UPDATE, September 13: The Victorian Government has confirmed that the eligibility criteria for the Club Permit scheme will remain at 25 years or older.

Earlier this year the State Government proposed changing the rule to a 30 years or older minimum, as well as bringing in an electronic logbook system and raising permit prices.

However, Ben Carroll, Minister for Roads and Road Safety confirmed in a public notice on September 10 that the 25 year rule would remain in place.

The news has come as a surprise to Victorian car clubs, who expected the 30 year minimum rule would come into effect later this year.

Ian Ross, President of the Association of Motor Clubs Vic told Street Machine: “That’s news to me. We thought 30 years was definitely coming in.”

He said the Association had been in communication with VicRoads as little as two weeks’ ago about the proposed changes.

“Most of our clubs were in favour of 30 years. They generally deal with older cars and it was seen as a way of reducing the abuse of the system,” he added.

Lawrence Glynn, Secretary of the BMW Drivers Club Melbourne added: “We don’t feel they (VicRoads et al) really made a supporting case for the change to 30 years.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Transport has also confirmed to Street Machine that fees for both 45 and 90 day permits will not be raised, and an electronic logbook system would not be introduced to replace the current paper logbooks.

However, what will change is new penalties in place specifically for those who breach the Club Permit conditions.

Permit holders who fail to fill out the logbook will now incur a fine $363 and three demerit points, whereas previously they would have been stung for driving an unregistered vehicle, which now brings a $908 fine and five demerit points.

The story to here

June 29: 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 CPS (Club Permit Scheme) 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 CPS permits, but if the regulations change, that will be wound back to 1991 or earlier. The 1800 cars already in that five-year window on CPS permits would be given a grace period, but no new permits would be issued once the changes 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 CPS 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, after the statement found many clubs were operated by two or fewer people who were not correctly following all procedures of the CPS scheme.

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 CPS permits, as the statement claims VicRoads wishes to clarify which replicas actually qualify for the scheme. Two options have been offered: 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!