Are caravan registration fees too high?

Just as the cost of living only seems to get higher, one expense that has fallen in recent years – in some states at least – is caravan registration fees.

A caravan shouldn’t cost much to register; it’s typically only out on the road and being towed a few weeks, and certainly doesn’t get out onto the road network most days of the year like the typical car does.

When it comes to cars and motorhomes, all states and territories levy a duty to register a motor vehicle in your name, typically a percentage (it’s usually around the three per cent mark) of either its value or purchase price (whichever is the greatest).

Then the cost of keeping that vehicle on the road - a road use fee, if you like - is usually levied according to either the vehicle’s weight or engine capacity.

However for caravans (except for two jurisdictions) there’s no transfer duty or tax. That means when you buy a caravan, to get it registered in your name you’ll only pay a token administration fee in most states.

Australian Capital Territory

In the ACT, there’s no transfer duty to get the caravan into your name, and a caravan registration fee is calculated according to the van’s weight. For 12 months’ registration of caravan weighing between 1505kg-2499kg, that’s $467.40 (a 2500kg to 2504kg van is $699.70). The weight ranges of 3055kg to 3304kg and 3305kg to 3564kg have the same fee – $925.10 a year.

A bit of a struggle to pay? Like most states/territories, you can have a shorter registration period and therefore pay less. In the ACT, you can get registration in three or six month periods, although that’s two per cent more expensive than paying yearly.

Prices have come down in the ACT – for example, to register a 3000kg van in the ACT three years ago, it cost $1447 annually. For a caravan weighing between 3055kg and 3304kg Tare, it used to be $1579.

New South Wales

It was nine years ago that the NSW Government decided to abolish the stamp duty to transfer a van’s rego into your name. There was talk in 2014 of reducing caravan registration costs and finally this year it became a reality.

The changes will deliver a 40 per cent reduction in caravan registration fees in NSW November 1. Strictly speaking, it’s the motor vehicle tax that is being reduced, not the registration fee, which remains at $65 per year.

The fee reduction is for private caravans and camper trailers with a tare weight between 255kg and 4500kg, whose registration is due from November 1.

Like Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory, NSW charges according to the caravan’s weight for motor vehicle tax. From November, a caravan weighing from 1505kg to 2504kg Tare will cost $252 in motor vehicle tax (now $421). For a caravan weighing from 2505kg to 2794kg, it will cost $397 (now $663).

Queensland

Queenslanders don’t need to pay stamp duty on rego transfer. Registration costs just $195.35 a year in the sunny state, so long as the caravan’s ATM (fully loaded weight) is less than 4500kg.

Tasmania

Tasmania has no stamp duty for registration transfer on a caravan (just a $27.90 transfer fee). Registration costs for a trailer or caravan weighing from 500kg to 4500kg are $139 for 12 months. But you additionally have to pay for third-party personal insurance on a caravan on the Apple Isle (it’s covered by the tow vehicle in every other state/territory). However, this Motor Accident Insurance Board (MAIB) fee is just $59 a year.

Northern Territory

For the Northern Territory, you pay three per cent stamp duty for vans, plus a $17 transfer fee. The annual registration fee is based on Tare weight, so over 12 months a 1401-1600kg van is $220.05, and a 2001-3000kg van is $323.05.

Victoria

Victoria, like the Northern Territory, has a transfer tax for caravans. In Victoria you pay $5.40 per $200 of market value for a new caravan, and $8.40 per $200 of market value if it’s used.

So for a new $50,000 caravan, you’ll cop $1350 in stamp duty. Buying a $20,000 used van? You’ll pay $820 stamp duty.

Once VicRoads has got its tax to get that new or used van into your name, it goes much, much easier on you. Re-registering a van in Victoria is a bargain — $58.10 is all you’ll pay for annual rego for any caravan.

Western Australia

In WA, you don’t have to pay any stamp duty (or Vehicle Licence Duty as it’s called there). For annual rego, it’s $5.74 per 100kg of Tare. So that’s $57.40 for a 1000kg caravan, $114.80 for a 2000kg caravan and $172.20 for a 3000kg van.

South Australia

South Australia is one of the cheapest states to live in when it comes to caravan rego fees. There’s no transfer duty to pay on caravans and once it’s in your name, the SA government charges no stamp duty for caravans and only $84 for 12 months rego.