Ahhhh, another newbie to tear apart.
Na just pullin your leg.
Do plenty of searching on this site, better still if you stick to the Aussie section, if you search other areas you will find regulations to be very different.
My suggestion is to do as I did and I have recomended to others, write up a wish list of must haves, would like haves, and dont need haves.
Then break that list down and compare kits.
Example for me was that I wanted IRS, One piece body tub that could be removed from the chassis, standard wheel base and body length, and preffered a kit that had some points on the board for handling (circuit racing) I also wanted to fit a Gen III (did not know at the time this was the most cost effective option, I thought it would make me a little different)
As far as getting an older kit that has not been engineered, as others have suggested, first find out what kit it is, and does it come with relevant paperwork?
Or is the supplier still around and have a chat to them about requirements and if that particular chassis (it will be numbered) is compliant.