The Road Transport Authority (RTA) determines the dimensions, layout and other characteristics of Canberra’s numberplates. Photo: James Coleman.
Access Canberra will start selling a new type of numberplate next year after a petition for it gathered more than 500 signatures.
Rob Taylor launched a petition for Japanese-style numberplates at Canberra 7’s Day, a tribute event to the iconic rotary-powered Mazda RX-7 sports coupe, held on 9 July by local owners group MazdACT.
He owns a yellow 2002 model, in ‘Bathurst R’ spec – one of only 500 released to the Japanese domestic market in 2002 to commemorate the 12-hour race of the same name in Australia, where the RX-7 won three years in a row from 1992.
“My car, being a small import, has the Japanese bumpers, and to fit the plates, you have to either modify the car, which many owners are not keen on doing, or bend or modify the numberplate, which is technically illegal,” Rob told Region at the time.
“The Japanese-style numberplate is narrower and taller – it’s a completely different shape.”
Japanese-style numberplates typically measure 330 mm wide and 165 mm tall and are already available in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Prices range from $295 to $495.
Japanese-style numberplates are already available in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania. Photo: VPlates.
Former Greens MLA Johnathan Davis agreed to sponsor the petition in the ACT Legislative Assembly for a “pretty simple” reason.
“If this is something the owners of imported Japanese motor vehicles are able to get in other jurisdictions but not in the ACT, then I argue this puts us behind the eight ball,” he told Region at the time.
He said it could also pave the way for more EVs to be imported from Japan.
“If this really picks up speed, then we’re going to be importing even more cars into the territory that will require Japanese licence plates. Why not get the work done now?”
Owners of imported Japanese cars, like Rob Taylor, had to modify their bumpers to make standard plates fit. Photo: Rob Taylor.
All up, the petition accrued 519 signatures, and not just from “car people”.
“We were getting people from all walks of life to sign it, and they were like, ‘Yeah, you should be given every opportunity to make your car legal,” Rob says.
“It really speaks volumes to the amount of support we have just in the Canberra region.”
In her response to the petition, handed down late December, ACT Minister for Government Services and Regulatory Reform Tara Cheyne agreed “there is a need to provide the option of numberplates that fit Japanese Domestic Market vehicles”.
“Based on earlier feedback from the community, I have asked Access Canberra to work with Transport Canberra and City Services (noting Minister Steel has oversight of the legislation and policy in this space) to progress this change,” she wrote.
Due to the “already full work program”, Access Canberra says it’s unlikely the new plates will be available before 2025.
Regardless of the wait, Rob says he and the other RX-7 owners are “absolutely ecstatic”.
“The wait isn’t really a problem for me either – I need to get my car working before I can get it registered. Just rotary things.”
Pricing is yet to be revealed, but a standard European-style numberplate fee is $534.50, while a personalised version costs an extra $635.50.
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