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
• Transition to Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018—Guidance Materials
• Approval pathways for entry on the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV)
• Testing facilities
• Component type approvals
• Low ATM trailers
• Specialist and enthusiast vehicles
• The Road Vehicle Standards legislation
• Glossary of terms
• Cost Recovery Implementation Statement

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.

• Transition to Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018—Guidance Materials DOCX: 2530 KB PDF: 488 KB 

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), which will be an online, publicly searchable database of vehicles approved for use on Australian roads.

There are two ways road vehicles may be entered on the RAV. The illustration below provides information on the two pathways by which a vehicle may be entered on the RAV under the Roads Vehicle Standards (RVS) legislation:

• Vehicle type approval pathway
• Concessional RAV entry approval pathway

Click to enlarge

Testing facilities resources

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

• Overview of Testing Facilities PDF: 717 KB 
• Guide to Testing Facilities PDF: 1037 KB 
• Road Vehicles Standards Rules 2019 (sections 108 to 124)

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

Component type approvals

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

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

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.

• Overview of low ATM trailers PDF: 760 KB 

Specialist and enthusiast vehicles

• Interim arrangements - Guidance for importing a road vehicle that is at least 25 years old into Australia PDF: 7360 KB 
• Interim arrangements - Guidance relating to specialist and enthusiast vehicles PDF: 2949 KB 
• Interim arrangements - lists of eligible and ineligible vehicles PDF: 122 KB 
• Interim SEVS - importing sample vehicle PDF: 450 KB 
• Interim SEVS - importing subsequent vehicles PDF: 449 KB 

The Roads Vehicle Standards legislation

The Road Vehicle Standards package of legislation includes:

• The Road Vehicle Standards Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (RVSLAA)
• The Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA) as amended by the RVSLAA
• The Road Vehicle Standards (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2018 as amended by the RVSLAA
• The Road Vehicle Standards Charges (Imposition – General) Act 2018
• The Road Vehicle Standards Charges (Imposition – Customs) Act 2018
• The Road Vehicle Standards Charges (Imposition – Excise) Act 2018
• Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019

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