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application.
•
Right hand drive passenger vehicles and motorcycles from countries with comparable
standards to those applied to new vehicles in Australia (this would currently initially restrict imports
to cars from the UK and Japan, however motorcycles could also be imported from USA and the EU).
Personally imported new vehicles will be required to undergo inspection by an independent third-
party inspection service. Some differences in standards will be addressed through modification
requirements, such as installation of Child Restraint Anchorages.
Details of personally imported vehicles will be recorded on an online ‘Register of Approved Vehicles’,
which will become an authoritative listing of all motor vehicles approved to enter the Australian
market.
Information for individuals seeking to purchase a vehicle overseas, and subsequent buyers in the
Australian used vehicle market, will be made available through the Department’s website, including a
recommendation that buyers purchase insurance and/or warranty coverage for repairs and possible
safety recalls.
Register of Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles
The Register of Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicles (SEV Register) identifies vehicles that are of
specialist or enthusiast interest, are not available in the Australian market, and are unable to be
supplied without some concessions against the national standards in the Australian Design Rules
(ADRs). Vehicles on the SEV Register can be imported through the Registered Automotive Workshop
Scheme (RAWS). By ensuring that vehicles on the SEV Register meet certain criteria, motorists are
able to access genuine specialist and enthusiast vehicles without undermining the role of the Act in
maintaining community safety.
The reforms to the Act include changes to the way decisions are made about whether a vehicle is
eligible to be placed on the SEV Register. These changes are designed to ensure that the range of
eligible vehicles better reflects specialist and enthusiast demand.
In order to be entered on the SEV Register, all vehicle types will be required to meet one of five
criteria:
•
performance
– high-performance vehicles with specifications (e.g. power to weight ratio)
significantly superior to mainstream vehicles in Australia;
•
environmental
– vehicles that offer environmental performance (e.g. emissions of carbon
dioxide per km) significantly superior to mainstream vehicles in Australia;
•
mobility
– vehicles manufactured with special features to assist people with a disability;
•
rarity
– vehicles of which only small quantities have been produced; or
•
left-hand-drive
– vehicles originally manufactured as left-hand-drive, of which right-hand-
drive versions are not available in any other country.
The eligibility thresholds under these criteria will be developed in light of further consultation.
For more information on the changes to the operation of the Register of Specialist and Enthusiast
Vehicles, please refer to Info Sheet 2.
Registered Automotive Workshops Scheme
Changes to the Registered Automotive Workshop Scheme (RAWS) will reduce regulatory costs to
businesses and deliver improvements in community safety and consumer protection.
The new RAWS will encompass vehicle types currently supplied under the existing RAWS and New
Low Volume scheme.
Current limits on the number of vehicles that can be processed by each workshop will be removed.
The Department will consult further on appropriate controls.
Other changes to the RAWS include:
•
Registered Automotive Workshops (RAWs) will be able to import both new and used
vehicles of a type listed on the SEV Register as eligible for importation.
•
The registration process for becoming a RAW will be simplified, with the Department
requiring only confirmation of workshop particulars and ISO 9000 (Quality Management Systems)