BACKGROUND

As a Victorian road user and registered owner of custom number plates, I am writing to raise serious concerns about the $145.70 fee charged by VicRoads for assigning existing, previously purchased custom plates to a new vehicle. This fee appears disproportionate, lacks transparency, and places an unnecessary financial burden on responsible vehicle owners.

KEY CONCERNS

No Physical Plate Issue

• In most cases, VicRoads instructs owners to simply transfer their existing plates to the new vehicle and to destroy the standard plates being replaced.
• There is no manufacturing, postage, or replacement service involved, yet customers are charged as if a premium product or service is delivered.

Fee Does Not Reflect Actual Costs

• The $145.70 fee is labeled an "assignment fee", but VicRoads has not provided a breakdown or justification of what this cost covers.
  Reassigning an already registered plate to another car in the same name is a simple administrative process, unlikely to justify the high cost.

Double-Charging Custom Plate Owners

• Custom plate owners have already paid significant sums for the right to own personalised plates.
• Charging an additional $145.70 every time a vehicle is changed creates a repeat penalty for exercising plate ownership rights.

No Meaningful Alternative

• The current system provides no reasonable option for custom plate owners to avoid this charge - even when handling the plate transfer entirely by themselves.

Comparable Processes Are Cheaper

• Receiving brand-new standard plates (with physical items issued) costs as little as $40.
• This highlights a stark inconsistency between VicRoads’ cost structures for services of similar complexity.

WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR

We urge VicRoads and the Victorian Government to:

• Review and reduce the $145.70 custom plate assignment fee to better reflect the actual service provided - especially when no new plates are manufactured.

WHY IT MATTERS

Custom plate owners should not be financially penalized for simply choosing to transfer their own property between vehicles. This current pricing structure undermines trust in the system, discourages use of VicRoads services, and creates a perception of unfairness - particularly when the process involves little more than record updates and reusing existing hardware.

We call on VicRoads and the Victorian Government to listen to public concern, improve pricing transparency, and implement a fairer, more equitable reassignment policy for custom plate holders.