Green light for vehicle registrations
The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) is hailing a decision by the NZTA to allow new registrations to be performed at Covid-19 alert level three.
There was concern across the automotive industry that the issuing of registration plates was not going to be allowed once the country moved out of lockdown.
Following discussions with a number of organisations – including VIA, the Motor Trade Association, the Motor Industry Association, and the AA – that activity will now be allowed at certain outlets.
David Vinsen, pictured, chief executive of VIA, says the NZTA confirmed late on April 23 that agents able to meet government requirements to conduct contactless transactions will be able to issue new registrations at level three.
He adds that the NZTA had been “fantastic to deal with” in addressing one of the pinch points facing the industry.
“We are very pleased to get this decision and different sectors of the industry and different industry associations have been working together to make these things happen,” Vinsen says.
“The registration plate issue was technically critical and as we move to level three it's pleasing that we now have an opportunity to start trading again albeit in a limited fashion. We have a surplus of stock and very few sales at the moment so we have to get vehicles moving again.”
Autofile Online reported early on April 23 that the restriction around registrations was initially in place because issuing a number plate is considered a face-to-face activity.
An NZTA spokesman says the delivery of all transactions on behalf of the agency will need to comply with government guidelines under the alert level three restrictions.
“This means that agents can begin to process registration and entry certification transactions if they can meet government guidelines for operating at alert level three by providing a contactless transaction service including, for example, click and collect,” he explains.
“We will have a team supporting agents who are able to provide a contactless service. We have been advised that manufacturing of licence plates by LicenSys will resume at alert level three after being closed at alert level four.”
Safe operations
VIA has also issued a reminder to businesses that they can resume trading when level three restrictions come into place at 11.59pm on April 27, providing they meet certain requirements.
These include being able to operate in a way that meets all health and safety requirements and have a return to work plan that meets national guidelines.
Companies are also need to have safety plans documenting changes to operating procedures and processes in order to keep staff, contractors and customers safe. These safety plans must cover cross contamination, social and workplace distancing, and contact tracing.
VIA says WorkSafe NZ has released information on its website to assist with this and developed a generic template for business use. The association has developed an industry-specific addendum to help with creating safety plans.
Malcolm Yorston, VIA’s technical manager, says it will continue to support businesses by co-ordinating efforts to enable the industry to work as safely and quickly as possible.
It will do this by “answering questions, developing FAQs and publishing them on our website, developing documents and templates to supplement the industry-generic government releases, and communicating the latest developments”.
