IMPROVING ACCESS TO VEHICLE STATUS INFORMATION

Sub-program A: Reducing the Cost of Theft

Approach A2: Improving National Information Exchange and Registration Practices

Background

A large number of unrecovered stolen vehicles end up back on the market, with the identification numbers of written-off vehicles. A written-off vehicle is a damaged vehicle that is too expensive to repair or so badly damaged that it cannot be safely repaired. A written-off vehicle is one that is too expensive to repair or too damaged for safe repair. Under Australia’s system of written-off vehicle registers, a vehicle that has been classified as a Statutory Write-off is ineligible for re-registration.

Providing the public and motor car traders with access to non-personal information about a vehicle's status is integral to educating consumers on how they can minimise the likelihood of unwittingly buying a stolen vehicle. A similar service that provides information on whether a vehicle is financially encumbered has been available in all states and territories since the late 1980s.

Work Program

Report on Options for Improving Consumer Access – April 2000

An NMVTRC commissioned report indicated strong stakeholder support for improving consumer access to non-personal vehicle status information. The report identified the National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System (NEVDIS) as the logical system to exchange registration, stolen and written-off status information nationally and the Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) network as the logical 'shop front' for public access to the information (via an interface to NEVDIS).

Click here for a copy of the report.

Working Group Established - February 2002

A joint NMVTRC/Austroads/REVS working party was established to identify and resolve inter-agency and inter-jurisdictional barriers to establishing a virtual one-stop-shop for the delivery of vehicle status information to consumers.

The NMVTRC allocated $200K to offset implementation costs.

Queensland implemented the preferred service delivery arrangements in October 2002 and Victoria in late 2004..

Consumers in Tasmania can check the registration and written-off status of Tasmanian vehicles on-line via the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources’ web site.

Next Steps

Improved consumer access arrangements are expected to be implemented in New South Wales in mid 2006 and will also service the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory via existing agency arrangements with those jurisdictions. Implementation is contingent on road authorities finalising arrangements under which other parties access registration data.

Click here for details of how to minimise the risk of buying a stolen vehicle.