VIC CLUB PERMIT RULES TO CHANGE?
> VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PROPOSES 30-YEAR RULE, HIGHER PRICES AND NEW LOGBOOK SYSTEM
THE Victorian Government is considering introducing new rules that would affect the state’s Club Permit Scheme. The Government recently released its Regulatory Impact Statement, Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 2021, which has recommended a number of amendments.
The biggest proposed change would be to vehicle eligibility criteria, increasing from 25 to 30 years. Currently, vehicles 25 years or older from their build date are eligible for the Club Permit Scheme (CPS) in Victoria. The impact statement says the reason for the proposed change is because “Victoria seeks to align with other states and territories in relation to the age of vehicles and the CPS”.
Other states such as NSW, Queensland and Tasmania that have similar schemes already operate under a minimum 30-years-or-older build date for vehicles to be eligible.
Safety was not mentioned as a reason for the change, with the Government statement claiming there is “only very little anecdotal evidence to suggest that vehicles between 25 and up to 30 years of age are more prone to any more safety risks than vehicles over 30 years”.
Currently, cars built in 1996 or earlier are eligible for the CPS, but if the regulations change, that will be wound back to 1991 or earlier. The 1800 cars already in that five-year window on club permits would be given a grace period, but no new permits would be issued for them once the new rules come into effect.
Other changes would include a rise in permit prices, up $14 for 45 days and by $28 for 90 days. The statement claims CPS fees were intended to rise with light car registration fees year on year: “The loss of registration fee revenue due to the uncoupled CPS fees is estimated to be around $10.3 million between 2013 and January 2021.”
As of January 2021, there are 95,053 vehicles on CPS permits.
Electronic logbooks have also been tabled to replace, or be used alongside, the current paper logbook system – mainly to stop permit holders using their cars outside the permit restrictions. The statement says Vicroads is aware of CPS users illegally taking advantage of the scheme by exceeding their allocated days, failing to log days of use or using their
vehicles for commercial reasons such as weddings or trade work.
An electronic logbook system would mean “operators who inappropriately use their vehicles will be more easily detected and this will allow greater enforceability and mitigation”.
The penalties for such offences are yet to be determined. Currently, if a CPS user is caught using a permitted vehicle without following the logbook regulations, they can be fined $826 for driving an unregistered vehicle.
Clubs could also be subject to greater scrutiny and auditing by Vicroads. The impact statement found that many clubs were operated by two or fewer people who were not correctly following all procedures of the CPS.
Attaining a permit at Vicroads would also require an appointment under the proposed rules, whereas currently permits can be acquired on a walk-in basis at a Vicroads customer service centre. This change would also result in a booking fee.
Newly built replica cars have also come under close scrutiny in relation to the CPS, as the impact statement claims Vicroads wishes to clarify which replicas actually qualify for the scheme. Two options have been proposed: remove all replicas from CPS eligibility, or only allow those that identically mirror the specifications of the original car to be eligible.
If one or more of the changes are passed, they are expected to come into effect in October this year. So if you want to get that EB Falcon or VR Commodore onto a club permit, do it now!