Hi Guys

We had a meeting last night & here’s what I can tell you. I doubt that anybody is going to be driving on the new rego scheme on 1st Oct. The roll out will be progressive.

The first thing that needs to happen, is the vetting of existing RMS recognised car clubs (those who run H-plates now) so that they can OK cars on the new scheme. It seems that each club, if they wish, will need to apply to be allowed to administer the new system.

Many clubs may not want to go thru the process & some new clubs may be established, but they will be looked at closely.

The easiest cars to put on the system are those legitimately on H-plates currently. So once your club has gone thru the approval process & if your car is currently on H-plates & you want to change to the log-book scheme, then you'll probably be on by Christmas. Unmodified cars with existing full rego will follow.

If the car is modified, then engineering approval (if required) is paramount. It will be self-regulating & this is why it’s called a ‘trial’. Many minor mods will not require engineering. The VSI 6 standards will apply.

On the issue of costs, again they’re not finalised yet, but they hint at a pro-rata rate, so if your current rego figure including CTP is, then divide it by 365 & then multiply by 6, (roughly 1/6 of the total) I believe you could be close. So if your current rego & green slip totals say $900 (a common figure for old cars) then the new scheme should cost around $150.

The big question, when it comes to costs, is insurance. Again, this is a trial & what is learned over the next 2 years will then be adjusted accordingly & put into practice on a permanent basis.

Strangely, number plates are not sorted yet either. No mention was made of any new number plate type (M or S plate or whatever) or it could be that you may be able to use your existing full-rego plate although that seems unlikely according to some. One thing for certain is that rego stickers will be issued, just like H-plated cars. It appears the RMS computer can’t handle concessional rego.

I think the next few months will be interesting to say the least.

Dr Terry