4 hours ago
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In the lead-up to the federal election, you may have spotted these number plates driving around our major cities.
There's no doubt that these attract attention as they're a combination that's not available for purchase by the average owner.
But what do these actually mean, and how can you get them?
What does the red Z on a number plate mean?
A red Z on the number plate means that it is a Commonwealth-owned vehicle commonly used for politicians' transport.
Up until the year 2000, all government-owned vehicles were prefixed with a Z as they were registered through the Commonwealth Vehicle Registry. That means that you would have previously seen vehicles used by the ABC, Telstra, Australia Post, and power/water/gas companies (before becoming privatised) with the red Z number plate.
These plates would also have "C of A" written at the top of the plate, as an abbreviation of "Commonwealth of Australia".
Since 2000, the Commonwealth Vehicle Registry's responsibilities have been passed onto state road authorities. When vehicles were upgraded, every government vehicle, besides the politician transport, phased into having regular number plates.
When you see one of these plates, you can distinguish it from New South Wales starting with 'ZZZ', the Australian Capital Territory starting with 'ZYA', Queensland starting with 'ZQ', Western Australia starting with 'ZAA', Tasmania with 'ZTA', and South Australia starting with 'ZSA', while the Northern Territory still uses the "C of A" at the top of the plate.
Victoria uses the usual state-issued blue and white plates, New South Wales uses the standard yellow and black plates, and all other states and territories use a slimline white and black plate.
Other Commonwealth plates
The Prime Minister's limousine also has a special plate money cannot buy. If you ever see 'C 1' with a red C and the Australia Commonwealth Coat of Arms, you're passing the Prime Minister's limousine (granted, you'd never get that close to it).
This was only updated in November 2015, with the old plate having 'C of N' at the top and being 'C * 1'.
Other governments, when visiting Australia, will also have a plate that has the Australian Coat of Arms, a red numerical digit, and "Visit to Australia" written in red at the bottom of the plate. These are affixed over the usual red Z plates.
The coolest governmental plates for the Governor-General's official cars do not have numerical and alphabetical values. Instead, they carry a St Edward's or Tudor Crown on them.
Similarly, these plates are found on the vehicles used for when the Royal Family visits Australia.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
