Vehicle Emissions Standards

Australia has had new vehicle emission standards in place since the early 1970s and these have been progressively tightened over the past 40 years.  The current standards reflect Australia’s commitment to harmonise with the vehicle standards developed by the United Nations wherever possible.

The tables listed below summarise the emission limits which apply for light and heavy vehicles and their timetable for adoption in the ADRs. The ADRs are performance standards which specify the maximum levels of emissions permitted under a specified test. The ADRs do not mandate the use of particular technology, although it has been necessary for vehicle manufacturers to fit catalytic converters to light petrol and LPG vehicles in order to meet the emission limits introduced by ADR37/00 in the mid 1980’s.  For diesel vehicles, particulate traps are necessary in most vehicles to meet the very low particle emission limits in the Euro 5 standards adopted in ADR79/03 and ADR79/04.

• Summary of Emissions Standards for Light Petrol Vehicles in Australia (1972–Present)
  [PDF: 57 KB] [DOC: 58 KB]
• Emission Standards for Light Vehicles applied under ADR79/xx (2003–Present)
  [PDF: 62 KB] [DOC: 74 KB]
• Emissions Standards for Heavy Diesel Vehicles [PDF: 34 KB] [DOC: 55 KB]

Euro 5/6 Light Vehicle Emissions Standards

On 11 June 2011, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP announced that Euro 5 emissions standards will commence in Australia for new model vehicles from 1 November 2013 and for existing models from 1 November 2016.  Euro 6 emissions standards will commence for new model vehicles from 1 July 2017 and for existing models from 1 July 2018.

Details of the announcement are contained in the media release.

The decision follows a RIS process covering the review of Euro 5/6 Light Vehicle Emissions Standards. The final RIS [PDF: 724 KB] [RTF: 20421 KB] was approved by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

The RIS incorporates a benefit-cost analysis undertaken by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). The Department also acknowledges the assistance of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities and a number of state environment agencies in the preparation of the RIS.

A draft RIS was provided for public scrutiny and comment, prior to the presentation of a final RIS for consideration by the Minister. The comment period for the draft RIS closed on 15 March 2010, with some 25 submissions received.

The text of ADR79/03 and ADR79/04 adopting the Euro 5 Emissions Standards (as embodied in UN Regulation 83/06) are now available on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.  ADR79/05, which will implement the Euro 6 emission standards in Australia, will be formally determined by the Minister when the source standard (UN Regulation 83) is updated to incorporate the Euro 6 requirements adopted in the European Union.

In-Service Emissions

The emissions performance of vehicles once they are on the road (in-service) is the responsibility of the state and territory governments. However, the Australian Government undertaken a number of studies to improve the understanding of emissions performance of the in-service passenger car fleet.

The National In-Service Emission Study (NISE1), published in 1996, is the most comprehensive study of emissions from cars ever undertaken in Australia. It tested over 600 vehicles manufactured between 1980 and 1993 and demonstrated that considerable exhaust emissions benefits could be obtained from regular tuning and maintenance. An update and expansion of this study, NISE 2, covering later model vehicles, was completed in March 2009.

The NISE 1 study also indicated that evaporative emissions from vehicles are on average well above the limits mandated in the then applicable standard, Australian Design Rule 37(ADR37). The subsequent Petrol Volatility Project (1997) examined this in more detail and concluded that reducing the volatility of commercial petrol was the most cost effective means to address this problem. States have since set limits on the volatility of summertime petrol supplies.

In July 2001, the National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) made the National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) dealing with diesel vehicle emissions. This NEPM provides governments with a range of strategies for reducing emissions from in-service diesel vehicles. The NEPM, plus the detailed technical reports which led to its development, can be found on the NEPC website.

Earlier Vehicle Emission Reports

• Motor Vehicle Pollution in Australia
  • Report of the National In-Service Vehicle Emissions Study—May 1996
  • Report of the LPG In-Service Vehicle Emissions Study—May 1997
  • Report of the Petrol Volatility Project—November 1997
  • Report of the Second National In-Service Vehicle Emissions Study—March 2009
  
  
• Regulation Impact Statement—New Australian Design Rules for the Control of Vehicle Emissions—December 1999
  • Regulation Impact Statement Main Report [PDF: 345 KB]
  • Attachment A, B & E [PDF: 74 KB]—Comparison of UN ECE Standards with Current ADRs; Description of New Standards Options; and Summary of Public Comment
  • Attachment C [PDF: 76 KB]—Draft Final Report—Emissions and Cost Effectiveness of the Adoption of Euro 3 Emission Standards
  • Attachment D [PDF: 123 KB]—Preliminary Economic Analysis of Adopting New Vehicle Emission Standards
    
    
• Comparative Vehicle Emissions Study—March 2001
  • Comparative Vehicle Emissions Study [DOC: 492 KB]
  • Individual Model Reports [XLS: 2368 KB]
  • Summary Data [XLS: 41 KB]
  • All Data [XLS: 154 KB]
  • Comparative Vehicle Emissions Study [PDF: 333 KB ]
  
  
• Regulation Impact Statement for Vehicle Emission and Fuel Quality Standards Post 2006—December 2004

• BTRE Report on Health Impacts of Transport Emissions in Australia : Economic Costs—2005