Regulation Impact Statement - Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities
On 7 February 2018 the Government introduced the Road Vehicle Standards Bill 2018, the Road Vehicle Standards (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2018, the Road Vehicle Standards Charges (Imposition-General) Bill 2018, the Road Vehicle Standards Charges (Imposition-Customs) Bill 2018 and the Road Vehicle Standards Charges (Imposition-Excise) Bill 2018 to Parliament.
The Bills will replace the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 with a legislative framework that strengthens and modernises the regulation of road vehicles supplied to Australia. The Bills will control the safety, environmental and anti-theft performance of all new and used road vehicles entering the Australian market for the first time, improve consumer access to specialist and enthusiast vehicles and streamline the supply of mainstream new vehicles. For example, the Bills replace physical compliance plates with an online, publicly searchable database, the Register of Approved Vehicles, as the marker of a vehicle’s suitability for supply in Australia. The Bills also continue to enable harmonisation of Australia’s vehicle standards with international best practice vehicle standards and allow the Minister to incorporate a broad range of documents when making national road vehicle standards to ensure for future international developments. The legislation will commence 12 months after receiving Royal Assent. The Road Vehicle Standards (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2018 provides for a further 12-month transition period to allow businesses to adapt to the new arrangements.
A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was prepared and certified by the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities and has been assessed by the Office of Best Practice Regulation as compliant with the Government’s requirements and consistent with best practice.
The RIS estimates that the reforms are expected to reduce regulatory burden by $19.6 million a year, averaged over ten years, with the continued harmonisation of Australian vehicle design requirements with international standards expected to further reduce regulatory burden by $49.2 million a year, averaged over ten years. The OBPR agreed these estimates.