Primary producer vehicles

If you are a primary producer and your vehicle is used solely in connection with your primary producer business, fire-fighting or emergency purposes, you can register your vehicle with reduced registration fees.

What is primary production?

Primary production includes:

• Cultivating crops for the purposes of selling the produce, including in a processed or converted state.
• Maintaining animals or poultry for the purposes of selling them, their offspring or bodily produce.
• Commercial fishing, including preparing for such fishing or storing or preserving fish or fishing gear.
• Cultivating or propagating plants, seedlings, mushrooms or orchids for sale.
• Maintaining animals or growing crops for personal benefit only is not primary production. There must be a sale of the products resulting from the primary production activity.

You are a primary producer if you are a person or company who is:

• engaged solely or substantially in agricultural, horticultural, viticultural, dairying, pastoral or other like pursuits
• a commercial fisherman holding a licence to take fish for sale.

Eligible vehicles

To be eligible for a primary producer discount, vehicles must be used solely for the operator's business as a primary producer. 

Eligible vehicles include:

• a vehicle built for carrying a load, a prime mover, a tractor, a vehicle with an engine used to drive or operate an agricultural implement, a vehicle built for agricultural purposes or a quad bike
• vehicles with body types such as station wagons, wagons, utility and panel vans and have a goods carrying capability
• primary producer fire fighting units
• primary producer vehicles for emergency purposes.

Primary producer fire-fighting vehicles

Vehicles must be certified by the Country Fire Authority (CFA) as a motor vehicle specifically equipped for and exclusively used for combating outbreaks of fire.

You will need to submit the completed original Certificate of Authenticity issued by the Country Fire Authority with your application to apply the primary producer rate to your vehicle’s registration.

Vehicles used and equipped specifically for combating outbreaks of fire can be registered with no registration fee. Transport Accident Commission (TAC) charges (External link) will still apply.

Vehicles used for charitable or emergency purposes

Primary producers can use their work vehicles for charitable or emergency purposes as long as they don’t ask for a fee or reward.

Examples of use for charitable or emergency purpose include assisting:

• in the relief of an emergency (as defined in the Emergency Management Act 1986 (External link))
• a charitable or sporting body (as defined in the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 2021 (External link)).

If a vehicle is registered with the primary producer discount for emergency purposes, the vehicle cannot be used for any other activities.

Important information about the primary producer discount

To have the primary producer discount rate applied to your vehicle’s registration or renewal:

• you must be a primary producer
• the vehicle must be an eligible vehicle under Schedule 2 of the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulation 2021 (External link)

• the vehicle must be solely used for the purposes of the primary production business activity listed in the application to VicRoads.

If you’re the registered operator of a vehicle subject to the primary producer discount, you have specific obligations. These are:

• inform VicRoads if you cease to be a primary producer
• if a change is made to a vehicle or to its use, you must ensure the vehicle is not used until VicRoads has been notified of the change and any additional pro-rata fee or charge has been paid.