Motorcycle levy
Keeping motorcycle riders safe on New Zealand’s roads is one of ACC’s key priorities. Find out about how your motorcycle levy is calculated and how the levy is used.
As an owner of a motorcycle you pay a levy:
- on the petrol you buy (charged per litre)
- when you license your motorcycle (which includes a $25 annual motorcycle safety levy).
Your petrol and licence fee go into the ACC Motor Vehicle Account, which funds ACC cover for all people injured as a result of accidents involving motor vehicles on New Zealand’s public roads. Any costs of injuries that happen on private roads etc are not paid for out of the Motor Vehicle Account that your motorcycle levy goes in to.
Why pay ACC levies?
The levies you pay provide you with certainty that, if you’re injured while riding your motorcycle you'll get:
- the treatment you need for your injury
- the necessary support, to enable you to recover and get back your life as quickly as possible
- 80% of your income if you cannot work as a direct result of your injury, plus other support.
Why do levies change?
In setting the levies each year, ACC have to take into account a range of factors, including:
- the number of claims made in the past, and how many riders injured in the past will need ACC's continued support today
- the number of claims we expect to receive in the current year – and how much they’ll cost in future years (especially serious injury claims)
- changes in New Zealand’s population
- accident, crash and hospitalisation rates and trends
- the costs of associated products and services, such as medical treatment and rehabilitation aids, including wheelchairs and hearing aids, inflation rates and other economic factors.
They also include a ‘funding adjustment’ to allow for any surplus or shortfall in their previous estimates that could affect the current year.
The current licence fee and motorcycle safety levies
The licence fee levy you pay depends on the ‘class’ of motorcycle you license and whether it’s powered by petrol or diesel. The current levies (which apply from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017 and include the motorcycle safety levy) are:
| Motorcycle class | Mopeds | Motorcycles up to 600cc | Motorcycles 601cc+ |
| Petrol-powered | $124.33 | $322.91 | $422.18 |
| Non-petrol powered | $126.24 | $324.72 | $423.99 |
You can have a say in the levies you pay
ACC reviews all its levies every year and then make recommendations to the Minister for ACC.
Before they make recommendations to the Minister they invite New Zealanders to provide their feedback and ideas, this is what they call levy consultation.
What’s the motorcycle safety levy?
The motorcycle safety levy was introduced in July 2010. The levy is an amount of money paid by all motorcycle and moped owners as part of the licence fee levy. The motorcycle safety levy has been set at $30 per year for each registered motorcycle and/or moped.
The purpose of the motorcycle safety levy is to increase investment in initiatives that will reduce death and injury amongst motorcyclists'.
The Minister of ACC established the Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council (MSAC) in 2011 to make recommendations to ACC on the interventions and programmes that the motorcycle safety levy could be invested in to improve the safety of motorcyclists.. These initiatives are aimed at reducing the number of deaths and the number and severity of injuries on New Zealand’s roads.
The Council members are:
- Mr Mark Gilbert – Chair
- Mr Johan Bosch
- Ms Yvonne Forrest
- Mr David White
- Ms Janice Millman
- Mr Alan Petrie
- Mr David Golightly
- Mr Andrew Darrell.
To keep up-to-date with what the Council is doing, simply register on the MSAC website:
Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council website
