VIC Car registered in another state query

[Aussie9000]

Long story short, I live in Victoria and my car is currently registered in Tasmania, the information on the Vic Roads website is 100% incorrect for Tasmanian vehicles in regards to transferring registration to Victoria which has inconvenienced me greatly and as a result I'll have to re-register my car in Tasmania before I can register it in Victoria (Vic Roads advised me to do this).

Obviously Vic Roads want me to have my car re-registered in Tasmania only for the weeks or month that it takes to get a road worthy check (because that is required for Tasmanian vehicles for reasons they couldn't explain) and then book in an appointment to get Vic plates. Anyway, all that inconveniences me because I had set aside time off work (which is hard for me to do) to go and get Vic plates and switch the rego over, following the conditions listed on the Vic Roads website (which were incorrect).

So my question is if I keep my car registered permanently in Tasmania whilst living in Victoria is that a crime? If a police officer pulls me over can I be fined? Which legislation specifically covers this situation? I had a look and couldn't find anything.

If their is no specific law regarding this then I guess I'm free to keep my car registered in Tasmania?

 

[Scruff]

As far as I know, vehicles are supposed to be registered in the state in which you reside or the vehicle is mostly used. Generally, when you move interstate, the vehicle needs to be registered in that state within a defined period of time. If you don't do it, it becomes illegal to drive the vehicle in that state. This is based on how things are (or at least used to be) in NSW - I haven't looked into this in a long time. The specifics would vary from state to state.

I don't think it's something that the Police worry about these days. It's not like decades ago where they'd pull you over and they couldn't check the rego because it was from interstate. Nowadays, they should be able to do all of that directly from their MDT's.

However if you do get pulled over for something, you may be asked some questions about the interstate rego, not have sufficient answers and get booked - particularly if have a licence and a car rego showing that you live in two different states. So it's best to try and figure it all out if you can.

 

[Aussie9000]

Hi Scruff,

Thanks for the response. I don't think the Police would worry about it either but obviously they can't do squat if there is no legislation that covers the situation. I've tried to do the right thing but Vic Roads have make it very difficult lol.

Does anyone know the exact legislation that covers interstate registered vehicles in Victoria and what the fine is etc.?

 

[Scruff]

If you download the related forms from VicRoads, they usually indicate the relevant legislation. So I'd start by looking at those.

 

[Scruff]

I just had a look through the table of contents for the VIC Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 2009. It seems to cover all apsects of vehicle registrations, but at first glance, I don't see anything dealing with interstate transfers.

Ref: ROAD SAFETY (VEHICLES) REGULATIONS 2009

 

[Aussie9000]

Thanks Scruff,

That's what I have looked through previously myself and I couldn't find anything. If there is no law then I see no reason to change my registration lol

 

[Adam1user]

Long story short, I live in Victoria and my car is currently registered in Tasmania, the information on the Vic Roads website is 100% incorrect for Tasmanian vehicles in regards to transferring registration to Victoria which has inconvenienced me greatly and as a result I'll have to re-register my car in Tasmania before I can register it in Victoria (Vic Roads advised me to do this).

Obviously Vic Roads want me to have my car re-registered in Tasmania only for the weeks or month that it takes to get a road worthy check (because that is required for Tasmanian vehicles for reasons they couldn't explain) and then book in an appointment to get Vic plates. Anyway, all that inconveniences me because I had set aside time off work (which is hard for me to do) to go and get Vic plates and switch the rego over, following the conditions listed on the Vic Roads website (which were incorrect).

So my question is if I keep my car registered permanently in Tasmania whilst living in Victoria is that a crime? If a police officer pulls me over can I be fined? Which legislation specifically covers this situation? I had a look and couldn't find anything.

If their is no specific law regarding this then I guess I'm free to keep my car registered in Tasmania?

My understanding is that the interstate vehicles have to be transferred to the current state within 3 months. I am not sure how they do monitor this, but I think it will show up if a person has a traffic offense and then has other one after 3 months. If a person is pulled over for random drinking check or drug check, there is no way to check it other than if the person had an infringement, but if a person has an accident (if a person is injured in that accident) then the police would investigate and I think that's when it will show. I am not a lawyer and this is based on my understanding.

 

[Aussie9000]

I'm aware of this 3 month period too, Vic Roads claim this over the phone but it only mentions changing the license within 3 months on their website. They weren't able to tell me which legislation covers this however nor which law I would be breaking if I didn't change my registration to Victoria.