vehicle rego

We have just been throught this with wanting to re-register our NT registered Cruiser. The lady I spoke to said she would register it for another 6 or 12 months over the phone, but then it would no longer be possible as we would have to provide "proof of residence in the NT" and she has placed a block on it in their computer! The reason we conducted the transaction by phone is because we no longer have a current NT mailing address, and I wanted her to send the forms to an address in WA. We are now faced with having to register as WA residents after the current rego runs out in 6 months. (We intend staying in WA for about 12 months) So, the moral if the story is, "it pays to tell lies over the phone!"

The NSW situation appears to be hopeless - as I understand it, you do indeed have to get an inspection every 12 months, and the NSW RTA won't recognise an interstate inspection. And even if you are in NSW, by the time you organise the inspection, pickup the van, etc you have wasted the best part of a full day.

When we purchase our next van, we may very well "bend the rules" and just leave it under Qld rego.

Bushtracker sez...

This NSW stickyness is a revenue source for them... No comment, as with a view to safety, I suppose it gets a lot of unfit vehicles off the road .....

Except that if you are cutting loose and travelling full time all over Australia, you can declare your "Storage Location Address" designation in Queensland.... Or anywhere else for that matter... There is no Stamp Duty on vans in Qld, and no annual inspections either under the 3.5 tonne ATM... To anyone making it a bit of a Lifestyle drifting around, it might make good sense to register in Qld... State of origin for Drivers License does not seem to matter here in Qld, just need an address. Then they will even allow you to designate another address to mail the renewals too...

Can't see any why not, if the Bushtracker is your bedroom, and your home is all over Australia... Ha!

Cheers...

In Queensland there is NO annual inspection, and likewise with Victoria. In Qld the registration fee for a Caravan is about $120, in Victoria it is $33 and that is the reason you see so many NSW registered vehicles towing Victorian Registered caravans.

One thing that you have to watch is that if you have a vehicle of trailer/ caravan that is registered in one state and take it to another state for more than 3 months then the vehicle becomes unregistered in the host state, and by law has to be registered in the state that you are visiting.

In Rocgogs case, because they are registered in NT and living in WA and not leaving WA for more than 3 months, then technically they are unregistered. The burdon of proof that they have been permanently in WA is for the Police to prove, so no doubt if the Police ever question them as to how long they have been visiting WA, they will reply with something like we went back to NT last month and returned again. Now an ex copper wouldn't tell you to tell lies would he. {smile}

Bottom line is, the vehicle and trailer has to be registered in your home state. All those mexicans who travel to Qld each year for 4 to 6 months are all unregistered if they answered the question truthfully.

Now that you know the legallities, you now know how to answer the question if ever asked. (ALWAYS Say less than 3 Months continuously)

This also applies to Drivers licences.

G'day Rego,

We were in QLD Last year when the rego ran out on the Toyota. Rang RTA in Sydney and was OK for Qld Inspection. Had it Inspected in Emerald, sent off the forms and all was well. Van is still registered in Qld where it lives at Liz's sister's place. Now, we received a letter from electoral commission in Qld. saying that Liz was not on the Elecdtoral Role for the Fed Election last Sept. She wrote back saying she had now resided in NSW and was on the Role there. Have heard no more.
Hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil.

Cheers...........Rob

Here is the e-mail reply from NSW RTA

"Dear Bob and Judy

You can renew your registration while travelling interstate by mail.
You will need to obtain an inspection report from a mechanic in the
state you are visiting and send it to the motor registry with your
CTP green slip.

Regards
Ayca"

Regards
Bob