Transport Accident Charge

When you register a vehicle in Victoria you will be provided with a fee breakdown which includes a registration charge, TAC charge and insurance duty.

These individual fees are then distributed to the relevant government bodies with the TAC charge going to the Transport Accident Commission.

What is the TAC charge?

The TAC charge is used to fund the work of the TAC in preventing accidents and caring for those who have been injured on our roads.

Last year alone 20,000 people became TAC clients and over 58,000 people were supported after an accident.

We fund a range of services to help people get their lives back on track including medical care, rehabilitation, counselling, home modifications and income support.

The TAC charge will cover the owner and driver for any liability (including large court payouts) if your vehicle causes the death or injury of another person. Please see Section 94 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 for details about who is covered.

We work closely with VicRoads, Victoria Police and the Department of Justice to implement Victoria's road safety strategy, which seeks to reduce death and serious injury on our roads by more than 30% by 2022.

In the next ten years the TAC has allocated over a billion dollars to improving Victoria's roads. Those funds will go towards targeting high-risk accident locations, installing roundabouts at intersections, and implementing run-off road preventions such as wider shoulders, ripple strips and wire barriers.

The TAC also provides innovative public education campaigns to encourage the community to make the right choices on the roads to stay safe.

See our latest campaigns here

How the charge is calculated

The TAC charge is calculated according to the:

  • The type and use of the vehicle (class). This includes, passenger vehicles, goods vehicles, motorcycles, miscellaneous vehicles or special use vehicles (it may also take into account how many seats the vehicle has).
  • The postcode where the registered vehicle is usually kept. This determines the risk zone, and this will be either listed as a low, medium or high risk zone. A list of all zone postcode is included in the premium brochure.
  • Any eligible discounts. A discount may apply if you are a pensioner, concession card holder or if you are an apprentice under an eligible trade.

In calculating the cost of larger or commercial vehicles such as a bus, consideration will be given to the intended use, seating and carrying capacity.

The Transport Accident Act 1986 provides for TAC Charges to be automatically indexed by inflation (CPI) on 1 July each year.

TAC charge concessions

Pensioners may be eligible for a reduced TAC charge.  Contact VicRoads to see if you are eligible for this discount.

TAC Premiums

There are separate pages for:

  • Standard rates (Annual, 6 Months and 3 months)
  • Eligible pensioner concession rates (Annual, 6 Months and 3 months)
  • Eligible apprentice rates (Annual, 6 Months and 3 months)

Short term registration

From 1 January 2018, all light motor vehicle owners have had the option to register their vehicles for periods of 3, 6 or 12 months.

For further information on short term registration, please refer to the VicRoads' short term registration page

Motorcycle Safety Levy

The Motorcycle Safety Levy has been in place since May 2002. The funds from this Levy go directly to initiatives to improve the safety of riders. These initiatives include on-road and non-road related projects.

The levy is incorporated into the TAC Charge for motorcycles with an engine capacity of 126cc or above, and is passed onto VicRoads to administer the project funding. Currently the levy is $74.80 as it is automatically indexed by inflation (CPI) on 1 July each year. However, Indexation was suppressed for the 2020/21 financial year as a coronavirus support.

The levy is paid just once by each motorcycle owner, any additional motorcycles you own will be exempt from the levy.

For further information on the project funded from the levy, please refer to the VicRoads' motorcycle safety levy information page

Unregistered Vehicle Permits

An Unregistered Vehicle Permit (UVP) can be obtained from VicRoads if you need to drive an unregistered vehicle, or a vehicle which is exempt from needing to be registered, on a public road or highway. This may apply when you need to drive an unregistered vehicle directly to a VicRoads office to be inspected and registered, or if you are driving a visiting overseas vehicle that is registered in another country.

The UVP includes a payment for the TAC Charge which provides cover for you against claims for injury or death should you be in a crash.

If you are involved in an accident on a public road in a vehicle that is not registered in Australia or covered by a UVP, the TAC can seek financial recovery of any payments made on behalf of any person injured from the owner and driver.

The TAC is also unable to pay loss of earnings to the owner of a vehicle which is not registered in Australia or covered by the TAC charge, regardless of whether you are the driver or passenger in a crash.

For more information on the Unregistered Vehicle Permits, please refer to the VicRoads website

Questions and answers about the transport accident charge

Click here for more information on the transport accident charge.

Skip straight to a specific question using the links below:

How is the TAC charge calculated?
Why doesn't the TAC consider the driving record or skill of the owner?
Why has my TAC charge increased?
Why do I have to pay for all my vehicles when I can only use one at a time?
What is the insurance duty?
Why do I have to pay GST and Stamp Duty?
Why is my big utility cheaper than my small sedan?
Why do my neighbours pay less than me?