The rule in short
A Scheme vehicle owner must keep a financial membership of a recognised club at all times (clause 3.5a). If they stop being financial while the vehicle is registered, they must not drive it or let anyone else drive it until they are verified as a financial member of a club again or have taken out standard registration (clause 3.11).
Three more things follow under the Code:
| Who | What | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| The owner | Must cancel the conditional registration and return the log book to the issuing club for cancellation | 3.5j |
| The Registrar | May suspend or cancel the vehicle’s conditional registration | 3.13 |
| The club | Must include them in the yearly report of members with Scheme vehicles who are no longer financial | 2.33 |
Breaching a condition of registration carries a maximum penalty of $750 for the owner (clause 3.12).
The difficulty for clubs is that every one of these depends on the member acting or on the club noticing. A lapsed member who keeps the log book in the glovebox and keeps driving is exactly the situation the Scheme is meant to prevent, and the club may be the first to notice.
Who counts as lapsed
A member is lapsed for Scheme purposes when they are no longer a financial member under the club’s constitution. When that happens is set by the constitution, not the Code; the guide to financial members covers how to pin it down.
People leave the financial membership in different ways, and the Code treats them slightly differently:
| How they left | What the Code says | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Did not renew | Clause 3.11 applies; owner cancels registration and returns the log book | 3.11, 3.5j |
| Resigned | The club must ensure the log book is cancelled | 2.29 |
| Moved to another club | Owner returns the log book for cancellation; the new club issues a new MR334 and log book | 3.9, 2.29 |
| Expelled | Not mentioned in the Code; as a non-financial member, clauses 3.11 and 3.5j apply | 3.11, 3.5j |
| Sold the vehicle | Registration cancelled; issuing club cancels the log book | 4.9 |
A member who has moved clubs is not lapsed in the Scheme sense, as long as they are financial with the new club. They still need their old log book cancelled.
What the club must do
The Code gives the club four duties that bear on lapsed members:
- Make sure Scheme owners are financial under the constitution (clause 2.1b).
- Ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, that members with Scheme vehicles follow the Code (clause 2.1c).
- Notify the Registrar of vehicles that do not comply with the Code (clause 2.1d).
- Report each year the members with Scheme vehicles who are no longer financial, within two months of the financial year end (clauses 2.1j, 2.33).
Add clause 2.1l, which asks the club to take all appropriate measures in issuing, managing and recording log books, and the picture is clear. The club is not expected to police its members’ driving. It is expected to know who has lapsed, to act on it, and to keep a record that it did.
The yearly report itself, including who to include and when to draw the list, is covered in the guide to the yearly Scheme reports.
A fair process for following up
The Code does not prescribe how a club follows up lapsed members. A lapse is usually best treated as an oversight until you learn otherwise, so a process that assumes good faith, reminds clearly and records each step is a sound starting point. Everything below is a suggestion for the committee to adapt.
| Step | Suggested timing | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Renewal notice | Before the renewal date | Include a sentence on the Scheme: owners must stay financial to drive their vehicle (clause 3.5a) |
| 2. First reminder | Shortly after the renewal date | A friendly reminder to everyone unpaid |
| 3. Scheme reminder | When the member is about to stop being financial under the constitution | A separate note to Scheme owners only, quoting clause 3.11 and explaining what lapsing means for their vehicle |
| 4. Personal contact | A week or two later | A phone call from the registrar or another committee member |
| 5. Final letter | When the member is no longer financial | Confirm their status, quote clauses 3.11 and 3.5j, and ask for the log book back |
| 6. Record the outcome | As each step happens | Note dates, what was sent, and any reply |
| 7. Report | By the yearly report deadline | Include them in the report to the Registrar (clause 2.33) |
The renewal reminder letter template includes a first notice, a reminder and a final notice with a Scheme paragraph, ready to adapt.
Grace periods
A grace period is a club policy decision, not a Scheme rule. Whether a member is still financial during it depends on what the constitution says.
If the constitution keeps members financial for, say, a month after the renewal date, they may keep driving in that month. If it does not, an unpaid member stops being financial on the date the constitution sets, and clause 3.11 applies from then, whatever the club’s reminder timetable. It is easy to treat a reminder period as a grace period without the constitution backing it. Checking the wording avoids telling members something the Code does not support.
Treat everyone the same way
Apply the process to every Scheme owner, including committee members, life members whose type has ended, and long-standing friends of the club. Clause 2.11 already stops authorised persons certifying their own status; consistency in follow-up is the same principle applied to everyone else.
Explaining the member’s options
A lapsed member is more likely to act if they know what their choices are. The Code gives them four, and a final letter that sets them out plainly does much of the club’s work.
| The member’s choice | What happens under the Code | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Pay and become financial again | Once verified as a financial member, the restriction on driving ends | 3.11 |
| Join another recognised club | Return the log book to this club for cancellation; the new club issues a new MR334 and a new log book | 3.9 |
| Move the vehicle to standard registration | The clause 3.11 restriction no longer applies once standard registration is taken out | 3.11 |
| Cancel the conditional registration | The owner may cancel at any time; the issuing club cancels the log book | 3.5j, 4.10 |
What the member cannot do is stay lapsed and keep driving on conditional registration.
When you talk to members, explain the reason as well as the rule. The reduced fees exist because use is limited and owners belong to a club that keeps records (the Code’s Introduction). Members who understand that the club’s recognition depends on those records being sound (clause 2.40) may be more willing to help, and the conversation stays about the Scheme rather than about the person.
When the member does not respond
Some members never reply. The club’s options are limited but clear.
- Cancel the log book in the register with the date and the reason, even if the physical book has not been returned. The duty to return it is the owner’s (clause 3.5j).
- Include the member in the yearly report to the Registrar (clause 2.33).
- Notify the Registrar sooner if the club has reason to believe the vehicle is still being driven. Clause 2.1d requires the club to notify the Registrar of non-complying vehicles, and the Registrar can suspend or cancel the registration (clause 3.13).
The club is not expected to retrieve log books in person or confront members. Its job is to act, notify and record.
Keep the list current through the year
A list of lapsed members who still hold log books is only useful if it is current. Members pay late, resign, sell vehicles and move clubs throughout the year, and each change moves someone on or off the list.
Checking it once, in the weeks before the yearly report, leaves months in which a lapsed owner could be driving without anyone at the club noticing. A regular check, monthly or at each committee meeting, keeps follow-up timely and makes the yearly report a confirmation rather than a scramble. How often to check is a club decision; what matters is that someone owns the list and the committee knows who.
Records to keep
Keep the record of each lapse for five years. Clause 2.39 covers all log books issued to financial members and other documents relating to the club’s administration of the Scheme, including membership records and minutes, and the Department may audit them (clause 2.40).
For each lapsed Scheme owner, a good record shows:
- the date their membership ended and why (did not renew, resigned, expelled, transferred);
- their Scheme vehicles and plates;
- each log book’s number and status, and the date it was cancelled;
- every reminder, call and letter, with dates;
- whether the log book came back;
- the yearly report they were included in.
The guide to log book rules covers the log book register this record sits alongside.
How MemberCrew helps
MemberCrew’s year-end compliance page lists lapsed members who still hold log books (active members, not financial, not on a deemed tier such as Life), with their contact details, vehicles, registrations, book numbers and paid-through dates. It keeps a follow-up record for each member, so the registrar can note every contact. Cancelling a log book records the date and reason, and every change is kept in the activity log. The non-financial members report for the Registrar is produced in one click, for the club to check and send; MemberCrew does not lodge it. See the Scheme in MemberCrew.