Subsidy to upgrade cars for young regional Victorians

To qualify you must be 18 to 25 years old, be the registered owner of the old vehicle, hold a valid driver’s licence and live in regional Victoria. Your current car must be more than 16 years old.

The trial began last year in Bendigo and Ballarat. Today Roads and Road Safety Minister Ben Carroll announced the expansion of the unsafe2safe trial to include all of regional Victoria.

Young drivers in regional Victoria are overrepresented in road trauma. The eligibility criteria of the program were decided by analysing crash data to prioritise those most at risk. Young regional Victorians driving older cars are 15 times more likely to be killed in crashes compared to the state average.

The program is aimed at helping young Victorians overcome the barrier of cost in accessing safer vehicles.

“We know that cost is a real barrier for many young Victorians when it comes to choosing a safe and modern car — that is why this program is critical in ensuring they pick a vehicle with features that could ultimately save their life,” Mr Carroll said.

The subsidy will not be paid to the recipient, it will be paid to the participating dealer and deducted from the price of the vehicle, with the purchaser of the new vehicle to pay the difference. The old car must be left with the dealer for scrapping so the risk is not transferred to another person.

The new car must be less than 10 years old, have a good safety rating, never have been recorded as a repairable write-off and have a purchase price of no more than $30,000.

A good safety rating is considered either a five-star ANCAP safety rating or a used car safety rating of either four or five stars.

To be eligible, the old car must have a used car safety rating of one or two, or be unrated. Safety ratings can be checked at https://howsafeisyourcar.com.au

Expressions of interest are open now until September 4. For more information and to apply, visit engage.vic.gov.au/unsafe2safe