What happens in the ACT if you don’t receive your rego renewal?
Well, I can tell you that you get a rather large fine!
I was pulled over by one of the police cars who do the plate recognition, and the police officer told me that I was not registered. To my knowledge this was not true, and I told him that. He checked and confirmed that it was no error and that I would need to renew my rego before I could drive any further and then issued me with a $654 fine.
Now all this would be fair enough if I had just not paid the renewal, but I had no idea that it was even due. Although a renewal had been sent out by the RTA, we did not receive it (thanks Australia Post), and now that we no longer have rego stickers, there is no other prompt for drivers to avoid this.
This is also our first year with ACT rego, so have never had a car without a sticker before.
The RTA told me that they only send out the renewal notices as a ‘courtesy’, and that the onus is on drives to just ‘know’ when the due date is. I’m sorry…what?
We have two cars, and the other rego was paid on time, on receipt of the renewal, so we are not in the habit of not paying. We have never paid late and I was completely clueless about it until being pulled over today. The policeman told me that in his family they put a little sticker on the windscreen themselves, indicating the due date, so he obviously is aware that without an RTA issued sticker it is a tough call to remember the due date.
So, what can I do? Do I contest the fine in court? If I plead my case at the copshop is there even anything they can do now that the fine has been issued? Would appreciate some constructive advice please…Thanks.

nafan84 said :
So, lets get this straight:
-steering wheel brace lock attached
-no right front wheel
-no battery in it
-over-filled oil which meant it wasn’t mobile
-somehow had a full tank of petrol
-smashed left front and rear blinkers
-could have been located in 2 different places (neither of which I can find on Google Maps) despite its immobilised state
-it is a 98 Magna
and somebody STOLE it???? Who in the world would anybody bother? Seems unrealistic to me…
nafan84 said :
Maybe somebody thought it was an eyesore and had Ezyscrap come to pick it up and pocketed $50 for their effort?
Checked with the rangers? It was out of rego and potentially parked in a public space, sounds like it was impounded rather than stolen.
i had my car stolen from 17 Allambide |St or Jerilderie Court from approx dates 24/8/2015 – 2/9/2015.
Its a Bache/silveer 1998 model Mitsubishi Magna, 5sp Manual 3.2 fuel enjected.Its rego is YFC99H, and its VIN Chassis (6871) last 4 numbers, Engine Number (1448), Tare Mass (1435).
It had a red iron steering wheel brace lock that was attached at the time. It had a right front wheel removed and had a full tank of petrol, a over full oil level which inabled it from being mobile and it had a smashed left front blinker and a left rear tail light guards smashed. It has tinted windows, lowered profile suspension and it had NO battery in it.
If anyone has seen or has or may or will come accross it for some kind of reason or see it on the web can you please contact City Police watch house or call me on 0411441630(you can even reverse the call charge) or email me on nathan.kevin.newman888@gmail.com
it is extremely simple to know when your registration is due, i am a disability pensioner 73 yrs old this year, i pay each 3 months as i cannot afford over $600 for pensioner rego our wonderful territory LABOR government also charges an extra fee for each 3 months now isn’t that great of them to make extra fees for the people that are the poorest in the community(i am talking about the pensioners that have no superannuation or other income sources,i actually get approx 46cents per year as interest payment on my bank balance)now with that extra fee that they charge should be enough to supply me with a rego sticker that would not be too much of a bite into their bank account but no they just want the lot it is my thought that maybe they are so close to bankruptcy or are bankrupt that they need to swipe money from the most dis-advantaged in their community…
Sorry OP, but this is all on you. You’re an adult, keep track of your rego and when it is due to be paid. Agree with previous comments, write the due date in your phone/email/computer/physical calendar.
Roksteddy said :
Yep I have to wonder this also! I’m glad i no longer have to put a sticker on the windscreen, which was never there to remind people, but was there purely for police to ensure the vehicle is registered, which can now be done via the rego plates.
Why not sign up for email reminders? It takes less time than starting up a petition.
What do you do for insurances, rates, power and water bills, school fees etc etc etc? Do you need a sticker on all those too?
JohnnyCharisma said :
Hells bells, 1200 bucks. I’d still be crying.
However on the bright side you did made the escape from the north side to the South. Congratulations.
JC said :
OMG – I never thought I would say this – but I agree with JC. Like with all bills, check status online with RTA. There are plenty of tools you can use for a reminder as a backup if the renewal notice doesn’t arrive – like mobile phone reminders, diaries, calendars, etc. And there is no need to bring those windscreen rego stickers back either.
mmmich said :
kingcosworth said :
Nonsense. They send out renewal notices. Besides name one other bill where they send you a sticker to remind you? Can insurance for one, which is just as important as registration. Anyway if it is such an issue make up your own sticker. You can buy them quite cheaply at a newsangent, and of course you will have plenty left over to create some more stickers. Maybe one to remind you when to go to the loo, when to go to work and the like.
Abolishing rego stickers can only have one real outcome, increased revenue for the local gov. With the increased chances of people making a mistake and forgetting their due date for rego, this increases the pool of offenders that are able to be fined, and with the current numberplate camera the police are now using, wow….. What I think is scary with this new proticol though is the potential of some what innocent citizens been placed into extreme financial hardship if they injure sombody and theit CTPI has lapsed. This scenario can now be created far more easily by simply missing a letter, ruining someone financially for such an innocent mistake is extraordinarily harsh and dangerous to peoples wellbeing. Obviously this mistake was still made with the sticker system, but will now be more common, this is a dangerous system simply instigated to increase revenue because the ACTGOV cannot efficiently spend what they already get…
Antagonist said :
Either way, both take less time than what it took you to write out that post. Seriously, it’s such an insignificant issue, stop it. As for checking mates or other regos? If only there was a small device you could check for such things on… perhaps some sort of computer, a small one… you can keep in your pocket… one with Internet access? Hm. What a novel idea.
The fact I don’t have to have a sticker on my windscreen is just a bonus.
JC said :
Post #20 refers: “I had, until recently, used a little sticker in the top corner of the windscreen with the rego expiry date to remind me when it is due.” It is something I used to do for my insurance, but now also shows rego dates since we do not get a sticker for our $1000 per annum rego fee. Until recently indicates that I have temporarily taken my car off the road.
Solidarity said :
Incorrect. Checking a sticker on the inside of the windscreen takes two seconds. Checking online takes about two minutes, assuming you are checking your own rego, and longer if you have to wait for the computer/wifi to turn on as well. Good luck checking rego on a vehicle that belongs to someone else … like when you borrow a mates ute/trailer, work vehicle etc.
So please, if anyone actually knows:
1. What is the rationale behind the decision not to issue rego labels for vehicles 4.5t need the sticker, but not light vehicles?
Karma. As the first poster I must disclose I discovered only today my car was uninsured for the last 24 hours. I simply forgot. All fixed up now though.
I can’t believe the expectations people have of their Government. Next you’ll all be wanting them to arrange for the grass around this town to be cut.
Insurance on a private vehicle will not cover an accident if it has been used for business use and not been declared as such…
As for the rego thing, just check the website. It takes two seconds. Job done. Stop whinging.
switch said :
And social media isn’t?
JC said :
If using the car for anything work related, then yes. Yes, I do ask to see the insurance certificate. The certificate also needs to say ‘comprehensive insurance’. It is (or certainly was) ACT Government and APS policy that if you use a personal vehicle for work purposes, then the car must be registered AND must have full-comprehensive insurance. So if you sent me a claim for MVA, you would not see a single cent until you provided me with evidence from the insurance provider stating the car has comprehensive insurance.
Are rego confirmations a service that Canberra Connect might be able to provide via their call centre? There could be any number of legitimate reasons why people might need to check registration on another persons car. Accident, using mates car/trailer, checking rego on work vehicles … and the onus is on the vehicle operator to check these things. How do we check rego details for a vehicle owned by another party?
Could I suggest that perhaps rego provide some sort of sticker for the inside of the windscreen with an expiry date on it like they do for vehicles over 4.5t?