The plates normally stay with the car. You can pay extra for custom plates in different formats or colours. In that case you take your plates with you for the next car. There is a good market for selling custom plates and they can bring good dollars. I've never been interested in it though.

Been looking at http://www.myplates.com.au as I think this is the only place to buy plates. Still a bit confused as you can order custom plates here (personalised) and pay an annual fee. Getting them physically made and assigning registration numbers are two different things in UK. Phil

That looks like the official site for getting personalised plates in the state of NSW. (I am in Qld, so we go to http://www.ppq.com.au/).

Not too sure about the annual fee. Up here, I bought the personalised plate from PPQ, paid a one off fee to change the registered plates for my vehicle and then I pay an annual fee called registration (or rego) which would have to be paid regardless of whether I have personalised plates or not (this is similar to paying road tax in the UK).

Hope that helps,
Whytey 1st time FL2 owner. 2007 SE i6 in Tambora Flame.

As djwhyte says the yearly "Rego" includes road tax and 3rd party insurance.

In W.A. we don't even have to show a tax disc or anything to show on the windscreen anymore - a cost cutting of a few millions I'm told.

We can have virtually any plate we like up to 9 characters (including spaces). http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/20474.asp
Having AIIEEX would cost $874
The plates are all in control of the government, even making them. And once a plate has been handed in, it can never be used again.

Best plate I've seen is on a Porsche 911 with a woman driving it - "WAS HIS"
Toyota Echo - "ECHO ECHO"
"BAA BAA" on a Black Jeep!
Loads of Land Rover plates - "LANDY HSE" for example
"FREELANDY" or "FREELANDR" is available I see!

and this in a car park recently:

Click image to enlarge

Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated

Thanks for the info guys very interesting the one in the photo would do for me and er in drawers, saw a pink one the other day, think I should take a pair home for Npink the forum moderator?. Gone, 2007 TD4 SE Auto Baltic blue, clear side repeaters, full sized alloy spare.

English by birth..... Yorkshire by the grace of God.

I think you can basically get what you want, for a price. They can't be transferred state to state though.

had a double take when I saw this in Sydney, the black Range Rover, sent a shiver down my spine, maybe CG has a cousin down under, probably farms four legged wooly chickens??

Click image to enlarge

Saw a RRS the other day in Sydney and the plate read STORMER. Gone, 2007 TD4 SE Auto Baltic blue, clear side repeaters, full sized alloy spare.

English by birth..... Yorkshire by the grace of God.