Registration increase for FIRS/ACT heavy vehicles
An annual registration charge increase of 2.3% will apply from 1 July 2008 to trucks and buses registered in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Federal Interstate Registration Scheme (FIRS).
The legislated registration charge adjustment process for FIRS and ACT registered heavy vehicles was triggered by the rejection of Commonwealth legislation to recover road-use costs in the Senate.
No annual adjustment will be applied by States and Territories implementing the Model Heavy Vehicle Charges Act 2007.
The annual adjustment formula is based on changes in road expenditure and vehicle use.
A significant increase in road expenditure over the previous three years resulted in a 9.4% adjustment which was capped at 2.3% by the application of a Consumer Price Index (CPI) ‘ceiling’.
An estimated 8,900 interstate trucks are registered in FIRS, with 2,300 heavy vehicles garaged and registered in the ACT.
For transparency, the full calculations are published here:
ACT Calculation of the Adjustment Factor
FIRS Calculation of the Adjustment Factor
To assist heavy vehicle operators pass-on genuine road-user charge increases, the following tables (see Attachment A) set out charges for FIRS, ACT and other State/Territory registered trucks and buses.
The phasing-in of approved national heavy vehicle charges means there is not a significant difference in charges in 2008/09.
MORE INFORMATION
Heavy Vehicle Charges Reform
On 29th February 2008, the Australian Transport Council unanimously approved a national reform to ensure heavy vehicles pay their fair share of increased road spending (as required by the Council of Australian Governments). More information here: http://www.atcouncil.gov.au/communique/atc27.aspx
Final Heavy Vehicle Charges Determination - February 2008 http://www.ntc.gov.au/ViewPage.aspx?page=A023164054003000200
Annual Registration Fee Adjustment
As required by the Road Transport Charges Act 1993, heavy vehicle registration charges are subject to an annual adjustment. The adjustment automatically applies on July 1 each year and reflects increases or decreases in road expenditure and vehicle use.
Note: because the annual adjustment was not applied to FIRS vehicles in 2006, heavy vehicle registration FIRS and ACT charges differ by 2.7%.
