Pink slip or blue slip?
The pink slip is the yearly safety check for a car that's already registered in NSW. The 5 years are counted from the month on the compliance plate, and your renewal notice says whether this year's rego needs one.
The blue slip, now officially an authorised unregistered vehicle inspection, is for a car that isn't on NSW rego: one whose rego lapsed more than 3 months ago, one brought in from another state or overseas, one with no plates, or a write-off cleared for re-registration. It checks identity and design standards as well as safety, and it lasts 42 days from the inspection. If you've moved down from Queensland, this is the one you need.
What Newcastle cars run into at the inspection
Salt and rust
Cars parked near the surf at Merewether or Bar Beach, and 4WDs that do permit runs on Stockton Beach, carry salt into the underbody. Rust in the body and the structure is the sort of thing that fails a safety check, so have a look underneath before the inspection.
Boat trailers and caravans
Trailers and caravans up to 4.5 tonnes count as light vehicles under the NSW scheme, so an older boat trailer needs its own pink slip. If yours gets backed into Lake Macquarie or Port Stephens, check its lights, bearings and brakes first.
Finding a station
Service NSW lists AIS stations, mobile providers included, and every station has to show AIS signs out the front listing the checks it does. If you need a blue slip, check the sign covers it before you drive over.
At your place
Mobile AIS providers can do the inspection where the car is parked. The inspection fee doesn't change; ask about any call-out charge before they come.
If the car fails
Repairs have to be done before the rego can be renewed. Return to the same station within 14 days and there's no extra inspection fee; leave it longer and you pay for another inspection. That's a good reason to get the slip early rather than the week the rego runs out.
Steer clear of anyone offering a slip without looking at the car. Transport for NSW has audited 570 slip providers since January 2026 and cancelled 127 licences over inspections that never happened.
Worth sorting before the inspection
- Every light, including indicators and brake lights, checked with a helper.
- Tyres with tread left and no cuts or bulges.
- Wipers that clear the screen, and a full washer bottle.
- Seatbelts that latch and wind back in.
- On a trailer: lights, wheel bearings and the coupling.
Where we'd start
We'd get the pink slip done the week the renewal notice arrives, at a station close to where the car lives. If the car does beach runs or the trailer has been in salt water, we'd have a look underneath first, so a rusty brake line doesn't turn one visit into two.