Queensland registration

[jimmyd]

I thought I would let you guys know about the hassle I have had changing the registration of my just converted T5. My van is now a camper , with rock and roll bed fitted. In NSW , where all the work was done, all you need is the van to be checked by authorized mechanic, no compliance plate needed. In Queensland, forget it. They will not accept the engineers certificate from NSW, and have to have a metal compliance plate fixed to van. Plus the van has to be inspected by Qld Transport. So to make my van "legal" for Queensland, I had to shell out $275 for another engineers certificate, all he really did was check the NSW certificate and had a look at the rear seat belts. Then had to take the van to Qld transport so they could have a squiz as well. Red tape

[Deeceer]

I first became aware of the dreaded mod plates when I was into American cars. It's been a pain in the rear in Qld for years though it does have a (vaguely) sensible basis. Prior to the blue plates you just got a paper certificate showing approval of the modification - but if the paperwork got lost, there was no proof it had ever been approved so any work had to be recertified according to the current standards which could mean even more work. At least the blue plates show what was approved, stay with the car and you can't be forced to re-engineer to updated standards. But... the plates are ugly as sin, if you do one piece of work this year and another next you'll get 2 plates (I've seen one T4 with 3 separate plates - LPG and two seat updates - riveted here, there and everywhere) and they don't just speak but yell of a certification regime that needs standardising across the states. But why do that when you can hit up people again and again for no good reason (unless the state being broke is reason enough)?