License plate (Australia)

License plate from Queensland

Features of the Australian Capital Territory

In Australia , license plates are issued by the individual states. They usually contain either the name of the state at the top or the name and a self-chosen motto at the bottom. Until the 1970s there was only an abbreviation of the state on the sign, not the full name and no motto.

The remaining part is numbered separately for the state. There is also the option of applying for fancy license plates (e.g. SURFER or similar) for a surcharge , as well as special number plates, the background of which shows your favorite club, for example.

For a long time there were three letters before three digits (for example: SJU 826). These labels were gradually issued in all states and each state decided on a new format. Today the following labels are issued in the individual states and territories:

Queensland : Here the digits are in front of the letters (e.g. 131 GHF).
Tasmania : Here is a letter followed by two numbers and two more letters.
Western Australia : There is a number in front of two or three letters (depending on the age of registration). This is followed by another three digits.
Northern Territory : Since mid-2011 there has been a pair of letters beginning with C , a pair of digits and another pair of letters.
New South Wales : For a few years now there have been pairs of letters, pairs of digits and pairs of letters.
South Australia : Here is an S followed by three digits and three more letters.
Australian Capital Territory : Here are three letters followed by two digits and one more letter.
Victoria : Here is a 1 followed by two letters, another number and two more letters.

Standard identifier

The usual identifiers of the member states (six federal states and two territories) can be distinguished from one another in terms of color coding and the type of numbering.

Constituent state	Color choice / format	motto	Current annual series / notes
Australian Capital Territory	blue White	ACT CANBERRA - THE NATION'S CAPITAL or ACT CANBERRA - HEART OF THE NATION or ACT CELEBRATION OF A CENTURY 2013	*YJ A 00A**
New South Wales	black yellow	NEW SOUTH WALES or NSW - The Premier State or NSW - The First State or NSW - Towards 2000 or, as part of the Olympic Games, NSW - Share The Spirit or New England - New South Wales	CD · 00 · AA
Northern Territory	ocher / white *CA 00 * AA**	NT - NT - Outback Australia or NT - Nature Territory	CB x 15 x AA
Queensland	red brown / white	QUEENSLAND SUNSHINE STATE or QUEENSLAND THE SMART STATE	*000 V AA** The latter motto is applied by screen printing, while the former is still embossed.
South Australia	black / white S 123 ABC	South Australia, formerly "SA - THE FESTIVAL STATE"	*S 000 B AA** This is the new sign format that will be used from October 2008. There is no longer a motto on these signs.
Tasmania	blue White	TASMANIA - Exploring the Possibilities , older series are Tasmania - Your Natural State and Tasmania - Holiday Isle	E 00 AA The background shows the state emblem (a pouch-wolf in reeds)
Victoria	blue White	VICTORIA - The Education State , older series are Stay Alert - Stay Alive , Victoria - Garden State , Victoria - On The Move or VICTORIA - The Place To Be	1EG 1AA Both the state emblem (south cross in a blue triangle) and the state motto are screen-printed on the shield.
Western Australia	blue White	WESTERN AUSTRALIA, older series are WA - The Golden State or WA - State of Excitement	1E KA 000 In addition to a desert sun, the upper edge of the shield is covered with a blue sky line, the license plate itself is embossed.

Euro plate

The Australian license plates are higher than the usual European license plates and are more similar to the American license plates . In addition to the usual license plate sizes, some states also offer variants that fit vehicles from European production. Traditionally, the text for the name and motto of the state in the upper / lower margin was dispensed with, and a vertically written three-letter abbreviation of the state was attached to the left margin. These marks corresponded in width to the usual Australian marks, but were less high and use a slightly narrower font.

Australian "Euro plate" from Victoria

Since the Australian license plates are narrower than the European license plates, some federal states have recently offered the option of using license plates that exactly correspond to the European format - 520 mm wide and 112 mm high (normal format) and 372 mm wide and 100 mm high ( Small format). This is what owners of high-quality European vehicles strive for, primarily for aesthetic reasons, which also imitate the blue field on the Euro license plate . In Victoria, the three vertical letters VIC then appear in the blue field, followed by a label with a leading “V” and the country's coat of arms - then the rest of the label sequence follows in the allocation of the state. Since these license plates also use the FE script , they are very similar to the German license plates , which makes the reference to German car brands perfect. With costs of several hundred Australian dollars , the issuing of these Euro plates is practically subject to a luxury tax.

Australian "Euro plate" from New South Wales

Something similar has also been possible in New South Wales since 2000, but here “N” must appear as the first letter of the approval number, the letters NSW appear in the blue field . In addition, in New South Wales it has been possible since 2006 to apply for the inverse color choice as a “Black Euro Plate”, in which white letters appear on a black background. Since, similar to the number assignment in Great Britain, the first letter describes the year of registration or refers to special codes such as abbreviations, the vehicles with Euro plates and a leading "N" / "V" are clearly distinguishable from other Australian registrations. There is a specialty in Queensland where the leading “Q” is otherwise only awarded to government vehicles and trailers.

Australian "Euro plate" from Western Australia

In general, special license plates are not uncommon in Australia - in Queensland there are already over 200 registrable license plate forms, so that special license plates are regionally more common than the standard license plates. However, the euro number plate seems to find nationwide recognition because other states introduced this type of number plate in the same way. Since August 2008 you can also apply for Euro plates in Western Australia, the national abbreviation in the blue field is WA , the registration number begins with a "W" and is followed by the state emblem , a stylized black swan as a separation from the remaining registration numbers. In South Australia, the Euro plate has existed since 2006. In addition to the state abbreviation SA , the approval number begins with an "S" and contains the national coat of arms as a separator. The individual letters as state abbreviations had already found a standardization for license plates for trucks in the past - the further abbreviation scheme is then A for the Australian Capital Territory, C for the Northern Territory and T for Tasmania. Of these three, however, only Tasmania has so far introduced euro plates as an alternative, while the registration authorities in Canberra and Darwin have initially rejected the issue of euro plates.

Web links

Commons : Australian License Plate - Collection of images, videos and audio files