Victoria's electric vehicle road tax emerges as a new Robodebt fiasco

It seems that the Victorian ‘debate’ on Road User Fees (RUC) has been described by the Victorian Government as one of two positions – those who support the RUC, and those who are painted as fully accepting the need for it and how it works, and those who complain and are painted as ‘ tax evader’.

Unfortunately, this reminds me of the bad past of previous federal governments targeting beneficiaries for savings through automated (and disabled) benefit accounting systems, while characterizing recipients and advocacy groups as ‘money crooks’ or their supporters.

That puts me in an awkward position, because I’m both:

• support RUC in general and its transition to a new form to include electric vehicles (EVs) when the EV Transition itself occurs (after all, we already paid for it based on distance traveled via a gasoline per liter tax – which will disappear as fossil fuel sales decline) and
• both from personal experience (and reports coming in from readers of TheDriven), find RUC Victoria’s current implementation of EV’s to be a total disaster of an exercise that couldn’t do a better job of giving RUC a bad name.

And why?’ You may ask did I come to this conclusion?

First – as I explain here, RUC Victoria’s EV rushed through parliament and was quickly implemented almost 6 weeks later. As such, it’s hardly surprising that its implementation appears to be poorly thought out.

This is definitely my experience – as you will read below. Looks like I’m not alone either! Many readers of TheDriven have sent us stories about experiences similar to mine.

So what’s my fate?

First – even registering my first photo on VicRoads was difficult. It will take until December 2021 to be able to personally attend the VicRoads office and submit the required photos taken on the requested date. (Victoria’s Covid lockdown effectively lasted during that period and VicRoads refused to provide written forms to submit without access to view vehicle odometers or check photo file metadata).

Just an online system for filing which, for various reasons, is useless to me.

Funnily enough, when I came in person – I was given a paper form to fill out with ‘car details’, ‘odometer reading date’, ‘odometer reading’ and ‘signature’.

No photo odometer required. No car inspection.

However, I gave them a printed photo of the initial odometer and offered an electronic copy. Both politely declined. Why I couldn’t just print and send the form to VicRoads five months in advance and avoid a potential Covid infection still baffles me.

However, after all that palaver everything seemed normal – until I went in to record the end of the rego period odometer reading. Again, I had to attend the VicRoads office as there were still no forms available. Once again, I arrived with printed and electronic copies of the photos – this time for the end of June 28. (Plus a start date one… in case they lose it).

By the way, I was a few weeks late – but within the timeframe specified in the letter. (I was in Perth on the due date, driving there in my Kona EV – and only returned mid-July).

These photos were made on the correct date as per the written description on the VicRoads website and the mail posted. (1.7.21 to 28.6.22 – my Kona rego update date). All closed, or so I think.

Again, I was given a paper form to fill out first. (“Why can’t I just send this?” my inner voice asks, once again).

The staff at the desk said the photos were redundant, but I insisted they at least keep the prints. (Also no car odometer check was done. (“Why-oh-why do I have to attend alone just to fill out a form?” I ask myself… again).

Things went downhill further from there.

The lousy staff at the counter (two of them at this stage) found the computer system insisting that the first odometer reading was for December 10, 2021 and couldn’t be convinced otherwise – plus it also recorded my second reading for July 20, not June 28 when it was taken. (After picking it up according to VicRoads letter asking for it to be picked up on the rego expiration date and brought in for that date).

As a result, the computer increased my annual mileage from 9,923km to 17,164km. Worse, it came up with a figure 19 days after July 1 and so did the new (higher) RUC rate.

The two staff members were very apologetic and went to their supervisor’s office to sort it out. Ten minutes or so later, they came back saying it would take longer than expected and they would issue a fixed invoice once they figure out how to solve the computer problem.

Anyway, to cut the story short: the promised written invoice arrived in the mail this week. However it was a genuine error filled with no explanation as to why my complaint was ignored – so still using 17,164 km and setting a partial price with the new tax rate.

provided

One case did not result in systemic failure. Unfortunately, the details of my experience are very similar to those of other readers of The Driven Victoria.

We now have some examples coming from Victoria EV drivers with buggy computer calculation reports, increased RUC invoices and complete inability by VicRoads staff to overwrite the computer to resolve the issue.

It seems that the computer system cannot be simply ignored by Vicroads staff entering data and will only use the date of entry of the data, not the actual date of the reading.

As for me: I can’t find a way in the VicRoads system to appeal this kind of error beyond my initial verbal inquiry about abnormal computer calculations. As a result, I am now forced to raise this matter with the Ombudsman Victoria office.

Given how busy the office is at the moment – ​​I suspect it will be a while before my particular issue is resolved. Hopefully, meanwhile VicRoads doesn’t follow through with the threats that are also included in the error-filled invoice – this is to unregister the car within two weeks if it’s not paid.

Unfortunately, we don’t need to look far back for similar instances where accusations of miscalculated or miscalculated debt notices were issued, refusal to listen to beneficiary complaints about miscalculations along with questions surrounding the legitimacy of the scheme.

Robodebt (Centrelink’s failed, and ultimately unlawful, scheme for calculating and issuing benefit payment notices) was one of the many negative barnacles attached to the former federal government that eventually brought it down.

If the Victorian government doesn’t do something quickly to improve the system, or accepts that it’s too poorly developed to be implemented today and suspends it until it’s fixed – the analogy with Robodebt (and eventually falling apart) will only grow.

Already, RUC Victoria is being challenged in the Australian High Court for potentially being unconstitutional – with pressure mounting recently with the new Federal Government joining forces to support the measure.

Add to that the increasing number of ridiculously stupid debt complaints and notices being issued – well, we all know what happened to the previous federal government when Robodebt (and many more) negative ‘barnacles’ piled on top of it.

Something the Victorian Government might have to ponder as it approaches state elections scheduled for November this year?

Bryce Gaton is an electric vehicle expert and contributor to The Driven and Renew Economy. He has worked in the EV sector since 2008 and is currently working as an EV electrical safety coach/supervisor for the University of Melbourne. He also provides support for EV Transition for businesses, governments and the public through his EV Transition consultancy EVoption.

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