There are other portals on the website that allow you to update your details to ensure that you receive the renewal notice. Many vehicle owners who move house or change their postal address forget to notify the Department of Transport.

At peak times the Transport Department can have lengthy wait times on hold, to avoid the hold music, visit their website and follow the link below to update your details online.

https://www.service.transport.qld.gov.au/changeofaddressQt/public/Welcome.xhtml?windowId=d30

With the changes in the registration labels it is recommended to put the renewal dates as a reminder in a calendar or alarm reminder in your phone the week before it is due to ensure that the registration is kept on the vehicle at all times.

What happens if the registration lapses on your vehicle?

Technology now allows police vehicles to instantly run your vehicle through their database as they drive past you and it will tell them if your vehicle is unregistered. You can be driving perfectly within the road rules and not drawing attention to yourself and the police will instantly know if your vehicle is no longer holding a valid registration.

The Police will remove your plates and issue fines to the driver.

At the same time, they will see instantly when it is paid, as their system is live with the Transport Department. As soon as the registration is back on the vehicle the Police will know.

Compulsory Third Party Insurance (otherwise known as CTP Insurance) is apart of your registration and is mandatory for all vehicles that are driven on Queensland Roads. When you run out of registration your vehicle are still covered for the CTP insurance on the vehicle for an additional 30 days.

Once that time period has expired the vehicle cannot be moved from its location without CTP Insurance. If the vehicle is pulled over at the Service Station for example, it cannot be moved from the location until a Safety Certificate is issued and that is only issued if the vehicle is roadworthy.

There are Mobile Safety Certificates available in Queensland that allows the accredited examiner to travel to the location of the vehicle and conduct a Safety Certificate Inspection.

One of the sections of the Safety Certificate Inspection is a Road Test. This road test cannot be performed without CTP insurance. If the vehicle has been out of its registration for more than 30 days. The vehicle must have this insurance taken out on it before the examiner arrives.

If there are any defects with the vehicle the vehicle will need to be towed to a workshop to have the repairs carried out by a mechanic. The repairs need to completed within 14 days of the first inspection. This is the time set by the Transport Department. If this time expires, the Safety Certificate is cancelled and the process will need to be started again from the beginning.

Regular maintenance on your vehicle with your mechanic will ensure that the vehicle is kept in a roadworthy condition at all times. The defects that are found at the time of a Safety Certificate Inspection are items that are checked when a vehicle is put into a workshop for a service. This maintenance and upkeep will lessen the risk of the vehicle failing a Safety Certificate Inspection and save you time in the long run.

Always remember, mechanical issues won’t fix themselves and quite often, the longer they are left the more they are going to cost to repair.