During the last few years dealing with COVID-19, Australia has seen major changes in how people use transportation. With secure lockdowns keeping Australians at home, there was little need or want to use public forms of it. The only thing that’s seeing recovery is road travel in private vehicles. For example, in New South Wales, public transportation is seeing around 62% of returning patrons. Most cities in Australia are seeing only around half.
When you think of the Outback, the first thing that comes to mind is the yellow diamond signs with the infamous kangaroo shape on it. Those aren’t the only important symbols on the road in Australia! When you’re down under, there are several number plate designs to look out for, as well.
With that being said, there’s more need for systems like automated number plate recognition. There are around 20.1 million registered vehicles in Australia. During 2020-2021, there was also a huge rise in car theft across Australia. That’s where ANPR for Australia comes in to help. Plate Recognizer’s ANPR software has been developed to pick up all number plates in Australia and can be used for a number of different services.
SUV parked near a kangaroo sign. Source: Pixabay.
Australian Number Plates
All vehicles in Australia are required to have a registered number plate displayed clearly on their vehicle. The number plate system in Australia started with the number 1 in 1910. Plates were not regulated, however, and did not have a standard size so things were a bit all over the place.
In 1936, number plates became uniform in size and style of embossed serial numbers. At this point they still weren’t regulated by the state, it was just agreed upon that they would use the same styles. This would pave the way for technology like night ANPR to work for Australia.
It wasn’t until 1956 that all Australian number plates were standardized across the board. That means for every state and territory, the plates must be the same size with the same type of letters and numbers. This makes it easy for ANPR in Australia to pick up number plates in a very similar fashion as ANPR in Germany, as well.
Skyscrapers in Melbourne, Australia. Source: Pixabay.
The standard dimensions for Australian number plates are 372mm X 134mm. Your number plate must be clearly visible with no obstructions on the vehicle. In Australia, there aren’t images behind the numbers on the plate such as when using ALPR in the USA. Number plates in Australia must be:
- In an upright position
- No more than 1.3m off the ground
- Clean with no obstruction of view
- No number plate covers
- No tints
- No reflective services
Along with serial numbers, Australian number plates will have the slogan or motto from the state or territory on the bottom. Across the various territories, they are pretty simple plates with minimal differences in how they look. Here are the colors and serial formats for each territory in Australia.
Australian Number Plate by Territory
- Australian Capital Territory – Text/Background Color: blue/white. Serial Format: YLL-##L.
- Jervis Bay Territory – Text/Background Color: blue/white. Serial Format: LLL-##L.
- New South Wales – Text/Background Color: black/yellow. Serial Format: LL-##-LL.
- Northern Territory – Text/Background Color: ochre/white. Serial Format: LL-##-LL.
- Queensland – Text/Background Color: maroon/white. Serial format: LLL-##L.
- South Australia – Text/Backgroud Color: black/white. Serial Format: s###-LLL.
- Tasmania – Text/Background Color: blue/white. Serial Format: L-##-LL.
- Victoria – Text/Background Color: blue/white. Serial Format: #LL-#LL.
- Western Australia – Text/Background Color: blue/white. Serial Format: #LLL-###.
Melbourne Flinders Street Station. Source: Pixabay.
ANPR for Australia: Law Enforcement
Every Australian state and territory now use fixed and mobile ANPR for law enforcement. There has been some form of this technology being used since the 1980s to regulate traffic violations and toll booths. In 2005, New South Wales tried out ANPR technology for their highway patrol. There are permanently fixed and mobile cameras throughout Australia.
In 2020, Australia had very strict COVID-19 lockdowns due to large amounts of cases. ANPR was used in Australia during this time for safety purposes. It was used to regulate borders and ensure people weren’t traveling when they didn’t need to to help stop this spread. This is not typical ANPR use for Australia, but it was an added tool that helped keep people safe during a global pandemic. It was used to aid in the surveillance of hot spots to keep people out of them.
Beautiful Sydney Opera House in Australia. Source: Pixabay.
As restrictions have loosened, Australians are able to travel and go about their business safely. One thing they are not doing is going back to public transportation. There has been an increase in road traffic in private vehicles, but public transportation services in most cities half only seen about half of their patronage return.
With that being said, there are more cars on the road. There are about 20 million vehicles in Australia, and in 2021 47,000 cars were stolen. According to data, the most common stolen vehicles in Australia are Honda, Toyota, and Ford Models. While it’s not ideal to have to be on high alert for car theft, ANPR for Australia can help.
With Plate Recognizer, you can use the ANPR Dashboard to create a database of the number plates it picks up. For example, if you are wanting to help detect stolen vehicles, you could set up a database for Ford, Toyota, and Honda vehicles.
Governments also use ANPR for toll booths in Australia. Since so many people are going through tolls, using ANPR software like Plate Recognizer can help to keep data organized.
ANPR for Commercial Use in Australia
ANPR can also be used by private businesses as well as law enforcement in Australia. Businesses in Australia can use ANPR for a variety of services such as monitoring parking garages and tracking deliveries.
Parking Lots and Garages
As far as commercial use goes, the most common way ANPR for Australia is used is for monitoring parking. ANPR can be used to monitor who is coming and going, how long they’ve been there, and to see if cars that have been banned try to enter. Business owners can also use the data collected to see what times are busiest and the type of cars that are parking in their garage.
ANPR for Private Businesses
When we think of ANPR, we think of law enforcement and parking garages. Well, that’s not the end of the list! Private businesses can utilize Plate Recognizer’s ANPR for a number of useful things in Australia.
For example, ANPR can be used to track deliveries. You can set up your dashboard to notify you when the delivery truck arrives with your items. It can also be used to detect shoplifters coming and going from your business and parking lot. For example, if you have ANPR software such as Plate Recognizer installed in your security cameras, you’ll be able to detect the plate number of someone who stole and drove off much easier than with standard CCTV equipment.
For restaurants, ANPR has become very useful for curbside pickup. Employees can track and detect when someone arrives to bring their items out in a timely and efficient manner.
Australian Outback Road with Kangaroo Warning. Source: Pixabay.
Why Plate Recognizer for ANPR in Australia
At Plate Recognizer, we understand that everyone has different needs when it comes to ANPR software. Whether you’re a government agency or convenience store, Plate Recognizer can work for you.
We’ve done testing and research to ensure our software has the capabilities necessary for ANPR in Australia.
Plate Recognizer ANPR can be installed into most IP cameras, and we perform updates regularly to ensure you’re getting the most out of your software. This is also good news because no business model is too small to be benefitting from ANPR software!
If you’re interested in trying out our ANPR for Australia, sign up for an account today for a free test drive.