17 / 32
17
accreditation.
•
All RAWS vehicles will undergo verification by an independent recognised organisation, on
a user-pays basis. This will ensure modifications are carried out appropriately and vehicles are free
from structural damage.
•
‘Model reports’ (see Info Sheet 3) will be introduced to reduce the number of documents
RAWs are required to supply and to ensure transparent examination of shared documentation by the
Department.
•
Sample vehicle testing requirements and modifications requirements for each vehicle will be
reduced
Concessional Imports
These arrangements allow the importation of vehicles under a range of circumstances that are not
covered by other parts of the legislation. The existing 12 importation options will be replaced with four
simplified streams:
•
Temporary / non-road use vehicles
– which are not permitted general access for permanent
road use (such as vehicles for exhibition or test vehicles not used on public roads).
•
Non-standard vehicles
– which are necessary for specialised operations, or for which there
is a reasonable case to allow importation for use on public roads. This will include test and evaluation
vehicles for road use, non-compliant plant and equipment (where a standard vehicle cannot perform
the function, such as drilling rigs), vehicles owned and used overseas (the current ‘Personal Imports’
arrangements) and other specialised vehicles such as military equipment and airport fire trucks.
•
Older vehicles
– which are eligible 25 years after date of manufacture, rather than the
current pre-1989 cut-off. This pathway will:
◉
require that vehicles are modified to meet requirements for older vehicles under the
Australian Vehicle Standards Rules; and
◉
be limited to passenger cars, light commercial vehicles (less than 3.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle
Mass) and motorcycles.
•
Heavy and light trailers
– imported trailers will be required to meet the same standards as
locally manufactured trailers.
Type Approved New Vehicles
Type approved new vehicles are motor vehicles and trailers that comply fully with the national
standards and are approved for unrestricted supply to the Australian market. Changes to the
legislation and administrative processes controlling type approved vehicles will:
•
remove the current requirement to fit ‘identification plates’ to motor vehicles, and replace
this with an online
‘Register of Approved Vehicles’ containing information currently shown on the ‘identification plate’;
•
accelerate harmonisation of Australian vehicle standards and requirements with United
Nations regulations, maintaining the Australian Design Rules as the mechanism for implementing
these standards in Australia;
•
improve business systems to streamline certification, including for vehicles covered by an
International Whole of Vehicle Type Approval;
•
establish appropriate certification requirements for trailers under 4.5 tonnes (imported or
locally built); and
•
introduce a ‘model report’ concept (see Info Sheet 1) to facilitate certification of light and
heavy trailers.
Further consultation will be undertaken on how the above objectives can be achieved with a
minimum of additional regulation.
Further Information
For more information on the Motor Vehicle Standards Act reforms, please see the MSVA Reforms
page on the Department’s website:
www.infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/mv_standards_act.