AUS. Moving from VIC to QLD liveaboard. Proving residency?

[DevoDave]

We'll be moving from Victoria to Queensland later this year and moving onto our boat (Airlie Beach at the moment).

Looking to prove residency so we can move our licenses up north. According to forms on the website, there appears to be no way we can do that without fudging some facts.

Does anyone have any experience with the QLD system that can offer any suggestions?

[bill good]

I believe you have 12 mths before you have to complete the paper work.

Regards Bill

[banjoship]

Originally Posted by bill good

I believe you have 12 mths before you have to complete the paper work.

Regards Bill

Three months.

In Gladstone, the water police stationed at the marina regularily check car number plates in the Marina carpark. Some people who spend part of the year in southern states, drive up to spend the rest of the year in Qld, have received stiff fines for not changing over car reg and driver's licences. Ridiculous.

Lee

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by banjoship

Three months.

In Gladstone, the water police stationed at the marina regularily check car number plates in the Marina carpark. Some people who spend part of the year in southern states, drive up to spend the rest of the year in Qld, have received stiff fines for not changing over car reg and driver's licences. Ridiculous.

Lee

And yet we are one country, i just find it disappointing our powers to be behave in such pathetic ways. Somehow i think we are over policed, over lawed and over lawyered...

Shame real crime and wasteful beurocrats weren't treated with same diligence.
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[aclmck]

Originally Posted by Lagoon4us

And yet we are one country, i just find it disappointing our powers to be behave in such pathetic ways. Somehow i think we are over policed, over lawed and over lawyered...

Shame real crime and wasteful beurocrats weren't treated with same diligence.
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Yes unfortunately it has been going on for years, about 10 years ago i was in Nsw on my way to work one morning when pulled over, after i explained i was staying in a motel and was down for a few weeks from QLD he let me go, apparently if i had rented a house and working in the state that was another story????

I AGREE it is all BS with an international drivers licence you can drive almost anywhere in the world we have a lot of tourists here doing exactly that, in Australia we have different laws from state to state try riding a Moped in many of the states except Qld with a car licence, you need a bike licence in NSW (Don't ask more points and a few bucks)

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by aclmck

Yes unfortunately it has been going on for years, about 10 years ago i was in Nsw on my way to work one morning when pulled over, after i explained i was staying in a motel and was down for a few weeks from QLD he let me go, apparently if i had rented a house and working in the state that was another story????

I AGREE it is all BS with an international drivers licence you can drive almost anywhere in the world we have a lot of tourists here doing exactly that, in Australia we have different laws from state to state try riding a Moped in many of the states except Qld with a car licence, you need a bike licence in NSW (Don't ask more points and a few bucks)

My home town is Gladstone as is our boat's Port of Registry, here in Corfu there are bugger all road rules until you have an accident if you get my drift? They don't tell you how to do it that's your problem..

But mind you it's quite common to see a family of 4 on a moped with no helmets, law states as long as you have a helmet, whether it's at home is another matter......

Incredible difference..

[banjoship]

An invoice for a marina berth is accepted for Qld driver's licence and Qld boat registration. I suspect an invoice/tenancy agreement for a fixed mooring might also be accepted. I don't know whether a rental invoice for say, a week, would be acceptable. Maybe they need evidence for several months? Call Qld Transport and ask.

Po Boxes are not acceptable as evidence of residency, but are acceptable for mail.

And, of course, when you shift, you are supposed to advise change of address...all too hard for the cruising sailor. Getting your annual registration sticker can be a real drag. You can pay by internet, but the sticker gets mailed to your last mail address. MSQ and the Police are red hot on current registration and display of current stickers and registration number.

Lee

[DevoDave]

The boat is actually QLD reg'd, and I have marina invoices coming out of my wazoo because it is in a charter fleet already. The mailing address for the rego is a PO box addressed care of the charter company so you suspect that might do?

The forms I have seen are looking for a definite residential address though.

[banjoship]

Originally Posted by DevoDave

The boat is actually QLD reg'd, and I have marina invoices coming out of my wazoo because it is in a charter fleet already. The mailing address for the rego is a PO box addressed care of the charter company so you suspect that might do?

The forms I have seen are looking for a definite residential address though.

If you are living aboard, berthed at a marina, and produce an invoice for berth rental, that is evidence of residential address. if you are not living aboard, because the yacht is in charter, its a different situation. I am now very unclear what you are asking. I don't know what licences you are referring to in your original post. Boat registration does not require residency. If you are resident for more than 3 months you are legally required to have the relevant Qld licences to operate a vehicle or a boat, and must supply evidence of residency to obtain these.

If you are at all concerned, I suggest you call the Qld Transport general query line and ask. The call is anonymous.

Lee

[Kinta Ray]

Hi,

Wish I could shine some light on this for you but unfortunately I am in the same boat as you(no pun intended). I live here in Queensland (on my boat in a marina for the moment but intending to sail north and possibly to WA within the next week or so) I have tried 4 times to get a response from QLD Transport (2 E-Mails & 2 in person) but it appears that no one working there knows what the correct answer is. I use my sons address as my postal address and was told by the girl in the local QLD Transport branch that my postal address will do but the police require a residential address so I don't think this is correct? The trouble is I don't know where to go from here as the branch staff don't seem to care and the response to my E-mails was "go to your local branch" so much for customer service. I have already applied for and been accepted as having "No Fixed Address" as I will be constantly moving around but I would still like to keep my Drivers Licence current for the times I do come ashore. I believe that as long as you keep in touch with the Coast Guard while travelling around your boat can be used as your residential address for your boat licence. Sorry I can't help but if you find any information about this problem I would really appreciate a E-mail.
Thanks
Ray

Sorry just noticed the date but if you found anything I'd really appreciate any info?

[aclmck]

As a Queenslander if i change address i only have 48 hrs to notify the qld transport of my change of address (don't ask how i know $300 and some points as i recollect). Usually you will give them the marina address, then your postal address, if i'm not mistaken your boat is already registered with them so if you do a change of address (by email these days) and a change of mailing address' you should be able to walk into the Qld transport centre and complete the driving license changes instantly (it takes around 1-2 hours). If you don't get service to enable this to happen ask to see the office manager!!!

[bill good]

yes sorry 3mths. Why can't you give the street address of the marina & a PO Box for postal address? You can have my address if you want. Just use a friends Qld address. I had a simular problem driving about the USA & found a distant family contact to get phone & internet services at a reasonable rate. You have to love red tape.

Bill

[Wattsailing]

We thought this would be tricky until we tried it - we have our yacht name and marina address listed on both our drivers licenses, electoral roll entry and rego papers. Once we got it on our licenses everything else was easy! We have a PO Box but this is not allowed to prove residency. Boat rego is WA and the rest is NSW

[DevoDave]

Thanks for all the replies people...

Just to clear up confusion, boat is currently in a charter fleet but that will end in December or so when we move aboard. We'll be on the anchor most of the time once we move aboard, but I have many past invoices for marina use... but not for any single berth but for a pool of berths. I understand I need to change my vehicle licenses as well as my marine licence within 30 days of the move.

I too have emailed QLD transport and not received a reply. Interesting KintaRay is in the same boat.

Thanks for the offer BillGood, but I'll try to sort this out without fudging the facts before resrorting to skullduggery.

[Kinta Ray]

Thanks for the reply Aclmck,
My problem is that I will be constantly moving around for the next couple of years so my residential address will be moving with me. I am not planning on staying anywhere more than 3 weeks at a time. QLD Transport have been of absolutely no help at all, I know that they are busy and have to put up with some difficult customers but maybe if they put in a little more effort they wouldn't have so many difficult customers, if you get what I mean. I don't consider myself difficult to deal with but I am less than impressed with the responses that I have received, you sit in line for 20 minutes and all they do is try to get rid of you as soon as possible with "I don't know send an E-mail" or "your postal address will do".

I can tell you that the E-mail doesn't get much of a response and I am sure that "your postal address will do" is not correct either. I can't believe that no one in Qld Transport knows the answer but then we are talking about a Government Department so maybe no one does know the answer because they haven't come across this before and they haven't got any idiot sheet to follow, Frustrating to say the least when nobody wants to talk to you, even the police couldn't answer this one, just told me I had to have a residential address.

I'm just about ready to give up and cancel my car licence.