The following residents of the ACT draw the attention of the Assembly: Currently the ACT Government has on offer at registration, standard number plates, European style number plates, & slimline number plates. These number plate styles do not fit the number plate cavity on low volume import Japanese vehicles.
This necessitates the modification of either the number plate or the vehicle. As you may be aware, it is illegal in the ACT under the Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulation 2000 to alter your number plate either by obscuring, defacing or otherwise making illegible. Many Japanese Domestic Market vehicle owners are unaware of this regulation and unknowingly will bend or alter their number plate in order to make the number plate fit the number plate cavity.
In order to comply with the regulation, this leaves the option of modifying the vehicle which many owners are loathe to do given the rarity of their vehicles, the cost & difficulty in modifying the vehicle, the impact to the value of the vehicle, and most importantly to the owner, their love of their vehicle as it is.
Japanese Domestic Market number plates have been introduced with great success in NSW, QLD, VIC & TAS, as have European style number plates in Australia. Owners in these states have the option to pay between $295 and $495 (depending on state) to have their plates made to fit the number plate cavity. Across the ACT there is a vibrant, enthusiastic, and extensive Japanese Domestic Market car community who would be more than happy to pay this premium to remain in line with current regulations and to keep their much-loved vehicles in showroom condition.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to call on the ACT Government to introduce Japanese Domestic Market style number plates in the ACT.