The following timeline is a guide for a COD application and represents a best case scenario;

Applicants are advised that non-conforming photographs can cause considerable delay to this process and hence applicants are encouraged to take adequate care or engage professional help with this aspect.

The following timeline is a guide for the expiration date for dormant applications and timelines for AIP applications;

CoD
• Nil activity for one calendar year from last contact in regards to the application (letter sent). 
• Nil activity for two years and no response to Motorsport Australia's letter, application is considered nullified and will require a fresh application and fee should the application wish to be progressed.

Note: Should the applicant be in touch with Motorsport Australia or their representatives (HEO) and Motorsport Australia are made aware of the status and circumstances of the application, further time shall be granted.

AIP
All Approval in Principles (AIP) will have a fixed five year period, in which they are to be completed unless further time has been requested and approved. 

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Certificate of Description: Photo Requirements

General photograph guidelines

• Photos must be in landscape view.
• The vehicle must be on the ground with an uncluttered foreground and background.

Three quarter side view for the log book and COD

• Have the camera at an elevated position (looking downwards from a higher position)
• Take the front three quarter side view photo of the car. 
• Take the side view rear photo the same way, but from the opposite side. 
• For open wheel vehicles with an inline four cylinder engine, have the intake side for the front photo and exhaust side for the rear photo.

Suspension – Open wheel vehicle

• Remove the wheels (and bodywork for inboard springs) from the same position or one step closer as the three quarter vehicle photo, take a three quarter view photo from the side the wheel has be removed from of the front half of the car and then the same for the rear. 

Suspension – Touring / Sports Car

• Take the photo from approximately under the bumper/facia. 
• One side of the car with the camera looking up into the wheel well. 
• Have the flash on to compensate for the contrast difference.  
• We are trying to see all the control arms of the suspension. 
• We will crop and zoom the photo as necessary so do not take a close up of the subject.

 

Intake and fuel system – Open wheel vehicle

• Take a step closer towards the car than where the suspension photo was taken and take a photo of that half of the car.
• With an inline engine, take photo from the intake side, showing the complete intake manifold. 
• If mechanical fuel pump is fitted, include it in the photo.  

 

Intake and fuel system – Touring / Sports car

• Photo of the complete engine bay.  
• With an inline engine the photo from the intake side.  
• Non – inline engines, one with air intake system fitted, one without the intake system fitted.
• Photo of fuel tank system and associated pumps and filters.
• Photo of Turbocharger/Supercharger and drive system (If fitted).
• Photo of the Boost control system for the Turbocharger/Supercharger (If fitted).
• Fuel injected engine with electronic control – photo of the ECU fitted in place.

 

Brakes

• Photo of the disc & brake caliper combination taken from the wheel mounting side of the hub/upright. (Orientation – pictured right).
• If a drum brake, remove the drum to show the brake shoes.

 

Instruments

• Photo of the dash with the steering wheel in place.  
• Wheel turned to show all the gauges and switches. 
• Or the wheel removed and hanging from the steering shaft. 
• Normally taken from where your head would be when sitting in the car or on slight angle from beside the cockpit.

 

Identification

• Picture of the VIN/chassis number at a distance to identify the location on the vehicle.

The Digital photographs must be in colour, high quality, and appropriately sized.

The photographs must be sharp, in focus, without details hidden in shadow (use manual flash setting on bright days) and no objects in the back or foreground.

Remember, these photos will be representing your vehicle on the COD and we all want it looking at its best.

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Appealing a Certificate of Description

The Appeal Procedure

1. The Applicant submits a letter and submissions (Submission) to the Motorsport Australia Historic Motorsport Committee (MAHMC):
• setting out the areas of disputation;
• providing evidence in support of claim/s, and;
• enclosing the COD fee for the applicable category.

2. If the evidence provided by the Applicant in the Submission is new then the application should be reconsidered by the Historic Eligibility Committee (HEC) and not the MAHMC.

3. With respect to what is to be considered “new evidence”, it should be or involve new material or information not previously submitted that is relevant to the issues addressed by the HEC and which may be persuasive in those deliberations.

4. If there is no “new” evidence, then the Chair of the MAHMC considers the Submission and determines whether leave ought to be granted for an appeal to a Review Panel (the criteria applicable to the Chair’s determination would primarily involve an assessment of whether the appeal is entirely without merit).

5. There will however be circumstances which might justifiably be the subject of an appeal notwithstanding the certainty of its futility, for no other reason than to ensure transparency and confidence in the process.

 

The Review Panel Process

6. Whilst described as an appeal process, the task is limited to making findings and recommendations to the MAHMC.

7. The factors to which a Review Panel could properly have regard would be mainly procedural. That is, has the prescribed process been followed?

8. Limited aspects of procedural fairness might occasionally arise.

9. The capacity to make recommendations to the MAHMC permits a Review Panel to propose amongst other things alternative procedural possibilities.

Appeal Procedure

Minimum Requirements for a Standard CoD

This level of certification will apply to the majority of historic race cars, The vehicle will be required to meet the below criteria, The vehicle must have provenance and fully detailed history of prior ownership, with no gaps or unsubstantiated entries. 

• The type of proof required will include original logbooks programs, entry lists, race results, etc, or in the case of International cars, documentation from the relevant sanctioning body attesting to the car’s competition history.

Where the car has not retained its current specification throughout its competition life it is essential that the supporting information depicts the transition of the car from the start of its competition life to the year it now represents, covering the complete history of ownership, competition history, specification changes, and livery changes.

The vehicle’s mechanical specification must be totally original for the year that the car is nominated to represent. Substitute components for those that are either unavailable, or available only at a prohibitive cost, will be allowed, but only as approved and documented by the relevant eligibility committee.

• The livery/signage/decals must all be as per period photographs from the year that the car is nominated to represent.

• The vehicle should possess its original chassis/tub/frame/bodyshell, The vehicle may have a replacement chassis/tub/frame/bodyshell provided it was done in period and the previous chassis/tub/frame/bodyshell has been destroyed. 

• Changes in specification as may be required to meet current mandatory safety requirements that will be accepted. 

• In the case of racing and sports cars, the body colour of the vehicle may be different to that employed in the period, but other than for driver’s name and club affiliation, no other signage/decals are allowed. 

• In the case of Historic Touring cars, production sports cars with a history (Group T) and Sports Sedans (Group U) the cars may only be presented in their original livery, except that signage may be removed but not added, OR the vehicle may be presented in plain white. 

• In the case of cars with hand-made aluminium, steel or fibreglass bodywork, this may be replaced with new panels, but the replacement panels must be of the same material as the originals, unless expressly approved by the relevant eligibility committee. 

Individual Groups may have different criteria for the COD Requirements.

Minimum Requirements for a Qualified CoD

This level of certification will apply to two broad classes of vehicles.

Qualified COD will only be issued where Group Specific Rules Permit unverified competition history

• Those that do not have a period competition history but still require detailed documentation to ensure that they remain in their correct mechanical specification – this includes special-built vehicles classified in Groups Jb, Kb, Lc and Group T (competition variants), and

• Those that conform with the above criteria, except that a full line of history is currently unproven. Production numbers and original owners of most production racing and sports cars are well documented and marque specialists are able to attest to the originality of the majority of vehicles submitted for certification. However, owners are encouraged to continue to seek the missing pieces of information, which once proven will allow the vehicle’s status to be upgraded to Standard Certification.