Australia is in the fortunate position of not only having a car culture, but one which we can be proud of.
From European rustbuckets, to American muscle and even locally made icons, there’s a car out there for everyone, and in most cases a community to support them.
Though not everyone is able to celebrate their pride and joy in the same way, with Australia’s states and territories taking different approaches to most things – especially classic or heritage car registration.
It’s something I’ve always had my frustrations with, at least since I moved to Queensland and purchased a classic car – defined as being more than 30 years old in the Sunshine State – when I realised just how lucky some others are.
You see, in Queensland a vehicle not only has to be 30 years or older (based on its month of manufacture, not the calendar year) to qualify for what’s called the Special Interest Vehicle Concession Scheme, but owners must also be the member of a car club to apply for concessional registration.
If you meet this criteria and get your car club to back your application, you get access to registration which is about 40 per cent cheaper than normal – a pretty tempting proposition.
However, there are of course significant limitations as to what you can and can’t do with your car. If registered under the scheme, the car can only be driven while “participating in incorporated vehicle club rallies or events”, which extends to “impromptu events as long as the event has been sanctioned by your own car club.”
Additional activities include driving to and from inspection stations, workshops where repairs are being undertaken, exhibitions to put the vehicle on display, or ceremonial purposes, though the latter can only be done for immediate family with no charge.
Put simply, a pretty strict set of circumstances. And while some car club members use loopholes such as creating posts on their club’s social media platforms to announce an impromptu drive, this opens up the avenue for potential legal issues if there is an incident.
Queensland’s rules are in stark contrast to our fellow eastern states, with Victoria and New South Wales also applying the same conditions, but with one big caveat – to the benefit of enthusiasts.
In Victoria, owners of vehicles which are 25 years or older can choose to have access to a Club Permit for 45 or 90 days per year, allowing them to either drive the vehicle to club events or for general use. A 45 day permit costs $131.55, while a 90 day permit is $214.55.
In New South Wales, classic vehicles – also required to be 30 years or older – can be driven for up to 60 days per year outside club events if each trip is recorded in a log book.
Both states allow classic and heritage car owners to drive their vehicles outside of dedicated club events, something Queensland has not yet worked out how to do, disadvantaging local enthusiasts.
I previously had this issue with my late 1970s Ford Fairlane, which was – at most – driven once a fortnight, something which wouldn’t have scratched the surface of even Victoria’s shortest-length permits.
However, given the restrictions in the Sunshine State and me not being a member of a car club, I had to keep it on full registration if I wanted to do the occasional bit of running around.
To make matters worse, full registration is based on cylinder count here, meaning my big V8 – which spent more time leaking oil in the garage than burning fuel on the road – cost more to register than our four-cylinder daily drivers, which arguably do far more damage to the road given their frequency of use.
It’s a dilemma which I’m set to face again at the end of the year, when my newly acquired EF Fairmont Ghia turns 30. Of course, I’d love to have it on some kind of infrequent registration system where I pay for only a limited amount of use, but that doesn’t seem to be a capability the Queensland Government currently possesses.
If only Australia had some kind of distance-based, charge per kilometre. Given how Victoria’s attempt at introducing a road user charge for EVs and PHEVs went, and was subsequently deemed unconstitutional by the High Court, I don’t like my chances.
Discussion about this post