I've been through this, I bought a NSW car & a year later a mate did the same but I did all the leg work for him.

Your list is pretty much right, though there is no need to de-register it in NSW & get a permit to drive home. Just drive it home on NSW rego, then when you get it rego'd down here you should get a refund on the unused portion of the NSW rego.

Here's what I did -
-Found vehicle, arranged with seller to pay a deposit, pending vehicle inspection
-Got NRMA or whoever does mobile inspections to have a look. (or a helpful forum member/friend/family)
-If all good, arrange flights
-Inspect vehicle, if all good exchange funds for said vehicle make sure you get a receipt etc all paper work
-Drive car home on NSW rego, get RWC, take it to Vicroads, they will inspect engine/chassis no. etc to ensure it all matches up
-Enjoy car

I arranged insurance BEFORE I flew up both times (since they were both on Saturdays). If you were up there during the week you could organise insurance after you've decided to buy it though. If you buy the car it is important you're covered on the way home! If you don't buy the car just cancel the insurance asap it won't cost you a thing. The first time I enquired about a cover note but was told to just 'buy' the insurance, then if I didn't purchase the car to cancel within 7 days or something & I wouldn't be charged a cent.

If theres anything else or I've left something out please ask.

Cheers,
Andrew.

No worries mate.

Both times I've just driven it home in the seller's name. Obviously this involves a bit of trust & both times I/mate signed the reciept with the date & time we took the car & got a 3rd person to sign as well. Ultimately if you get a fine on the way home the seller has your details from the transaction so it's not hard to track you down.

As far as paperwork goes, I had a folder full of stuff dating back to before it was imported (personal import) which I thought they might need to see, but all Vicroads needed was a reciept with sellers address etc on it and the current NSW rego paper that lists chassis & engine no. Vicroads take the NSW plates as well.
All Vicroads want to do is make sure the numbers you give them match the previous NSW rego, I guess to stop rebirths etc.