The Nationals’ Member for Mildura, Jade Benham has called on the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, to explain apparent inadequacies within the Vic Roads Vehicle Identity Validation (VIV) process.
Ms Benham has asked the Minister to confirm the number of people in Victoria who are qualified to perform VIV inspections and whether she has considered a training and qualification process that would enable mechanics with the authority to perform roadworthy inspections to also perform VIV inspections.
In Victoria, when someone has restored a repairable write-off motorcycle or car, the vehicle must be transported to Melbourne, Geelong, or Bendigo for a Vehicle Identity Validation inspection before it can be sold. These are the only locations in the state where qualified inspectors are available.
By contrast, in New South Wales, VIV inspections can be carried out at local Transport for NSW offices, providing far greater accessibility for regional residents.
“Regional Victorians are once again being disadvantaged. Training more mechanics to be able to complete the inspections is a cheap and easy fix to this problem and would make the process far more accessible, especially for those in regional areas,” Ms Benham said.
Ms Benham further emphasised the financial and logistical burden this places on rural Victorians, many of whom are forced to travel long distances at great expense just to complete an inspection.
“This is another example of the state government failing to consider the needs of regional communities. It’s a simple issue with a simple solution,” Ms Benham added.
Ms Benham is urging the Minister to address these concerns promptly and take steps to ensure regional Victorians have fair and reasonable access to the Vehicle Identity Validation process.
