Recently, car clubs in New South Wales associated with the Transport For NSW conditional registration scheme were sent a notice regarding inspections recently conducted by the department, reproduced below:

Conditionally registered vehicles from five car clubs were recently inspected at Silverwater.

These inspections are part of series of compliance events directed at historic and classic vehicles, with more planned throughout 2026, explained Leigh Grant, Senior Manager – Vehicle Operations.

“I want to thank vehicle owners and clubs that have cooperated in conducting this ongoing operation. We have seen some well maintained, safe and compliant vehicles; however, there are some concerning vehicle safety issues arising from our inspections,” said Leigh.

“We remind clubs and owners of the importance of complying with Transport’s lawful directions regarding vehicle inspections. For the clubs and vehicle owners who have not complied, Transport will be exercising its powers.”

Transport directed 85 owners to present their vehicles for inspection to assess vehicle safety and confirm eligibility for historic and classic registration.

Key outcomes included:

• 46 vehicles inspected
• 25 vehicle defect notices issued
• 16 vehicles identified with major defects, including six deemed unsafe to drive from the inspection site
• 19 vehicles deemed ineligible for the Historic or Classic Vehicle Scheme.

Enforcement action is underway to cancel the registration of 39 vehicles that failed to comply with the inspection direction, including a vehicle registered to the responsible person of one club.

Two club officials who are also Authorised Examiners within the Authorised Inspection Scheme (AIS) have been referred for action against their AIS accreditation. The Motor Vehicle Tradesperson Certificate of one person was expired and the Motor Vehicle Repairer Licence of the other was expired.

As the first line of compliance, recognised clubs play a vital role in the historic and classic vehicle scheme. It is essential that the integrity of the scheme is protected.

Currently, there are two basic limited-use permits for classic cars in New South Wales. The HVS (Historic Vehicle Scheme) is for unmodified, original vehicles, while the CVS (Classic Vehicle Scheme) is for cars with engineered and approved modifications.

Our sources suggest that this has been coming for a while, with Transport For NSW said to have previously expressed frustration at clubs that were made aware of members’ vehicles suspected to be non-compliant with the NSW Historic Vehicle Scheme.

Along with focusing on cars that should’ve been on the CVS instead of the HVS, we hear that the authorities are also concerned about owners of cars on the CVS scheme failing to keep their engineering up to date with subsequent modifications, such as engine or gearbox swaps.