Tasmanians

We finally have both vehicles registered here in Tasmania, our Tasmanian drivers licenses, and even our Tasmanian versions of the Seniors Card. The process was pretty straightforward, just about everything you need to know is available at www.service.tas.gov.au/ but some of the terminology can be confusing. “Proof of Entitlement” for vehicle registration if to somehow show you have paid stamp duty on it. Luckily we had copies of the old registration renewals from Victoria from before they went to online only, so that helped. You can also look up you vehicle registration at VicRoads to show it is registered and that together with bringing in the plates proves it I suppose.

The entire process so far for getting set up here is as follows:

​Insurance – Home and Contents:
Make sure you take out building insurance on the house you are buying, as soon as you sign the contract, even if that means paying for a few months before you move in. This protects you in the unlikely event the house is damaged or destroyed and for some reason you are still forced to go through with the purchase.
Assuming you have insurance through your moving company, you then need to upgrade your house insurance to include contents insurance for your belongings once they are delivered.
Vehicle Insurance:
We initially thought we would have to wait till we had the vehicles registered in Tasmania to be able to insure them in Tasmania, but RACT at least will insure them even with Victorian registration. You can then get a pro-rata refund if any, from your old interstate policy. Once you have your Tasmanian registration, just update the policy with the new information.
Proof of Residence:
For so many things like vehicle registration, licenses, etc. they want a utility bill showing your name and local address. The easiest thing to do is update your address with your bank, then get a statement, or print out the first page of your insurance policy, since it may be a few months before you get your first utility bills.
Vehicle Registration:
You need to get your vehicle inspected, similar to a roadworthy at an Approved Inspection Station (AIS) and then you have 30 days to take the report in to your nearest Services Tasmania, together with everything on the checklist www.transport.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/110981/MR114_08_14_Interstate_transfer_links.pdf
Once your vehicles are registered and you have your new Tasmanian Plates, you can request a refund refund of unused registration from VicRoads www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/registration/renew-update-or-cancel/cancel-your-registration/cancel-registration-and-apply-for-a-refund or from whatever state you are moving from.
Drivers License:
Pretty simple if you are fully licensed, just do it at the same time you do your vehicle registration. I think you only have 3 months after moving here permanently. We had 10 year Victorian licenses that had just under 6 years left on them, and Tasmania has maximum 5 year licenses. Tasmania honours the interstate license, which we had to surrender, so we got new 5 year licenses for free. We couldn’t get anything back from VicRoads for the unused time, but the fees are so much lower here we will come out in front anyway. Another good thing is that my Heavy Rigid vehicle endorsement transferred OK,  given that I originally got it in Tasmania anyway.
Change of Address:
Create a checklist and make sure you change your address with everything you think is important. We also paid for one year of mail forwarding with the Post Office, since we have a few addresses in the U.S. that need to be updated. Also, if you do receive any forwarded mail, it is a good way to see if you have missed anything.

No going back now, we are Tasmanian!