public liability and vehicle insurance.
What are the requirements to start a rental car business?: An ABN, a registered business name if you use one, GST registration at $75,000 of turnover, the licences and permits your state or territory requires, and insurance. Business.gov.au names public liability and vehicle insurance for the rental and hiring industry. The licence rules differ by state, so check yours before you buy a car.
Do I need to register for GST?: Business.gov.au says registration is required when your business has a GST turnover of $75,000 or more. Separately, a driver who provides ride-sourcing services such as Uber or DiDi must register for GST regardless of turnover. That obligation sits with the driver, not with the company that rents them the car.

Cristobal Galilea

Co-founder, Carz

Cristobal builds Carz alongside the operators who use it — fleet software for independent car-rental businesses leasing weekly to gig drivers in Australia.