The only reason you would have to hand the plates back is if the car was still registered and you want to get part of the registration money back if the car was being scrapped.
If the car was given to a wreckers to be scrapped i think they might be obliged by law to record car details and give that information in.
As per my previous post - not in New South Wales. You are obliged to return the plates as they remain the property of Roads & Maritime Services. If the vehicle is no longer registered, for whatever reason, you are obliged to return the plates, which in New South Wales, I think you have to do within 3 months of expiration of registration.
"Important: It is an offence to keep number plates if you cancel your vehicles registration."
It looks like other States are much the same:
https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/transp...-registration/cancelling-vehicle-registration
In regards to needing to supply paperwork for proof of ownership when scrapping a car - as I previously said, we have never had to do this. Whether this is a legal requirement, I don't know. We use two different scrappers in Sydney (depending on who pays more per tonne at the time) and neither of them have ever asked for any documentation. However, I would think the industry by and large would be notorious for not necessarily obeying the law, so I certainly wouldn't rule it out (that you are supposed to provide paperwork).
In our experience, providing you remove the plates, return them to the Roads & Maritime Services and inform them that you are scrapping the vehicle, by means of a Disposal Notice, it's all good.
I tried to find something on the net, and found an article, which admittedly, is about 3 years old now, so I don't know how relevant it is now, if the laws have changed.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/th...s-for-scrap-cash/story-e6freuy9-1226538672431
Taken from the above article: "
He (the police officer in the article) said the yards had not broken any laws in accepting the vehicle." ... "We found many times the thieves filled out the paperwork stating they owned the vehicle. There is no onus for them to prove ownership," he said. "So the yards have done nothing illegal."
In the article above, it's indicating that any paperwork that is filled out stating that whoever is scrapping the car don't have to prove ownership.
I think if a third party business was involved (ie you pay someone to take it to a scrappies for you) you may have to give them proof of ownership to cover their arses, but other than that, I don't think it would be necessary (going from the article above, anyway).
Wrecking a car, however, is a totally different ball game. :facepalm: