It is a condition of Identification Plate Approval (IPA) that the IPA holder ensures all vehicles they supply to the market comply with the Australian Design Rules (ADRs).
Compliance with the ADRs is initially demonstrated by testing pre-production or early production samples of a vehicle model or its components. However, it is typical for the design to evolve throughout the life of the vehicle model and the IPA holder should have a quality assurance system to demonstrate that they have effective control on conformity of production and only place identification plates on vehicles for the type approval held.
Audit of Facilities
Under section 9 of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989, any IPA holder may be subject to an audit and to assure the Administrator of Vehicle Safety Standards that all vehicles comply with the ADRs, the Department periodically conducts the following three types of physical ‘on-site’ audits:
- Test Facility Inspection—to confirm that the design level of the components or systems tested to the ADRs is known, and to confirm the validity of the test procedures and results of the tests.
- Design Facility Audit—to confirm the design of the components or systems relevant to the ADRs and the internal review of their design.
- Production Facility Audit—to confirm the design of the components or systems relevant to the ADRs used on the production line, as well as the general control over the production processes, so that only vehicles built to the approved design are fitted with identification plates.
Quality Assurance System
IPA Holders should have a quality assurance system established upon the principles of international standard ISO 9001:2015 or similar. The ISO 9001 series provides the quality assurance framework for the design and manufacturing process within an organization.
Further information
Further information on Conformity of Production is available on Circular 0-12-0 Test Facility Inspection; the audit process can be found in Administrator's Circular 0-13-1 and the Design Change Control fact sheet.
Note: The information provided on this page should only be used as guidance material for undertaking vehicle certification. Please familiarise yourself with the relevant legislation and requirements of the Australian Design Rules prior to submitting evidence of compliance and applying for an identification plate.
RVS legislation
To support the safety, environmental and anti-theft performance of all road vehicles being provided to the Australian market for the first time, the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 replaced the existing Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 on 1 July 2021. The detail of how the RVSA regulatory framework operates is contained in subsidiary legislation, the Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019 (the Rules). The RVSA, the Rules and other related legislation are collectively referred to as the Road Vehicle Standards (RVS) legislation.
Please visit the Road Vehicle Standards laws page for more information about the RVS legislation.