Types of registration, State of registration, RWC - can someone summarise?

Hi all. I'm still on the lookout and debating resto/build vs complete Oka purchase. In meantime, I've noted various mentions of GVM/GCM on registations, number of seats, original initial vehicle reg vs reg post changes, "camper" vs "tray" vs other?

Also, clearly it is likely that a suitable Oka may come up interstate. How does this impact ongoing ownership if it's moved back home (in my case, Victoria)?

So as one example:
- Oka in NSW. 2 seater with a camper body. GVM 6T
- if I moved it to Victoria, and then installed 3 rear seats (assuming an engineer is happy with mountings, seat belts and so on), what happens next? Do all alterations invite another round of RWC inspections and cost?
- Clearly GVM can vary greatly depending on builds. What if I, say, needed a 7T GVM (just for a hypothetical - I want to keep things light)?

I know is is not an easy topic, so just hoped to get some general ideas. Many thanks. Mat

Depends on the attitudes of the Department in Victoria. Ring them and ask, or better still, find your local approved engineer who knows OKAs and talk to him. A good engineer it key. Ask Paul Nott who he uses.
The modification approvals of one State may or may not be accepted in another State.

In SA, our OKA196 has 2 approved seats in the rear with belts, plus a child seat over the engine hatch in the front.
The GVM was increased from 5,500kg to 6,600kg and the GCM was increased from 7,000kg to 9,000kg.

OKA077 (which I am currently building) has recently had the GVM reduced to 4,495kg (to allow it to be driven on a car license) and the GCM increased to 7,995kg and the DIY tow bar approved to tow 3,500kg with a maximum down load of 450kg.
Cheers,
Peter

I can only comment on one example - my OKA purchase . My home address is in Victoria, The OKA I bought was registered in Queensland. When I purchased it I was able to retain Qld rego for a while having obtained a Qld Dept of Roads Customer Reference Number (CRN) (via a remote area police station whilst I was in Qld, prior to the purchase. This is the same number which is on a Qld Driving licence, except I did not have a Qld Driving Licence. I retained my Victorian Licence. When I purchased the OKA I was able to provide a Queensland Garaging address - a friend in Qld signed a Roads department form giving permission for his address to be used, All above board but it did take a bit of doingt o get past the lower lower level jobsworths who said it could not be done. I never in fact used the Qld Garaging address physically in the end as by the time the purchase was completed the seller had atken the OKA to OKA in Perth for some work & I collected it from there. Once I had the OKA back in Victoria, because I had owned it in Qld the transfer was very straightforward, just the paperwork & the 12 month rego fee. No RWC required so no inspection, because it had had a current Qld Safety certiificate during my ownership. Stamp duty in Qld was also less than in Victoria. - no more to pay when transferring it to Vic. When purchased it was on National Heavy Vehicle Plates so there was no extra cost for plates on transfer to Vic. However a couple of weeks after the transfer was done I paid for & fitted 'personalilised plates. There is a clause in the regulations which says something along the lines that if VicRoads believes that this process has been followed simply to reduce/avoid paying the stamp duty they can charge you more on transfer, but If circumstances are dot deemed suspicious this does not occur. There was one hiccup at the point of transfer of ownership. Qld Roads dept initially insisted that despite having copies of all my documents submitted via Qld Police & a CRN, that I must travel up to Qld from my home in Victoria to show them the original documents in person. I repeatedly told them that this made no sense gven that the documents they aready had had been accepted & the CRN issued. Lots of 'Computer says NO' statements . Eventually however I was able to speak to someomne with greater authority who 'magically' found a way for me to pay the transfer fees - I had to resend my ID documents to them (again) haveing had them validated/stamped by a Justice of the Peace and had to pay for the stamp duty with a bank cheque. There was no mechanism to do this with a bank transfer! Sending of that cheque in the mail was a nailbiting experience, but it all panned out as hoped for. Interestingly the GVM of 7260kg was somehow incrased by 40kg to 7300kg when the transfer paperwork was done in Victoria. I went into the VicRoads Office without the OKA to get the transfer done. Amusingly the chap doing the transfer looked out of the window on completion & pointrd to a Mack Truck & said "that's not yours is it?".

I think anyone at all who regards motoring as a hobby as well as a necessity will have often entered into battle royal with the motor reg departments!
We live in rural NSW now, and that means the dreaded annual roadworthy. There are not many truck testers in our area, so I will probably need to send the Oka on a diet to enable car registration....
Sighh.... doncha just hate bureaucracy!

#196 has never had a Department inspection since I purchased it in 2004. It was previously a tour bus on Kangaroo Island.
We can also pay our annual rego/3pp on line from anywhere.
They did not even want to see it after it was converted from a bus to a motorhome and had a GVM & GCM increase, but they might have. Using a good engineer helps, I reckon.

#077 came from Victoria and has to have an ID inspection before the first rego here in SA. They might look at it closely then, or maybe not. Anything is possible.

I have a friend who owns a Canter motorhome who uses our address in SA as his "garaging address". In practice, He lives in the vehicle full time. I don't think that vehicle has been in SA for at least 5 years, maybe 10?
Cheers,
Peter

After the Oka got written off it took me FOUR months to get my personal plates transferred onto the motorhome here in NSW.
The first stumbling block was that when the National Heavy Vehicle Plates came in back whenever rather than go to the trouble of getting new plates fitted to the existing heavy vehicles they just decreed that the plates on all existing heavy vehicle became Heavy Vehicle Plates.
So when I wanted to put them on my ute they said you can't they are heavy vehicle plates! I went into bat and told them that previous to them being on the Oka they had been on a light vehicle for 25 years! After much to and froing and me threathening local member involvement they changed them back to light vehicle plates.
the next thing was that they decided that my Bicentennial plates were no longer serviceable and must be remade at my expense!! Bloody ripoff all around

A LONG time ago when I was in primary school we read an essay called "The pusillanimous public servant". Nothing has changed today.......many still seem to me to act like schoolyard bullies, cowardly hiding behind their official status.
Lots do a great job, but many more did their training in the Department of Obstruction!

Types of registration...... (SA)
When #196 was purchased, it was a "bus". That was expensive to register.
In 1 weekend, with a sheet of chip board and other stuff I had handy, I removed seats, added storage, a bed across the back, a portable fridge and a gas stove.
Now it was a "caravan type vehicle" and rego cost reduced significantly.

A goods carrying tray will be more expensive than a camper.

In many states, there is "Historic Vehicle" registration that allows 3 years rego for about the cost of 1 year. The vehicle can be used 90 days per year via a log book.
In most States the vehicle must be 30 years old, in SA it is 25 years.
www.sa.gov.au/topics/driving-and-transpo...-street-rod-vehicles
Cheers,
Peter

I have spent a lot of time on this over the last month or so..... It really depends on who the engineer that had done the sign off and what states they are recognised in. Unfortunately for me over here in WA they only accept from a list of their own, and the cost to up the gvm/gcm to what I want and engine / transfer case swap is going to cost me around 10k..... I contacted several other companies that are nationally accepted and as soon as I said I was in WA they sigh and tell me that can't help me.

The states I know about that require yearly inspections are QLD and NSW

WA VIC don't need yearly inspections

WA don't need an inspection to change ownership, VIC and QLD you do need an inspection to transfer upon sale.

Imagine, just imagine for a moment.... that we all lived in the same country

Yes the State-to-State thing is so inefficient and silly!! I hadn't realised there was even a YEARLY requirement for inspections! Geez. What happens iof you're on the other side of the country or even overseas in your Oka? I'm in Vic, so I'll make sure I find a good Engineer who knows!

No yearly inspection for you in Victoria

Cheers, Dane