‘Inappropriate’: QLD mum left reeling as her name is banned from Aussie number plates
A young Queensland mum has joined a growing list of Australians whose custom number plates have been rejected or recalled for being ‘inappropriate’.
A young Queensland mum was blown away after the state knocked back her request for personalised number plates featuring her own name.
Indica Bradford had dreamt of having her own custom plates since the day she got her licence.
“Everyone has personalised plates and I could get my full name because it’s so unique,” she told A Current Affair.
“I was really excited about that for ages.”
After years of checking online to see if her name was still available, she finally placed her order.
“I bought my new car, and I thought, I’ll finally get them, so I put them on lay-by.”
But the excitement was short-lived. A few weeks later, her deposit was refunded.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads ruled her chosen plates inappropriate.
“Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ) told me it’s a strand of marijuana, so that’s why they’ve deemed it inappropriate,” Indica said.
Indica says her mother gave her the name after hearing it somewhere years before she was born.
“She loved it for years, and then when she finally had me, she named me the name she loved.”
Neither of them had any idea the name was also linked to a subspecies of the cannabis plant.
“I think the majority of Australia would probably be the same. They wouldn’t even know what it meant.
“It’s just someone’s unusual name.”
Now, Indica is calling on the department to reverse the decision.
“I’m not trying to offend anyone. It’s just my name, my legal name, on my birth certificate.”
However, the government isn’t budging.
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The Department of Transport and Main Roads said all personalised plate requests are assessed against strict criteria set by PPQ, and “plates that do not meet the criteria are not approved for sale.”
The policy is regularly updated to “reflect current community and social norms” and to align with Queenslanders’ expectations.
The department added: “This particular plate combination at the time was deemed inappropriate in relation to its interpretation as promotion of illegal drugs or criminal activity.”
Indica isn’t alone in having her request denied.
Across Australia, thousands of number plates are rejected each year for toeing the line on what’s considered offensive, inappropriate, or dangerous.
In Western Australia, plates referencing drugs, alcohol, road safety concerns, discriminatory or offensive language, and government acronyms like ANZAC or RAAF are banned.
Some rejected plates include CRMNL (crime reference), T3QUILA (alcohol), ADHD12 (mental health), ANILATR (deemed unsafe), and XIXIXIXIX (too difficult to read).
WA car enthusiast Ian Atkinson received a complaint from a disability workforce member about his plate SPAKATAK in February 2022.
Atkinson said the plates, which came with the car he bought two months earlier, cost about $600.
“When I bought it, I had no idea that it would offend anybody,” he told the ABC.
“It just depends on someone’s interpretation.”
The plate was approved in 2011 but would not pass today’s stricter guidelines.
He also tried to get HQQNIGAN (a play on Hoonigan), but that was also rejected because officials feared it might incite road rage.
In New South Wales, plates have been deemed even more controversial.
After a Sydney motorist was spotted in Feb 2024, with plates reading OCT7TH, an apparent reference to the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel, Transport for NSW ordered the plates to be surrendered.
The driver claimed the plates were “missing.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said: “No one will buy his excuse.”
Authorities warned failure to return cancelled plates could result in a $2,000 fine, or up to $22,000 and possible jail time if a false statutory declaration is submitted.
NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said: “The NSW Government has zero tolerance for hate speech.
“We are not going to tolerate hatred and intolerance being spread in the community.”
Other recalled plates in NSW included 88SEIG (linked to Nazi codes) and NAAZI4, despite the owner claiming, like Indica, that it was related to their name.
However, it seems some unusual plates have slipped through the net.
In October 2024, a Perth driver was accused of “belittling the poor” after their luxury Mercedes, with the plate CENTRLINK, was photographed.
The car was believed to have retailed for over $150,000.
“I very much doubt the owner of this Merc is on Centrelink,” wrote the person who uploaded the photo.
The owner sparked significant public debate but in the end was not fined or required to surrender the plates.
Plate rage isn’t unique to Australia, in the UK John and Jackie Cooke, were left fuming after their personalised plate N14GAS, a nod to their football club, Bristol Rovers, was recalled in Jan 2025 after nearly 30 years.
The plate stands for ‘Number one for the Gas’, the club’s nickname, and was originally suggested by Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) staff in 1997.
But concerns it could be misconstrued as a slur led to the plate being revoked.
Jackie said: “In 27 years, no-one has ever complained about this registration number being offensive.”
Between 2022 and 2023, around 1,000 personalised plate applications in Western Australia were knocked back for being too offensive.
Meanwhile, in Queensland, PPQ rejected 3,901 combinations in 2023 alone.
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Some of the banned contenders include GEN3CID, SAUC3D, RAMP4GE, BUYAGRAM and F4K3T4X1 (referring to a well-known porn site).
Whether it’s your legal name, a tongue-in-cheek joke, or your favourite sports team, if it’s going on a plate, expect scrutiny.
And in Indica’s case, you can be named after a party plant your whole life and still be told it’s too controversial for your bumper.
Originally published as ‘Inappropriate’: QLD mum left reeling as her name is banned from Aussie number plates
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