The Department is responsible for managing policy and standards development on vehicle safety, emissions, vehicle noise and fuel consumption labelling.

The Department administers the Australian Design Rules and provides input on fuel quality issues, manages the environmental criteria for the fuel tax credit for heavy diesel vehicle operators and hosts and manages the Green Vehicle Guide website.

Australian Design Rules (ADRs) for safety and the environment

The Australian Design Rules (ADRs) are national standards for vehicle safety, anti-theft and emissions. The ADRs are generally performance based and cover issues such as occupant protection, structures, lighting, noise, engine exhaust emissions, braking and a range of miscellaneous items.

ADRs and the Environment

Motor vehicles are a significant contributor to urban air pollution and noise that can impact on the quality of life in our major cities.

To date, the principal measure used in Australia for reducing vehicle emissions and noise has been the through the introduction of tighter standards for new vehicles through the Australian Design Rules (ADRs).

These ADRs are made under Section 12 of the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 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 Legislation, and this site can be accessed from the numerical ADR list. The current ADRs addressing emissions, noise and fuel consumption labelling are:

For further information see:

New Fuel/Energy Consumption Labelling standard adopted

On 18 November 2025, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon Catherine King MP, adopted a new Australian Design Rule 81/03. The new ADR will align Australia’s testing and labelling requirements for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, energy consumption and battery range with the improved laboratory testing requirements mandated by ADR 79/05 (based on the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure or WLTP).

The new label format will apply to newly approved vehicle models supplied for the first time from 1 July 2026 and all new light vehicles supplied from 1 July 2028.

The new ADR also includes a transitional procedure to enable models tested to the new standard to comply with the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard while Australia is transitioning to the new test procedure.

For further information, please see:

Green Vehicle Guide

The Green Vehicle Guide (GVG) website 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 the performance of individual vehicle models.

Information provided for each vehicle helps consumers compare the fuel consumption and the level of emissions of different vehicles and consequently their impact on the environment.

Real World Testing of Vehicle Efficiency

Under its Powering Australia Plan, the Australian Government is providing $14 million to the Australian Automobile Association ofrom 2022-23 to 2025-26 to test the on-road emissions and fuel use of a range of popular cars, SUVs and utes sold in Australia.

The program will give Australians better information on how much fuel they can expect a vehicle to use on the road, providing a clearer picture of how much it will cost to run. Data for vehicle models tested by the program is available at realworld.org.au.

The program complements the Green Vehicle Guide (GVG) website, which uses laboratory test data to help consumers compare the relative fuel efficiency of light vehicles sold in Australia.

For further information, please see our Questions and answers on the Real World Testing of Vehicle Efficiency program.

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 Quality Standards

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 Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water 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. The standards in place 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.