Hello,

does anyone out there have any experience of renewing their NSW rego on a vehicle that's out of the country?

I had my rego check done and got the pink slip before shipping the troopy. I'm still in Aus for a few weeks before flying to Cape Town to start my trip, and as I'm within 3 months of the rego expiring I can get another full year sorted before I leave.

My problem is that the lovely people at the RTA are insisting on me buying CTP insurance before they will renew my rego. Even though the vehicle has left the country they want me to be insured to drive here.

So, if anyone has been through this before and figured out a way around it your advice would be appreciated as I could really do without paying for something that is completely pointless.

Thanks,

Paul.

Well that raises an interesting question. Is it completely pointless? What are the geographical limits on CTP? I have no idea since I've never needed to find out. I'd be interested to know.

The CTP covers you if you take the vehicle to another Australian state or territory but I don't know if it extends beyond that.

If anyone in NSW knows the answer it should be the RTA. If you're not happy with their response I guess the only people you can check with are the various insurance companies that are authorised to issue green slips.

I guess the RTA needs to be satisfied that the vehicle will have CTP cover if it's going to be driven in NSW at any time during the extended rego period.

If renewing the NSW registration is going to be too expensive, can you register it somewhere else?

I spoke with the NRMA (who I bought my CTP insurance from) and they were helpful. They agree that the CTP is just for Aus and will refund me if I don't need it anymore. The RTA weren't saying that the CTP is needed outside Aus, just that I can't renew my rego without it.

I understand why the system exists like it does and it's a good idea that you can't register a vehicle without having 3rd party insurance if the vehicle remains in the country, but it seems ridiculous that I can't make a stat dec stating that the vehicle won't be driven in Aus or provide evidence that it's currently sat in a container on the way to Cape Town.

So the way forward looks like being to buy the CTP insurance, renew the rego, then cancel the CTP and get a refund. Seems very illogical, but if it saves me $400 then that's what I'll do.

If anyone out there has managed to sort this out with the RTA direct I'd still like to hear how you did it.

Well it's good to know NRMA is taking a sensible approach to the matter.

Enjoy your adventure!

Hmmm...thought it was too good to be true. The helpful person at NRMA misunderstood me when I said my vehicle was going overseas, and assumed I was deregistering it.

Apparently this is the only way to get a refund on the CTP. And I've tried different people at the RTA, and always get the same response that it's not possible to renew rego without the CTP.

So another $400 to spend...

Don't you just love the bureacracy.

So are you able to de-register it in NSW and then re-register it in another country during your travels?

Or is this all just getting too ridiculous now?

Sorry I don't have any answers.

Just glad that I'm now living in NZ where I renewed my car registration today. A hell of a lot cheaper than NSW!

Yes, it's all just getting too ridiculous.

I think de- then re-registering overseas is going to be expensive with import duty, plus I've already got the carnet sorted out here which has my NSW rego details all over it.

So it looks like I'm going to have to admit defeat and pay up unless anyone else has any bright ideas.

Almost feel like it would have been worth delaying my Africa trip a bit and taking a drive over to WA to register with them - no safety check required, renew online. Too easy, unlike NSW.

Here in NZ you can rego for overseas, minus the accident comp insurance for the princely sum of NZ$79 a year. Come here first, it'll cost you less than a years NSW rego for paperwork to import and export AND you can have a ride around the shakey isles too.

Cheers bloke,

Nigel in NZ

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Would be a great idea Nigel, except my truck's already on a boat heading for Cape Town

Paul, I'm not sure how "flexible" or comfortable you feel about bending the rules but here is an option.

In Victoria - and I'm guessing NSW is similar - around about a month before the rego expires we receive the new paperwork and rego label in the mail. All that is required is for you to pay by credit card to validate the rego - there is no further documentation that you need to receive. The only people who will ever check if the rego has been paid are the local traffic police, if you are stopped for some other infraction of the traffic laws.

So in essence you have everything you need, and if you happen to be overseas then there is nobody any the wiser as to whether or not the rego has actually been paid or not.

Another alternative if you have already paid the CTP/rego would be to tell the NSW RTA you have lost your plates, ask for a replacement set, receive them and then cancel the rego. This way you have a spare set of plates you can use, together with the original (or a copy of the) rego papers and you can obtain a refund from NRMA insurance. I understand some may not feel comfortable with this but the reality is that your NSW rego is worthless overseas - all it does is provide a registration number that customs personel can use to fill in on your entry/exit paperwork. You are still going to need to purchase local traffic accident insurance in each country you travel through, regardless.

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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman

Thanks for the info Garry. I'm fairly comfortable with bending the rules when they're worthless bureaucratic bullsh1t so might look into this a bit more.

My main complaint was the need to pay CTP, when like you say I'll have to pay for local insurance over in Africa.

I've already paid the rego and CTP. As a foreigner here I didn't know that the new sticker gets sent out, I thought I would only get that when I paid. If I'd known that I would probably just not have paid and put the new sticker in the window. How many African cops are going to know the difference anyway.

Once again, thanks for the info

Farquhar, I have no idea how the system works in Victoria but in NSW it is impossible to renew registration without a current pink slip (proof of roadworthiness) and a current green slip (proof of CTP cover).

I know the pink slip can now be done online, not sure about the green slip, but if you don't have all the documentation you don't get the registration certificate. And the rego label is meaningless if it doesn't have the RTA's imprint.

The only exception is that vehicles under a certain age don't require the pink slip.

Ahh, so it's still as tough as it ever was eh! I last lived in NSW 19 years back and given how much easier things have gotten in Vic since then I figured NSW might have progressed with the times too.

Good point about the rego label, though I wonder how many African nations will consider it meaningless without the RTA imprint? Given that Vic ones no longer have imprints - I honestly don't think they would be any the wiser.

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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman

As I've already paid the rego / CTP and therefore have a label with the imprint, getting an extra set of plates then returning them and cancelling the rego without giving the label back would be the way to go.

Seems doable but obviously against the rules. One consideration is also that having a fake rego would likely invalidate any local 3rd party insurance if it was needed. Not sure what the chances are of African cops calling the RTA to check though, but you never know.

More importantly my final destination after Africa is through Europe to the UK. I would think that they're much more likely to check, and the vehicle definately has to have current rego to get 3rd party insurance there.

Mind, I drive legally on a UK licence here and the RTA and DVLA (UK equivalent) still haven't figured out how UK licence holders can be given NSW demerit points, so they obviously don't speak with each other all that often!

Paul, I've taken a number of vehicles overseas - most recently last year when I rode from Korea to Italy.

I take a very pragmatic view of these things. The biggest risk in travelling is the risk to your own life and limb by riding/driving in local conditions where traffic rules are non-existent/different to what we are used to.

If you are prepared to risk this then everything else is fairly trivial by comparison - I assume any local insurance is worthless and will not cover me once the going gets tough, it's therefore just another "traveller's tax".

With this attitude / approach, it's therefore up to me to make sure I drive defensively and / or have sufficient funds to cover getting myself out of any traffic problems (i.e. cash settlements with aggrieved parties / local officials).

As far as getting 3rd party insurance for Europe goes I was never asked for any, and never bothered obtaining any, except for Russia and Croatia and they simply just looked at my rego papers. You should still have these even if you cancel your rego - if NSW RTA even bothers to asks for them when you cancel your rego just politely explain that you have lost/mislaid them.

Again, it depends on your own perspective of where you sit on the risk/reward spectrum.

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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman