Find the page for your part of the Illawarra
On the Wollongong side, there are pages for Thirroul and Corrimal in the north, Figtree just west of the city, and Dapto by the lake. Further south sit Albion Park, Warilla and Shellharbour, then Kiama on its own stretch of coast.
What the Illawarra asks of a car
A wall to the west
The escarpment along the region's western edge is described as mountainous and almost impassable. Getting out means one of the passes, the Southern Freeway, or the Illawarra Highway and Picton Road inland, so most trips north or inland start or finish on a long grade.
A saltwater lake in the middle
Lake Illawarra covers 35.8 square kilometres, opens to the sea at Windang, and is used for fishing, prawning and sailing. Between the lake and the surf beaches, a lot of Illawarra cars spend their lives in salty air, and the underbody shows it first.
Working vehicles
Coal has been mined here for over 200 years and stone quarried for over 140, and Australia's largest steelworks is at Port Kembla. If your ute works around a mine, a quarry or the port, RACV counts dusty or unsealed roads and heavy loads among the reasons to service more often.
One state's rules
The whole region is in NSW, so the same repairer licence and pink slip rules apply from Helensburgh to Kiama.
Getting a blue slip in the Illawarra
Check it's a blue slip you need
A blue slip, which NSW now calls an authorised unregistered vehicle inspection (AUVIS), is for a car outside the normal rego cycle: rego lapsed for more than 3 months, a car brought in from another state, territory or country, one with no number plate, or a write-off approved for re-registration.
Find a station that does them
Only AIS stations inspect cars, and not all of them handle blue slips. Read the AIS sign out the front, or ring ahead, before taking an unregistered car there.
Fix the small things first
Worn tyres, dead globes and tired wipers are easy to sort beforehand.
Register within 42 days
The blue slip report is valid for 42 days from the inspection, so have the rego paperwork ready to go once the car passes.
Mobile mechanics across the Illawarra
On a coast this long, a mechanic who comes to the car can save a lot of driving. Batteries, routine servicing and many cars that won't start can be handled at home or at work; anything needing a hoist goes to a workshop. Mobile mechanics in Wollongong goes into what suits a driveway.
Our take
With an unregistered car in the Illawarra, we'd ring the AIS station first to be sure it does blue slips, have a mechanic sort the small faults the week before, and keep the rego paperwork ready so the 42 days don't run out.