Doing the Australian Boat Registration Shuffle - Is it Even Possible ?

[svstrider]

This is a query for all you Australian arm chair lawyers.
My cat is presently registered in Queensland at an annual cost of >$400 which entitles me to exactly NOTHING.

The state government increased the fee by about 160% 2 years ago to provide more boat launching facilities. Boat ramps are of no use to me.

In other states the fee is much less - Tasmania $85 and Northern territory no registration is required.

I WAS THINKING - I have a nephew in Tasmania and as I live on my boat, could I transfer the rego to that state. The problems I see are that
- my boat licence which is recorded on my car licence gives my old Qld address which is now rented.
- how long could I sail around Qld before I would be required to have Qld registration? Would it just be a matter of heading down to NSW and returning to restart the clock?

What do boats coming unregistered from the NT do in the other states?

[MarcW]

Paul,
Have heard of others and meet one yacht owner that has registered in NT he was SA, keeping a low profile.
The SA yacht just had Darwin on her stern. (yachts look better with out all the numbers all over thier sides).
I left WA in july, heading back to Tas, we have a rental thier and changed all our licences over and our mailing address to Tas.
Will be registering the yacht in Tas before we move on, alot cheaper than WA.
The problem I see is the 3 month rule which applys to vessels staying longer have to be registered in that state we will be heading north and keeping a low profile .
Tas has alway been more flexible I have had car rego & licenses renewals sent to a WA address, SA, WA would not do that you have to be in thier state.

Good luck

[svstrider]

I wonder if I sail back down to Tweed Heads NSW (only 20 nm south) every 3 months and record it in the ship's log,if that would set the 3 month clock back to zero.

OR even just write it in the log NAH, I would never do that!

Now how do I find out, without setting the Qld Water Nazis on to me?

[jpemb7]

If your boat is registered in some state, NT, Tas where ever and if you move around, then there shouldn't be a problem. If the transport authority bail you up, you show them your current state registration. Tell them you are only here temporarily, on holiday. It's when you stay in the one harbour long term that you strike problems.
Having said that, since they increased the fee they are becoming more vigilant at policing registration compliance. It's a great revenue raising activity. And in our post 9/11 world they may keep a closer track of boat movements. (Just because your paranoid, doesn't mean everyone isn't out to get you)
For the record, my boat is on a public mooring ($800 per year). Maintenance of these facilites is paid for in part, by registration fees. So I don't mind the $270 per year that I have to pay.

[Wand]

To the OP, I'd think that since you live on your boat you'd easily get away with it provided you scrammed occasionally. But be aware the loophole won't last long - states are all coming into line on this one, and Tas and the NT will follow soon. SA adopted the standard a couple of years back, which increased annual fees enormously for some boats.

It's an really stupid formula that's being adopted; it charges according to boat length. As boaties know, length is not a reliable measure of value and, as a fairness principle, fees should always reflect (market) value. It also kills the incentive to preserve heritage vessels, which are often on the long and narrow side and not worth much on the market. Horsepower would be a better yardstick but I guess that opens the door to cribbing. Talking through my pocket, I'd nomimate market value as the best yardstick. :-(

PS: The above poster is doing well with his publicly maintained mooring; there's no such return on the fees for yachties in SA. All moorings are private or club-owned.

[dirkdig]

We take our cat from Vic to Qld every year for a 4-5 month stay.
1.it is Vic registered at $70 per year
2.The qld authorities have no idea when we bring it to QLD for how long or when we arrive or leave the sunny state.
3. we bought it from QLD and the reg was $600.00.

Just get it done and stop getting ripped off by QLD i would like to see them prove it as far as time limits kept in the state.

[Don1500]

Watch it, they may make you raise a yellow flag every time you come into a harbour.

[ozskipper]

Seriously? I know youre getting you value for money via the magnificent waterways you have and how well they are marked and kept clean. I bet you have used a jetty/pontoon/wharf or similar. Even if its only with the tender. Not having a go at you strider, I just think that for all the f***ing around I wouldnt bother.

Being locally registered also means they can contact you if your boat is sinking while at anchor. If youre unregistered, how do they do that?

Cheers
Oz

[Nicholson58]

We sail on Lake Michigan and live in Michigan USA. Our water use sticker is 560.00. Same logic regarding boat launch facilities and boat length. I can't get within 100 feet of most facilities and my S10 pickup has difficulty dragging the 35 ton boat out of the water on its trailer. Then there the matter of the mast on the highway.

We are USCG Documented which prevents us from displaying anything but the vessel name and port. The state, however, periodically polices marinas looking for vessels like ours for the state water use sticker. We have a 60 day transient rule here. Likely we could scoff at the rules but getting caught brings down large fines and will also show up on our Master's credintials withthe Coast Guard. Old advice here is "don't fight city hall". You can't win or hide if they decide to make life difficult.

We look forward to sailing your grounds in a few years. I've studied nearly every mile of your coast with GOOGLE EARTH. The north and western coasts look fascinating.

[VirtualVagabond]

Any idea what the cost in NSW would be for a 50ft mono?
My last boat was 45' but in a charter fleet and from memory was around $760 pa. I'm sure private rego would have been cheaper.

[OffsoonGreg]

How does it work if the boat has Austrailan Rego do you still need each state?

[jpemb7]

I'll tell you what though, they're going to need every cent of your registration fee and mine to fix up the mess left after these recent floods.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...risbane+floods

But watch this space. What's the bet that reg fees increase again to pay for repairs to pontoons, navigation markers, damaged ramps and removing navigation hazards.

[jpemb7]

How does it work if the boat has Austrailan Rego do you still need each state?

You must have state reg but Aust reg is optional.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

We sail on Lake Michigan and live in Michigan USA. Our water use sticker is 560.00. Same logic regarding boat launch facilities and boat length. I can't get within 100 feet of most facilities and my S10 pickup has difficulty dragging the 35 ton boat out of the water on its trailer. Then there the matter of the mast on the highway.

We are USCG Documented which prevents us from displaying anything but the vessel name and port. The state, however, periodically polices marinas looking for vessels like ours for the state water use sticker. We have a 60 day transient rule here. Likely we could scoff at the rules but getting caught brings down large fines and will also show up on our Master's credintials withthe Coast Guard. Old advice here is "don't fight city hall". You can't win or hide if they decide to make life difficult.

We look forward to sailing your grounds in a few years. I've studied nearly every mile of your coast with GOOGLE EARTH. The north and western coasts look fascinating.

Don't go there in (their) summer, it's worse than QLD. Check the current weather map for NW Australia.

UGGERRLEY !

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

We sail on Lake Michigan and live in Michigan USA. Our water use sticker is 560.00.

God, don't mention that to Ontario. So far, we have no such thing. Mind you, since we share the lake with the U.S., maybe it's prohibited or too complicated or something like that.

But so far, nothing.

Connemara