Club Registration Scheme

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Can the minister outline how changes to the state's club registration rules are assisting car enthusiasts?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:59): I thank the member for Light for his question and his keen interest in this area. On 1 July this year, South Australia saw the biggest changes to historic vehicle registration rules in decades. The amendments to the conditional registration regulations, under the Motor Vehicles Act, were made earlier this year, after broad consultation with car clubs and key stakeholders.

The amendments simplify the scheme for owners and car club officials, allowing more classic car lovers to enjoy their vehicles and get them out on the road. In particular, the changes allow owners to modify their vehicles and still access the conditional registration scheme. There is also a move away from the fixed cut-off manufacture date of 1979 to a rolling 30-year vehicle age instead. Also, there is a reduction in the administrative burden on motoring clubs by removing the mandatory vehicle inspection and reducing the limitations, which had banned left-hand drive vehicles with safety improvements, such as updated braking systems.

The scheme allows for complying vehicles to be driven on public roads for up to 90 days a year. If a motoring enthusiast would like to access the club registration scheme, the requirements are that the vehicle is more than this new 30-year rolling cut-off period, that they are a financial member of an approved club and meet the club's requirements for membership, that they complete their registration forms and pay the fees, but they maintain a vehicle logbook for each journey they undertake. For these vehicles, there is a $91.45 annual cost, which is a massive saving over regular registration costs, particularly for those vehicles that are six or eight cylinders.

Since formal consultation commenced, the government has been inundated with feedback from South Australian car communities with overwhelming support for these changes. Following requests for more information from car owners, as well as some car clubs, a Club Registration Information Day was held on Sunday at Football Park. This day was organised by the Street Machine Association of South Australia by many of its volunteers who gave their time very generously throughout the day, from event promotion all the way through to vehicle marshalling on the day.

Officers from the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure were also on hand to provide information about the scheme, vehicle registration, and also making information available about numberplate availability and the process of vehicle modification and approval. There was also a strong presence from SA Police, their traffic branch, who were very complimentary about the behaviour and the conduct of the attendees on the day. Over 1,000 historic vehicles, classic cars, street rod and left-hand drive vehicles attended on Sunday, and their enthusiastic owners were overwhelming in their praise of the changes to the scheme.

Today's issue of the South Australian Government Gazette is scheduled to relist all 186 recognised motoring clubs that have access to the revised scheme and, due to the changes in the criteria—such as the revised vehicle age, allowing younger vehicles—a new wave of specific car clubs specialising in 1980s vehicles can now access the scheme. Several new car clubs have been announced, including the Commodore and Classic Holden Enthusiasts car club being just one of these additional clubs.

South Australia has over 15,000 vehicles registered under the club registration scheme, and we expect this to increase dramatically after these changes. South Australia is also, of course, home to a diverse motoring history, and by changing the scheme we have enabled the preservation of South Australia's motoring heritage by reducing costs and red tape for car enthusiasts and, importantly, getting them back on South Australian roads. I should state particular thanks to those people who were responsible for this change, in particular Glen Stankevicius from the Street Machine Association of South Australia, and the Sporting Car Club of South Australia, notwithstanding the Liberal Party calling time on those comments.

Time expired.