Eligibility age reduced, rules relaxed, fees cut in 2022 for more South Australian historic vehicles to hit the road

Thousands of previously unused South Australian historic vehicles also were expected to join the conditional registration scheme, with added support for tourism events such as car runs, shows and concours displays.
Image by Alina Eacott, courtesy ABC News Adelaide.

South Australians owners of historic or left-hand drive vehicles 25 years or older, manufactured before 1997, became eligible for cheaper car registration in 2022. This conditional registration scheme previously applied to vehicles made before 1992.

The 2022 scheme allowed a 12-month registration fee of $85 (a saving about $600 on normal fees), a discount on third party insurance, and reduced emergency services and lifetime support scheme levies. The scheme let owners drive their historic vehicles within South Australia up to 90 days during any 12-month registration period, providing chances for leisure drives and exhibition at classic car events and festivals.

To be eligible for the scheme, owners had to be a financial member of an approved motor vehicle club, keep a log of each trip, and not hire out or be paid a fee for the use of the vehicle.

The conditional registration scheme was established by the former Labor state government in 2017 and revised by the new Labor state government in 2022. It set off a boom in the number of the state’s car clubs that had reached 220 in 2022.

The Street Machine Association of South Australia, with Glenn Stankevicius a driving force, also successfully lobbied to relax the rules on modified vehicle under the conditional registration scheme that was previously only offered to hot rods and stock-standard pre-1979 classics. The previous rules were so restrictive that left-hand-drive imports couldn’t be converted, and a change of colour or wheels was enough to get a car barred from the scheme.

Under the new scheme, owners could improve the ride, handling and safety of their vehicles, and make cosmetic enhancements. Motoring clubs would no longer be responsible for carrying out vehicle inspections, reducing their administrative burden. Rules for left-hand-drive vehicles that prohibited making safety improvements, such as updating brake systems, also were relaxed.

Thousands of previously unused vehicles also were expected to join the conditional registration scheme, with added support for tourism events such as car runs, shows and concours displays