Federal Interstate Registration Scheme
Heavy vehicles (over 4.5 tonnes GVM) can choose to participate in FIRS.
FIRS plates are aa·nnaa, and are green on a reflective yellow background.
FIRS plates are issued by state authorities on behalf of the Commonwealth, and carry the format as specified by the Interstate Road Transport Regulations 1986 - Reg 21. Federal Interstate-registered vehicles are prohibited from undertaking intrastate journeys and can only be used for cross-border work.
The first character represents the state of issue:
- A for Australian Capital Territory
- C for Northern Territory
- N for New South Wales
- Q for Queensland
- S for South Australia
- T for Tasmania
- V for Victoria
- W for Western Australia
The second character represents the type of vehicle being registered:
- V for vehicle (typically issued to prime-movers, but are also attached to rigid vehicles such as coaches and moving trucks).
- T for trailer.
- X for extra weight, for vehicles with particular high gross vehicle or aggregate trailer masses.
The remaining characters are allocated by the issuing authorities. As most interstate transport companies are based on the East Coast, the majority of FIRS plates are registered in NSW and VIC. Some issues originate in QLD or SA, with the remaining states appearing relatively rarely.
A typical plate which might be found on a semi-trailer, registered to a company in NSW would be NT·08FA.
Read more about this topic: Vehicle Registration Plates Of Australia
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