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RVS legislation, guides and resources

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To support the safety, environmental and anti-theft performance of all road vehicles being provided to the Australian market for the first time, the new Road Vehicle Standards (RVS) legislation is replacing the existing Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (MVSA).

Please keep checking this page as we will be adding more information as soon as it becomes available.

Please visit the Road Vehicle Standards legislation implementation page for more information.

Resources available:

ROVER resources

The Road Vehicle Regulator (ROVER) system integrates all applications and approvals under the new Road Vehicle Standards (RVS) legislation.

For available resources visit ROVER resources.

Transition to Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018—Guidance Materials

This document provides the plan for how content from Administrator's Circulars and other MVSA guidance material will transition to RVSA guidance material.

Approval pathways for entry on the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV)

The Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA) establishes the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV), an online, publicly searchable database of vehicles approved for use on Australian roads, replacing the need for the physical compliance (ID) plates currently fitted to vehicles.

All road vehicle types – cars, trucks, trailers, etc – must be entered on the RAV before they can be provided to the market for the first time in Australia.

The RAV has two approval pathways – vehicle type approval or concessional RAV entry – and manufacturers and suppliers need to decide which one is appropriate for each vehicle type.

A vehicle type approval identifies the applicable national road vehicle standards for a road vehicle type and specifies the documents required to confirm compliance with them.

Under the concessional RAV entry approval pathway, vehicles will be entered on the RAV on behalf of an approval holder on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis. For example, specialist and enthusiast vehicles.

The diagram below provides further information on these two pathways.

diagram showing the approval pathways for entry on the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV)

Click to enlarge

Vehicle type approvals

These resources provide further information for applicants who wish to apply for a vehicle type approval.

  • Guide to vehicle type approvals - overview PDF: 613 KB ReadSpeaker

Authorised vehicle verifiers

These resources provide further information for applicants who wish to apply to become an approved vehicle verifier.

Testing facilities resources

We are ready for more applications for testing facilities under the RVS legislation to be submitted. Apply in ROVER.

Access a list of approved testing facilities in ROVER.

These resources provide further information for applicants who wish to apply for a testing facility approval.

For more information on how to apply please visit the Testing facilities page.

Component type approvals

Applications for a component type approval are now open!

Each component type approval that is in force is published in the list of component type approvals. Access a list of component type approvals in ROVER.

NEW: Component type approval holders are now able to initiate a vary, suspend or revoke from their list of approvals in ROVER.

These resources provide further information for applicants who wish to apply for a component type approval.

  • Overview of Component Type Approvals PDF: 540 KB ReadSpeaker
  • Guide to Component Type Approvals PDF: 15920 KB ReadSpeaker
  • Position Paper - Component Type Approval - test reports not completed by an RVS approved testing facility PDF: 4438 KB ReadSpeaker

For more information please visit the Component type approvals page.

Low ATM trailers

Under the RVS legislation, every road vehicle, including trailers, will need to have certain vehicle and compliance information listed on an online database known as the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV) before they may be provided to consumers for the first time in Australia.

For further information about importing trailers under the RVS legislation, please visit the Low ATM trailers page.

Specialist and enthusiast vehicles

The Roads Vehicle Standards legislation

The Road Vehicle Standards package of legislation includes:

Road Vehicle Standards Determinations

Glossary of terms

The Road Vehicle Standards (RVS) legislation - Glossary of terms provides a comprehensive list of acronyms and terms used in RVS policies, procedures and guidance material.

Cost Recovery Implementation Statement

The Cost Recovery Implementation Statement provides information on how the department undertakes cost recovery arrangements for administrative and regulatory activities under the Road Vehicle Standards legislation.

  • Cost Recovery Implementation Statement—Road Vehicle Standards 2020–21 PDF: 1170 KB ReadSpeaker

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Last Updated: 22 April, 2021