Off Road Vehicles

What is an off-road vehicle?

Off-road vehicles are governed under the Control of Vehicles (Off-road Areas) Act 1978. Under the Act, an off-road vehicle is any vehicle that is not road registered and cannot be registered in accordance with the Road Traffic Act 1974.

The most common types of off-road vehicles are:

Trail bikes
Quad bikes
Buggies
4WD vehicles

Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale Rangers are authorised officers under the Control of Vehicles (Off-road Areas) Act 1978 and work closely with Police and other agencies to control illegal off-road vehicle activities.

Where can I use my off-road vehicle?

Off-road Vehicles can only be used in areas gazetted under the Control of Vehicles (Off-road Areas) Act 1978 and on private land with the landowner’s permission. There are no gazetted areas within the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale.

Areas that are gazetted for off-road vehicle use

Location	Managed by	Permitted vehicles
Bootoo Street, Lancelin	Shire of Gingin (200+Ha)	Trail bikes Quad bikes Buggies 4WD vehicles
Ledge Point Road, Ledge Point	Shire of Gingin (40Ha)	Trail bikes Quad bikes
Orchid Road, Pinjar	Department of Parks and Wildlife (314Ha)	Trail bikes Quad bikes
Gnangara Road, Lexia	Department of Parks and Wildlife (350Ha)	Trail bikes Quad Bikes
Thomas Road, Medina	City of Kwinana (20Ha)	Trail bikes Quad bikes
Spencer’s Brook Road, York	Shire of York (4Ha)	Trail bikes Quad bikes

For more information regarding these gazetted off-road areas, please contact the relevant local government or the Parks and Wildlife Service at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction on 9219 9000.

Registration of off-road vehicles

All off-road vehicles are required to be registered in accordance with section 7(2) of the Control of Vehicles (Off-road Areas) Act 1978. Vehicles can be licensed at any Department of Transport Licensing Centre.

Vehicles currently registered under the Road Traffic Act are not required to be registered under the Control of Vehicles (Off-road Areas) Act 1978.

Environmental impact

Users of off-road vehicles should be aware that noise coming from the vehicles might create a disturbance for nearby residents.

Drivers and riders are also reminded that regular use in the same area not only threatens flora and fauna but may cause degradation of the land, erosion of soils and dust pollution.

Environmental impact issues, including noise, are regulated by the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

Reporting off-road vehicle activity

If you observe an off-road vehicle in a park or on a reserve, contact the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale Ranger Services on 9526 1136.

The more information you are able to provide, the more likely we are able to identify and deal with the offender.

Information that would assist includes:

Make and Model;

Primary colour and secondary colour
Any other distinguishing marks (e.g. stickers, number on bike, seat colour)
Operator description, name and address (if known)
General description, shirt and trouser colour, boot/shoe colour and helmet colour

Any activity involving off-road vehicles on the road or footpath must be reported immediately to the Police on 131 444 as these activities are offences under the Road Traffic Act 1974.

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