Vehicle Registration Plates of Australia - Federal Numbering Scheme

Federal Numbering Scheme

From 1951-2, Australian automobiles were to adopt a broad scheme across all states and territories for vehicle number plates. Both NSW and Victoria had previously issued plates with 2-letter, 3-digits, white on a black background. However, while implemented, this was not entirely popular as some states and territories preferred their own identity reflected on their vehicles instead. They were 'meant' to use the following proposed scheme:

• New South Wales: AAA-000 to FZZ-999
• Victoria: GAA-000 to MZZ-999 (Ixx-nnn series skipped initially, but used after the Lxx-nnn series)
• Queensland: NAA-000 to QZZ-999 (Oxx-nnn series initially skipped by Queensland)
• South Australia: RAA-000 to TZZ-999
• Western Australia: UAA-000 to VZZ-999 (V was not used; issued X after U ran out)
• Tasmania: WAA-000 to WZZ-999 (later 2 letters & 4 digits)
• Northern Territory: XAA-000 to XZZ-999 (not taken up; stayed with 6 digits))
• Australian Capital Territory: YAA-000 to YZZ-999 (ACT Government plates adopted numeral only plates in the late 1990s (200-000 to 299-999) with the words ACT GOVERNMENT embossed beneath numerals to replace the Z series government plates)
• Commonwealth Government ZAA-000 to ZZZ-999 (with initial Z in red), issued Australia-wide.

Western Australia deemed itself too large to fit into the proposed scheme and adhered to one of its own devising; plates in the Ixx-nnn series were to be skipped (as a capital-I was believed to be easily mistaken for a number 1). This allowed the two populous states with greater registrations of vehicles 6 letter-series each (NSW had A-F, Victoria G-H and J-M), and others with 3 letter-series (Queensland N-Q, South Australia R-T, Western Australia was allocated U-V). Tasmania was only given one, W, due to its size, and the ACT Y. Z was for federal government department use Australia-wide, the 2nd letter reflecting the commonwealth department.

Plates were to be uniform in size. NSW adopted yellow background and black lettering, ACT white background and blue lettering, Victoria adopted a black background with white lettering for its initial scheme allocation. Once this overflowed, Victoria began using from AAA-000 to FZZ-999 on white background and green lettering (later blue commencing at NAA-000), QLD black background with white lettering, Tasmania white background and blue lettering, SA white background and black lettering, and WA white background (later changed to yellow) and black lettering. NT kept to their white background and all-numbers in ochre that the all numerics ended in June 2011 and began using CA-00-AB onwards.

However, this system was not as popular as expected: the Northern Territory refused and continued its previous all-number system. Western Australia soon adopted the scheme, taking charge of the previously NT allocated XAA-000 to XZZ-999 (WAG-000 to WAG-999 they reserved for WA Government vehicles, then extending to XZZ-999). However many WA rural shires chose to issue their own series plates, with initial letters being Shire abbreviations followed by digits, in the WA colour scheme.

Queensland, after initially skipping the O-series (as a capital-O was often confused for a number 0), were left with too few combinations for a growing number of registrations. The Q series plates were reserved for QLD government use. In 1978, having exhausted Nxx-nnn to Pxx-nnn combinations Queensland reversed the format, starting at 000-NAA continuing through to 999-PZZ in 1987, when plates commencing at 000-AAA were issued. Colours were white reflective background and green lettering (later maroon).(There are still a number of vehicles in Queensland - growing rarer as new cars and new plates replace them - with the old white-on-black Q and six black on white digits at this time. Only one of these was issued, for display at the rear.)

All the remaining states and territories stuck to their initial allocations, until the number of registrations became too large for each state and were 'overflowed' into other series otherwise allocated to another state: NSW overflowed from FZZ-999 to GAA-000 (otherwise issued to Victoria) in 1972, Victoria (having reserved the Mxx-nnn series for State government registrations) overflowed from LZZ-999 to IAA-000 (previously skipped) in 1974, and then from IZZ-999 to AAA-000 (otherwise issued to NSW) in 1977. South Australia did similar, overflowing from SZZ-999 to UAA-000 etc. (having reserved the Txx-nnn series for trailer registrations).