Gone are the days when our fresh new colourful rego sticker arrived in the mail and as such began the arduous task of removing our old crusty sticker with eucalyptus oil and a razor blade only to carefully peel and stick our new one on.

It took me by surprise to find out that rego stickers have been around since 1932! Apparently some clever minds in the adhesives industry came up with new synthetic resin compounds that would shape the way that registration stickers were produced in Australia up until their recent phase out in 2014.

I don’t know about you but spotting a registration sticker gives me a sense of nostalgia. I remember reversing out of my folk’s driveway and noticing our neighbour’s collection of rego stickers from each year stuck inside his garage window. Who could have guessed that the stickers would become a collector’s item and even become a thing of the past?

It is almost a year now since the day coined Rego Sticker Liberation Day ticked over in QLD. The shock may still be fresh for some Queenslanders but for the rest of the country, the announcement of scrapping the rego sticker for light vehicles weighing less than 4.5 tonnes is a distant memory. On the 1st of January 2010, Western Australia led the way for the rest of the country in what has now come to fruition in every state.

The State Government pitch to voters was that removing the need for registration stickers would cut red tape; save the government millions per year in printing and posting costs and that new technology has made the stickers redundant. The announcement from each state was almost a carbon copy of the Western Australian Government plan from 2010.

Car Rego Phase Out Dates On Australian Map

What technology are we talking about?

The official name is “Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras” or ANPR for short. They come in both fixed and mobile forms and can be found mounted on the top of police cars and on top of metal poles beside a motorway near you.

The technology is undeniably a leap forward in catching out unregistered and more importantly uninsured drivers and figures show that these cameras can scan tens of thousands of licence plates every day. Once scanned, the photo of the number plate is converted to digits and is sent back to a central database where it is checked and infringement notices are sent out to those who are uninsured/unregistered.
The speed and autonomous nature of the ANPR’s negate the need for police officers to look for the colour and month on individual registration stickers and as such allows them to focus on more sinister offenses.

Post Rego Sticker Liberation Day

So has the change from stickers to no stickers gone down swimmingly for all Australian’s or are people up in arms about having no tangible way to know when to renew their rego?

The general consensus is that people are divided. Many applaud the change and see it as a tax payer saving initiative whilst others see it as just another money grab by the state government. Some have even expressed frustration with the move stating that they forgot to renew their registration because they no longer had a visible reminder of when it was due. I would counter that by saying that I don’t have a sticker on my windscreen telling me when my next car loan instalment is due or an electricity bill reminder label on my lightbulbs at home.

Tips to keeping your car registration paid on time

To avoid receiving an infringement notice in the mail or an on the spot fine from the police, take these steps to ensure you pay your registration on time.
Download the official registration check app for your state;

QLD: QLD REGO CHECK
NSW: SERVICE NSW
WA: DOT DIRECT
VIC: https://vre.vicroads.vic.gov.au/
NT: NT REGO APP
SA: EzyReg MOBILE
ACT: No app currently

These iPhone and Android apps allow you to do a quick search for your rego renewal date by keying in your number plate or vehicle identification number. Some even have the functionality to renew your registration within the app.

Set a reminder to pay your registration and your car finance on your calendar or reminder app.

Most smart phones have a calendar with reminder functionality built in. A great idea is to use this to alert you to when your registration is due. In fact, why not set a few reminders to ease yourself into the upcoming hit to your bank balance.

Sign up for direct debit for both your car registration and your car loan.

Some, if not all the states provide the option of direct debit. This is a sure-fire way of keeping your registration up to date providing you keep your account topped up with enough funds to be debited.
If all else fails, a letter should still arrive in your post-box to remind you to renew. Keep in mind that this is a courtesy letter and will not give you an excuse if you don’t receive it.
With the ever increasing cost of keeping a car on the road, it is important to find savings in every aspect of car purchasing and ownership.

To save on the first step of the car ownership process, give the team at 360 Finance a call on 1300361360. We will stick to our process of sourcing you the most competitive rate car finance in Australia so that you have some spare change for your next registration renewal.