When almost every member is on the Scheme
In an all-makes historic club, most members join because they want conditional registration. That changes what a membership record means. Paying the annual dues is what keeps a member’s vehicle legal to drive, because the owner must be a financial member of a recognised club at all times (the Code, clause 3.5).
So in a historic club, a missed renewal is not just a gap in the accounts. A member who stops being financial must not drive their Scheme vehicle, or let anyone else drive it, until they are financial again or the vehicle has standard registration (the Code, clause 3.11). The club then reports them to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles after the financial year ends.
MemberCrew keeps the membership record, the vehicles and the log books on the same member. When the treasurer records a renewal payment, the registrar sees the same member as financial without anyone copying a name from one list to another.
Cars, bikes, trucks, tractors and trailers
An all-makes club holds whatever its members restore. The Code’s definition of a vehicle covers a motor car, truck, tractor, bus, motorbike and trailer, and the historic category includes motorcycles and trailers by name (the Code, clause 1.3).
MemberCrew’s vehicle register takes all of them. Each record holds the plate, make, model, year, colour, engine, VIN and whether it has historic registration, so a 1920s tourer, a 1960s tractor and a 1990s sedan sit in one list. The age test is the same for each: 25 years since 1 January of the year of manufacture (the Code, clause 1.2), down from 30 years before July 2022.
The log book cycle
A log book is good for up to three years from the day it was first issued (the Code, clause 2.28). In a club where most members hold one, that means a steady stream of replacements every year, and the registrar needs to see them coming.
MemberCrew tracks every log book through three states:
| Status | What it means | What the registrar does |
|---|---|---|
| Current | Issued and within three years of issue | Nothing, until it nears expiry |
| Expired | Three years have passed since issue | Issue a new book once the member applies |
| Cancelled | Cancelled on resignation, transfer or sale | Keep the record for five years |
MemberCrew’s Log book renewals due report lists the books reaching three years by the coming 30 June, and any already expired. If a club issued its books evenly over the years, about a third would fall due in any one year. In practice they bunch: a club that signed up many members in one year sees many expiries three years later. Seeing the dates in one register lets the registrar spread the work out and order enough books from the Federation of Historic Motoring Clubs SA, which is the Issuing Body (the Code, clause 4.2).
Before issuing any book, the club must check the applicant is a financial member and owns an eligible vehicle (the Code, clause 2.27), and must not issue one if the owner still holds a current book for that vehicle from another club (the Code, clause 2.31). The log book rules guide covers each step.
Spreading the registrar’s load
The registrar in a historic club often carries more Scheme work than the rest of the committee put together. Two things help: a second authorised person, and records the whole committee can trust.
An authorised person cannot approve their own vehicle or certify their own financial membership (the Code, clause 2.11). In a historic club, the authorised person is likely to own a Scheme vehicle too, so someone else must sign their MR334. A club can nominate additional authorised persons at any time through its president or secretary (the Code, clause 2.15).
MemberCrew lets each committee member see what their role allows. The registrar works with vehicles and log books, the treasurer with invoices and payments, and an events helper sees neither money nor contact details. Every change is recorded in the activity log with who did what and when, so if two people share the registrar’s work, each can see what the other has done.
After the financial year ends
A historic club has the heaviest Scheme reporting of any club type, because most members appear in it. Three reports fall due after each financial year (assuming a financial year ending 30 June):
| Report | Sent to | Code | Due by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members with Scheme vehicles who are no longer financial | The Registrar | Clause 2.33 | 31 August |
| Logbook Declaration | The Federation | Clause 2.30 | 31 August |
| Log books issued to members | The Federation | Clause 2.32 | 30 September |
MemberCrew produces each report and shows its due date for the year you select, on screen, in print or as a CSV file. Its Logbook Declaration reproduces the Federation’s form wording and attaches the list of books issued. The club still checks and sends them; MemberCrew does not lodge anything with the Registrar or the Federation. Adjust the dates if your club’s financial year ends on a different day. The yearly Scheme reports guide explains what each report needs.
The non-financial members report is where an all-makes club feels the difference most. MemberCrew’s year-end compliance page lists the lapsed members who still hold log books, with their contact details, vehicles, book numbers and paid-through dates, and a follow-up record for each one. When renewals close, the people for the report are already in front of you. Our guide to lapsed members with log books suggests a fair way to follow them up before the report goes in.
Five years of records
Recognised clubs must keep Scheme records for five years from the date of each document, including the vehicles approved on an MR334, the log books issued, membership records and minutes (the Code, clause 2.39). The Department may audit them (the Code, clause 2.40).
In a historic club that is a large set of records. MemberCrew keeps the vehicle, log book and membership history together, and the committee can download a full export of the club’s records at any time.
MemberCrew does not record MR334 form numbers against vehicles yet; that is coming later. Until then, the duplicate copies kept in the club’s MR334 booklets remain the record of each form.