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Vehicles & the Environment

The Department is responsible for managing policy and standards development on vehicle emissions, vehicle noise, fuel consumption labelling and energy issues.  The Department provides input on fuel quality issues and manages the environmental criteria for the fuel tax credit for heavy diesel vehicle operators.  The Department also manages the Green Vehicle Guide.

• Australian Design Rules
• Vehicle Emission Standards
• Vehicle Noise
• Fuel Tax Credit For Heavy Diesel Vehicles: Guidelines for Environmental Criteria
• Fuel Issues
• Fuel Consumption Label
• Green Vehicle Guide
• In-Service Emissions

Australian Design Rules

The Australian Government develops new vehicle emissions, noise and fuel consumption labelling standards via the Australian Design Rules (ADR's). The ADR's are made under Section 7 of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 and set the standards that each vehicle model is required to meet, prior to their first supply to the market.  The full text of all ADRs is available on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, and this site can be accessed from the numerical ADR list.

Vehicle Emission Standards

Australia has had new vehicle emission standards in place since the early 1970s and these have been progressively tightened over the past 30 years.  The current standards reflect Australias commitment to harmonise with the vehicle standards developed by the UN Economic Commission for Europe 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 vehicles in order to meet the emission limits introduced by ADR 37/00 and later standards.

Summary of Emissions Standards for Light Petrol Vehicles 1972-2010    
Emissions Standards for Light Petrol and Diesel Vehicles 1995-2010    
Emissions Standards for Heavy Diesel Vehicles

Vehicle Noise

The vehicle noise standard (ADR83/00) defines the limits on external noise generated by all light and heavy vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds in order to limit the contribution of motor traffic to community noise. The introduction of ADR83/00 significantly reduced the allowable drive by noise limits for all vehicles. The Department has prepared a list of the stationary signature noise data for all vehicle makes and models currently certified to ADR83/00.

Fuel Tax Credit For Heavy Diesel Vehicles: Guidelines for Environmental Criteria

Under the fuel tax credit arrangements that applied from 1 July 2006, businesses wishing to seek a fuel tax credit for the use of diesel fuel in a heavy road vehicle must satisfy one of four environmental performance criteria to be eligible for the credit.

Fuel Issues

As vehicle emissions control technology becomes more sophisticated, the quality of the fuels is critical. The Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 managed by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts provides the capacity for the Australian Government to set limits on those fuel parameters which impact on environmental/health objectives, vehicle technology and vehicle operation. Standards for petrol, diesel, LPG and biodiesel address fuel properties that are considered important in facilitating the adoption of emerging vehicle engine and emission control technologies, and in managing ambient levels of pollutants identified as posing health and environmental problems.

Fuel Consumption Label

The fuel consumption labelling standard (ADR81/01) requires a model specific fuel consumption label to be placed on the windscreens of all new vehicles up to 3.5 tonne gross vehicle mass.  The removable label shows the fuel consumption of the car in litres/100km and the CO2 emissions in g/km based on a standard test. The label enables new car buyers to compare vehicles on a common basis and encourages them to take account of fuel consumption in their decision.  Under the new ADR81/02, the updated version of the label displayed here provides urban and extra-urban figures for fuel consumption, and will take effect from 1 October 2008.

Green Vehicle Guide

The Green Vehicle Guide (GVG) provides information about the environmental performance of new light vehicles (up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass) sold in Australia since mid-2004. It is updated regularly as new models come onto the market and contains detailed information to helps consumers identify individual vehicle models, including the make, model and variant name, engine and transmission, body style, seating and fuel type. Information provided for each vehicle helps consumers compare the level of emissions of different vehicles and consequently their impact on the environment.

The information includes:

• Greenhouse Rating (based on CO2 emissions) comparing a vehicles contribution to the greenhouse effect and climate change.
• Air Pollution Rating (based primarily on emission standards) helping compare a vehicles contribution to urban air pollution.
• Overall Star Rating to help compare vehicles overall emissions levels which is determined by combining the Greenhouse Rating and Air Pollution Rating.
• Fuel Consumption (L/100km) to help identify the most fuel-efficient vehicles.

In-Service Emissions

State and Territory Governments are responsible for standards governing the emissions performance of vehicles once they are on the road (in-service). However, the Australian Government undertook a number of studies in the 1990s to improve the understanding of emissions performance of the in-service passenger car fleet.

The National In-service Emission Study (NISE 1), 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 covering later model vehicles, NISE 2, is now underway and is being managed by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The first stage of NISE 2 is now complete and reports can be accessed here.

The NISE 1 study also indicated that evaporative emissions from the tested vehicles were 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.

Other Vehicle Emissions Reports & Advisory Bodies