Australians can be fined $464 for not washing their car under a little-known road rule

How Australians can be fined up to $464 for not washing their cars under a little-known road rule

  • Drivers can be fined $464 and three demerit points for improperly washing car 
  • The steep fines apply if numbers plates are obscured by dirt in NSW 
  • Other states also have fines with SA having a staggering $534 penalty  


Australian drivers who do a poor job at washing their cars could be slapped with large fines, police have warned.

Staggering fines of up to $464 apply along with three demerit points if motorist’s licence plates aren’t displayed cleanly and clearly.

The fine was recently hiked up from $448 and a maximum penalty of $2,200 can apply if the rule violation is contested in court and upheld.

Road users could be slapped with a staggering fine of $464 and lose three demerit points if their licence plates aren’t cleaned properly

NSW Police wrote on Facebook that ‘not washing your car properly’ by ‘neglecting’ to clean the licence plate could cost drivers if the plates cannot easily be read from 20m away.

According to Clause 25 of the regulation by NSW Roads and Maritime Services, plates must be ‘clear and clean’, and must not be obscured, defaced or otherwise not legible.

You can also get stung for licence plates that are not properly displayed in the correct part of your car or are otherwise blocked from view.

NSW Police also said number plates are not allowed to be hinged. 

Drivers must be sure their number plates a easily readable from 20metres away

Drivers must be sure their number plates a easily readable from 20metres away 

LAWS BY STATE FOR HAVING A DIRTY NUMBER PLATE

  • QLD: Fine up to $104
  • NSW: $464 fine; three demerits
  • SA: Fine up to $534
  • VIC: Fine up to $161
  • WA: Fine up to $100  
  • NT: Fine up to $70
  • TAS: Fine up to $163

‘They must be securely fixed to prevent them swinging out of sight,’ law enforcement warned, adding that the $464 fine and three demerit points would apply.

The same law applies for other states but the dollar amount of the fine varies – with NSW having perhaps the harshest penalty where the fine is combined with the three demerit points.

Despite the hefty fine in NSW, other states in Australia have higher fines.

Car owners in South Australia could be fined up to $474 with an additional $60 for the victim’s levy, which covers the cost of support for car accident victims. 

In Western Australia, road users with ‘obstructed’ licence plates can be hit with a fine of up to just $100. 

In Victoria, road users are hit with a moderate fine of $161. 

The jurisdiction with the lowest penalty rate is the Northern Territory, with just a $70 fine for a licence plate that is ‘not displayed properly.’ 

Pictured: A poorly displayed licence plate from NSW Police Facebook page

Pictured: A poorly displayed licence plate from NSW Police Facebook page