Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 114/00 – Carbon Dioxide Emissions Measurement) 2026

Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 114/00 – Carbon Dioxide Emissions Measurement) 2026

Made under section 12 of the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018

Explanatory Statement

Approved by the Hon Catherine King MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

April 2026

Contents

1. legislative Authority

2. Purpose and operation

3. MATTERS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

4. CONSULTATION

5. Regulatory Impact

6. STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

1.                        legislative Authority
   1.                       National Road Vehicle Standards

Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 114/00 – Carbon Dioxide Emissions Measurement) 2026 is made under section 12 of the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (the Act), which grants authority to the Minister to determine national road vehicle standards.

1.                       Exemption from Sunsetting

Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 114/00 – Carbon Dioxide Emissions Measurement) 2026 is exempt from the sunsetting provisions of the Legislation Act 2003.

Source of the exemption

A standard made under section 12 of the Road Vehicle Standards Act is not subject to the sunsetting provisions of section 50 of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Legislation Act).

Item 56C of the table in Section 12 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015 states that a standard made under section 12 of the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 is a legislative instrument not subject to sunsetting, as provided under the Legislation Act (paragraph 54(2)(b)). The exemption from sunsetting is important to ensure that ADR 114/00 continues to remain in force, and available to regulators and industry.

Justification

It is appropriate that standards made under section 12 of the Act, also known as the Australian Design Rules (ADRs), remain enduring and effective to regulate ongoing road worthiness of vehicles throughout their useful life and reduce regulatory burden on vehicle manufacturers.

Intergovernmental dependencies

The exemption concerns ADRs which facilitate the establishment and operation of the intergovernmental vehicle standard regime that Commonwealth, State and Territory governments rely on to regulate the safety of vehicles on public roads.

The Commonwealth uses the ADRs as the basis on which approvals to supply types of road vehicles to the market are granted under the Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019. States and territories use the ADRs as the primary criteria on which vehicles are assessed for road worthiness. This ‘in-service’ aspect is dependent on the date of manufacture, which determines the applicable version of the ADRs against which the vehicle can be assessed. The ability to rely on national standards is particularly relevant given the long service life of vehicles – the average age of vehicles in Australia is 12.1 years.

While the ADRs are regularly updated to reflect changes in technology, it is not possible to apply these new standards retrospectively to vehicles that are already in use. With former ADRs kept on the Federal Register of Legislation, State and Territory governments can use them to ensure vehicles continue to comply with the ADRs that were in force when they were first supplied to the market.

In the event that the Commonwealth could not justify the maintenance of the ADRs, State and Territory governments would be compelled to create their own vehicle standards. While this could mean adopting the substance of the lapsed ADRs as an interim measure, the differing needs and agendas of each State and Territory government may result in variations to in-service regulations. Having different vehicle standards across the states and territories would make the scheme operate contrary to the underlying policy intent of the Act which is to set nationally consistent performance based standards.

Commercial dependencies

The effect on vehicle manufacturers to redesign existing models to comply with new ADRs would present a burden and be a costly and onerous exercise. Manufacturers should not be expected to continually go back to redesign existing vehicles. Furthermore, ongoing product recalls to comply with new ADRs would undermine consumer confidence with significant financial impact to manufacturers. This exemption allows vehicle manufacturers to focus their efforts to ensure new models supplied to the market continue to comply.

Review of Australian Design Rules

Although there is an exemption from sunsetting, the ADRs are subject to regular reviews, as resources permit, when developments in vehicle technology necessitate updates to requirements.

Reviews of the ADRs ensure the ongoing effectiveness of a nationally consistent system of technical regulations for vehicle design, which are closely aligned, wherever appropriate with leading international standards such as United Nations regulations. This enables a rapid introduction of the latest technological advances into the Australian market, while also contributing to the industry’s cost competitiveness in the domestic market.

1.                        Purpose and operation
   1.                  Overview of the ADR

ADR 114/00 prescribes the requirements for determining a vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions if the vehicle has a gross vehicle mass over 3,500kg. ADRs 81/02 and 81/03 set equivalent requirements for vehicles with a gross vehicle mass under 3,500kg. For vehicles covered by this ADR, the carbon dioxide emissions value determined through testing to this standard is intended to be the emissions number that is entered onto the ‘Register of Approved Vehicles’ (RAV) to comply with the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). Under Section 20 of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024 (the NVES Act), a vehicle’s ‘emissions number’ is the number of grams of carbon dioxide emissions per kilometre that are entered on the RAV.

Clause 3.1 states that the ADR applies to all passenger cars (MA category vehicles), forward control passenger vehicles (MB category vehicles), off-road vehicles (MC category vehicles), light buses (MD category vehicles) and medium goods vehicles (NB category vehicles) with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) exceeding 3,500kg but not exceeding 3,855kg from 30 June 2027. This is intended to align the scope of Australia’s carbon dioxide emissions testing requirements with the scope of the testing requirements in the United States, which apply to vehicles with a gross vehicle mass up to 8,500 pounds (3,855kg).

Clause 3.2 states that vehicles that comply with ADR 81/03 need not comply with this vehicle standard. This is because ADR 81/03 specifies equivalent testing requirements for vehicles with a GVM over 3,500kg, if the vehicle is fitted with a label containing information on the vehicle’s fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption or battery range.

Clause 3.3 states that this vehicle standard does not apply to work vans and work trucks, as defined in clauses 4.1 and 4.2 of this vehicle standard. This is because light duty trucks and vans with a GVM over 3,500kg are not intended to be included in the NVES. This is because these vehicles are generally not designed to be used as substitutes for passenger vehicles and are widely used to supply emergency and other public interest services.

Clause 3.4 adopts a table detailing which vehicle categories are required to comply with this ADR. It advises that MA, MB, MC, and NB1 category vehicles (except those specified in Clause 3.2 and 3.3) supplied from 30 June 2027 are required to comply with this ADR.

Clause 4, ‘Definitions’, specifies how the vehicle categories and technical terms used in the ADR are to be defined.

Clause 4.1 states that a ‘work van’ means a vehicle with integrated and enclosed space designed for the carriage of passengers and goods, with an area designed for the carriage of goods exceeding 50.0 per cent of the vehicle’s ‘Total Length’.

Clause 4.2 states that a ‘work truck’ means a vehicle fitted or designed to be fitted with a body designed for the carriage of goods and/or equipment for non-passenger transport purposes that exceeds 60 per cent of the vehicle’s ‘Total Length’, if it has one row of seats, or 50 per cent of the vehicle’s ‘Total Length’ if it has two or more rows of seats. If the vehicle is supplied to the market as an incomplete chassis-cab without a body, the ‘Total Length’ includes the maximum ‘rear overhang’ (length of the vehicle past the rear wheels) permitted in Australian Design Rule 43/04 – Vehicle Configuration and Dimensions (ADR 43/04).

Clause 4.3 states that Supporting Information has the same meaning as in the Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019.

Clause 4.4 states that all other terms used in the ADR have the same meaning as defined in Appendix A.

Clause 4.5 states that if the term is not defined in Appendix A, it has the same meaning as in the Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 111/00 – Advanced Emission Control for Light Vehicles) 2024 (ADR 111/00).

Clause 4.6 states that if a term is not defined in ADR 111/00, it has the same meaning as in the Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule – Definitions and Vehicle Categories) 2005.

1.                  Design Requirements

Clause 5.1 requires all vehicles covered by this vehicle standard to have their carbon dioxide emissions tested in accordance with Appendix A, as varied by Clause 6 (Exemptions and Alternative Procedures) or one of the alternative standards specified in Clause 7. Appendix A adopts the technical requirements of UN Regulation No. 101, which specifies a laboratory test for measuring fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emission, electric energy consumption and battery range based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test procedure. This is because the NVES Act (Section 22) states that the headline limits for the introductory period (2025 to 2029) were determined consistently with the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) test procedure.

Clause 5.2 specifies the information manufacturers are required to record in their Supporting Information, if the vehicle has been tested in accordance with the NEDC (Appendix A, or the alternative standard specified in Clause 7.1 (UN Regulation No. 101)).

The subclauses to clause 5.2 require manufacturers to record the carbon dioxide emissions value declared by the manufacturer and measured for the vehicle over the complete test cycle. This value is intended to be the value reported on the RAV to determine a manufacturer’s interim emissions value under Section 16 of the NVES Act. As Appendix A and the equivalent UN Regulations do not require carbon dioxide emissions to be tested for pure electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, because they produce zero carbon dioxide emissions when the vehicle is operating, manufacturers are expected to record a value of zero on the RAV, if the vehicle is a pure electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

If the vehicle is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle subclause 5.2.3 also requires the manufacturer to also record the carbon dioxide emissions value declared by the manufacturer and measured for the vehicle over the complete test cycle in charge sustaining mode (when the battery is low and the engine is required to operate) and battery range declared and measured for the vehicle over the complete test cycle. These values are used to determine the combined carbon dioxide emissions value over both modes of operation (electric and internal combustion).

Clause 5.3 specifies the equivalent supporting information requirements for vehicles tested to the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) or the equivalent US standard.

As these vehicles are required to report an NEDC equivalent carbon dioxide emissions value on the RAV to determine the manufacturer’s interim emissions value under Section 16 of the NVES Act, manufacturers supplying a vehicle tested to these standards are required to record the converted values determined in accordance with the Appendix B of this vehicle standard, as well as the values declared and measured for the vehicle over the original test cycle. As these standards do not require carbon dioxide emissions to be tested for pure electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, because they produce zero carbon dioxide when the vehicle is operating, manufacturers are expected to record a value of zero on the RAV, if the vehicle is a pure electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

1.                  Exemptions and Alternative Procedures

Exemptions

Clause 6.1 creates exemptions from some requirements of the United Nations (UN) vehicle regulation adopted as Appendix A of this vehicle standard. These parts of the UN Regulation are the provisions that are related to obtaining a Type Approval under the Agreement Concerning the Adoption of Harmonized Technical United Nations Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be Fitted and/or be Used on Wheeled Vehicles and the Conditions for Reciprocal Recognition of Approvals Granted on the Basis of these United Nations Regulations, done at Geneva, on 20 March 1958 (‘UN 1958 Agreement’), Australian Treaty Series 2000 No. 11.

These provisions are deemed not applicable because they are not required to obtain a vehicle type approval in the Australian context where the Commonwealth administers approvals through the Act and the Road Vehicle Standards Rules. Consequently, manufacturers supplying new vehicles to Australia are exempt from most administrative (non-technical) requirements of UN Regulation 101 (‘Uniform provisions concerning the approval of passenger cars powered by an internal combustion engine only, or powered by a hybrid electric power train with regard to the measurement of the emission of carbon dioxide and fuel consumption and/or the measurement of electric energy consumption and electric range, and of categories M1 and N1 vehicles powered by an electric power train only with regard to the measurement of electric energy consumption and electric range).

Clause 6.1 states that sections 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 and Annexes 1 to 5 of Appendix A are not applicable for the purposes of complying with ADR 114/00. This is because they refer to administrative requirements to obtain and maintain a Type Approval under the UN 1958 Agreement.

Alternative Procedures

Clause 6.2 states that reference UN Regulation No. 83, which underpins the laboratory test adopted in UN Regulation No. 101 is to be interpreted as Appendix A of ADR 79/04. ADR 79/04 adopts the technical requirements for UN Regulation No. 83, which is based on the NEDC drive cycle.

1.                  Alternative Standards

Clause 7 specifies alternative international standards vehicle manufacturers may use to determine the carbon dioxide emission values required by this ADR under clause 5.1.

Clause 7.1 permits manufacturers to test a vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with United Nations (UN) Regulation No. 101. This UN Regulation adopts the same laboratory tests adopted in Appendix A (known as the NEDC).

Clause 7.2 permits manufacturers to test a vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with UN Regulation No. 154. This Regulation adopts the WLTP.

Clause 7.3 permits manufacturers to test a vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with EU Regulation 2017/1151. This Regulation implements the Euro 6d and Euro 6e requirements in the European Union, which also use the WLTP

Clause 7.4 permits manufacturers to test a vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with EU Regulation 2025/1706. This Regulation implements the Euro 7 requirements in the European Union, which also use the WLTP.

Clause 7.5 permits manufacturers to test a vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with Title 40, Part 600 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations. This Regulation specifies equivalent US requirements for measuring carbon dioxide emissions.

Appendix A adopts the technical requirements of UN Regulation No. 101, which specifies a laboratory test for measuring fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emission, electric energy consumption and battery range based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). This is because the NVES targets for 2025 to 2029 are based on the NEDC, as this was the testing standard mandated at the time the NVES Act was passed by the Parliament in May 2024.

Appendix B specifies a method for manufacturers to calculate an NEDC equivalent carbon dioxide emissions value to report on the RAV, if the vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions have been tested in accordance with the WLTP or equivalent US test procedures. This Appendix was informed by technical analysis undertaken for the department by the International Council on Clean Transportation and is intended to enable vehicle models that comply with ADR 80/04 (Emission Control for Heavy Vehicles) via the Euro 6d, Euro 6e, Euro 7 or US EPA ‘Tier 3’ or ‘Tier 4’ standards to report an NEDC equivalent carbon dioxide emission without performance additional testing to the NEDC. This procedure is required because the NVES targets for 2025 to 2029 are based on the NEDC, as this was the testing standard mandated at the time the NVES Act was passed by the Parliament in May 2024. This permits vehicles that have only been tested to the WLTP to determine a corresponding result under the NEDC testing protocol without requiring those vehicles to be retested.

1.                        MATTERS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Section 12 of the Act allows the Minister to incorporate a broad range of documents, both as in force at a particular time and as in force from time to time, when making national vehicle standards. This ensures that Australia’s legislative framework is well-prepared for future developments in the international road vehicle space. ADR 114/00 makes use of this provision as specified below.

1.                  Other Legislative Instruments

Clause 4.2 refers to the Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 43/04 – Vehicle Configuration and Dimensions) 2006. The ADR specifies requirements for vehicle dimensions, such as length and width and how much the length of the rear of the vehicle can go past the rear wheels.

Clause 4.3 refers to the Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019. These rules specify the administrative requirements and conditions for suppliers to obtain an approval to supply a vehicle to the Australian market for use in transport.

Clauses 4.5 and 4.6 refer to Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 111/00 – Advanced Emission Control for Light Vehicles) 2024. This vehicle standard adopts fuel consumption and emissions testing requirements and terminology based on the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) adopted in UN Regulation No. 154.

Clause 4.6 also refers to the Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule Definitions and Vehicle Categories) 2005 (which may also be cited as the Australian Design Rule – Definitions and Vehicle Categories). This sets out definitions for many terms used in the ADRs, including the vehicle categories used in ADR applicability tables.

Clause 6.2 refers to Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 79/04 – Emission Control for Light Vehicles) 2011. This vehicle standard sets a range of emission control and testing requirements for light vehicle exhaust emissions.

The ADRs may be freely accessed online through the Federal Register of Legislation.  The website is www.legislation.gov.au.

In accordance with subsection 12 of the Act, each of these ADRs are incorporated as in force or existing from time to time.  The ellipses (…) indicates the version(s) (e.g. 00, 01 etc.) of the ADR in force at the time.

1.                  International Vehicle Regulations

United Nations Regulations and/or Resolutions

Clause 7.1 refers to 01 series of amendments to United Nations Regulation No. 101, Uniform provisions concerning the approval of passenger cars powered by an internal combustion engine only, or powered by a hybrid electric power train with regard to the measurement of the emission of carbon dioxide and fuel consumption and/or the measurement of electric energy consumption and electric range, and of categories M1 and N1 vehicles powered by an electric power train only with regard to the measurement of electric energy consumption and electric range,. This UN Regulation specifies a laboratory test for measuring fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emission, electric energy consumption and battery range based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).

Clause 7.2 and Clause 2 of Appendix B refer to United Nations Regulation No. 154 - Uniform provisions concerning the approval of light duty passenger and commercial vehicles with regards to criteria emissions, emissions of carbon dioxide and fuel consumption and/or the measurement of electric energy consumption and electric range (WLTP) as an acceptable alternative standard for measuring fuel consumption, energy consumption and range. This is the current UN Regulation for measuring fuel consumption, emissions, energy consumption and battery range based on testing to the WLTP.

Appendix A of this ADR (which adopts the text of UN Regulation No. 101) includes several references to other UN vehicle regulations and resolutions. Further information on these references can be found in table 1.

Table 1 – UN Vehicle Regulations and Resolutions referenced in Appendix A

UN Regulations can be freely accessed online through the UN World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29). The WP.29 website is www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp29.html.

In accordance with subsections 14(1)(b) and 14(2) of the Legislation Act 2003, each of these UN documents are incorporated as in force on the date this national road vehicle standard is made.

European Union (EU) Regulations

Clause 7.3 and Clause 2 of Appendix B refer to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2017/1151 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 1 June 2017 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information, amending Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 and Commission Regulation (EU) No 1230/2012 and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 as an acceptable alternative standard for measuring fuel consumption, energy consumption and range. This is the European regulation adopting the ‘Euro 6d’ and ‘Euro 6e’ emission requirements for light duty vehicles, which also mandate the measurement of fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and range in accordance with the WLTP.

Clause 7.4 and Clause 2 of Appendix B refer to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1706 of 25 July 2025 laying down rules, procedures and testing methodologies for the application of Regulation (EU) 2024/1257 as regards exhaust and evaporative emission type-approval of vehicles of categories M1 and N1 and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/683. This is the European regulation adopting the ‘Euro 7’ emission requirements for light duty vehicles, which also mandate the measurement of fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and range in accordance with the WLTP.

These European Union regulations may be freely accessed online through the EUR-Lex website. The English version of the EUR-Lex website eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en.

In accordance with subsections 14(1)(b) and 14(2) of the Legislation Act 2003, the EU regulation is incorporated as in force on the date this national road vehicle standard is made.

United States Code of Federal Regulations (US CFR)

Clause 7.5 and Clause 2 of Appendix B refer to Title 40 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations, Part 600 – Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emissions of Motor Vehicles. This is the equivalent US standards for the fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and range.

The US CFR may be freely accessed online at https://www.ecfr.gov/.

In accordance with subsections 14(1)(b) and 14(2) of the Legislation Act 2003, this standard is incorporated as in force on the date this national road vehicle standard is made.

1.                  Technical standards

Appendix A (which adopts the text of UN Regulation No. 101) includes a number of references to technical standards developed by organisations. These are:

-          International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

-          Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE)

-          International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

Table 2 contains a list of the standards referenced in Appendix A.

Table 2 – Technical standards referenced in Appendix A

ISO, and IEC Technical Standards are available for purchase from Intertek Inform (formerly SAI Global). Intertek Inform’s website is: https://www.intertekinform.com/en-au/.

SAE standards can be purchased from www.sae.org.

While not freely available, these standards are all readily accessible and widely used by vehicle manufacturers and test facilities as part of their professional libraries. Subject to copyright conditions, people may also view a copy of these documents at the Offices of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts in Canberra.

Section 49 of the explanatory memorandum for the Road Vehicle Standards Bill 2018 explains the importance of being able to incorporate technical standards that are not available free of charge and this arrangement was accepted by the Parliament through the passing of the Road Vehicle Standards Bill 2018.

In accordance with subsections 14(1)(b) and 14(2) of the Legislation Act 2003, each of these standards are incorporated as in force on the date this national road vehicle standard is made.

1.                        CONSULTATION
   1.                  General Consultation Arrangements

It has been longstanding practice to consult widely on proposed new or amended vehicle standards. For many years, there has been active cooperation between the Commonwealth and the state/territory governments, as well as consultation with industry and consumer groups. Much of the consultation takes place within institutional arrangements established for this purpose.

1.                  Specific Consultation Activities

This ADR was developed in consultation with a dedicated Emissions Testing Technical Working Group established by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications Sport and the Arts (the department) to support the implementation of the NVES. This working group, which was open to participation by all stakeholders, involved 50 members representing vehicle manufacturers, technical experts and peak bodies representing dealers and motoring groups, and met 20 times between August 2024 and August 2025.

A public consultation on the proposed testing requirements for cars, SUVs and utes up to 4.5t GVM was also undertaken by publishing a notice on the ‘Have your say’ page of the department’s website from December 2024 to February 2025. During this consultation, climate groups and electric vehicle advocates supported extending the proposed testing requirements to cars, SUVs and utes up 4.5 tonnes GVM as soon as possible. However, vehicle manufacturers raised concerns that this would impose a unique testing requirement that has not be adopted in other countries and would not allow sufficient time for affected manufacturers to comply without stopping the sale of affected models.

To address these concerns, the scope of the proposed ADR 114/00 was revised to only require cars, SUVs and utes that would be regarded as light duty vehicles in the United States (vehicles with a gross vehicle mass up to 8,500 pounds or 3,855kg) to comply with a carbon dioxide emissions testing requirement from 30 June 2027, to enable their inclusion in the NVES from 1 July 2027.

This revised proposal was released for further consultation with international stakeholders through a ‘Technical Barriers to Trade’ notification to the World Trade Organisation from 3 December 2025 to 12 January 2026. Further changes to the draft ADR were made in response to comments received from stakeholders representing US and Chinese vehicle manufacturers, to clarify which vehicle types are exempt from the proposed testing requirements.

Further consultation is proposed to consider what testing requirements should be adopted for cars, SUVs and utes with a GVM between 3,855 and 4,500kg to enable their inclusion in the NVES from 2030.

1.                        Regulatory Impact

An impact analysis was prepared on the introduction of a new vehicle efficiency standard, based on the feedback received from stakeholders and the Australian public on a discussion paper released for comment in 2023 and a draft impact analysis released from comment in 2024. The Office of Impact Analysis assessed the impact analysis and determined that it was good practice and met Australian Government best practice regulation requirements (OBPR22-03502).

The impact analysis, which anticipated that cars, SUVs and utes up to 4.5 tonnes GVM would be counted in assessments of compliance under the NVES Act from 1 July 2025 found Australians would accrue around $86 billion in net benefits and $95 billion in fuel savings by 2050. At that time, the NVES was expected to deliver emissions abatement of about 321 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050, and about 80 million tonnes of CO2 abatement by 2035.

As the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Determination 2024 (Exemption Determination) adopted in December 2024 delayed the inclusion of vehicles over 3.5 tonnes GVM in assessments of compliance under the NVES Act, the number of vehicles covered by the NVES from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2027 will be 2.5% lower than anticipated in the impact analysis.

Once this ADR and the associated changes to the Exemption Determination have been implemented, it is anticipated the number of vehicles covered by the NVES from 1 July 2027 will be 1.25% lower than anticipated in the impact analysis. Further changes proposed to reduce the number of vehicles exempt from the NVES from 2030 will reduce the impacts of these exemptions on the anticipated costs and benefits of the NVES.

As this ADR is required to support the implementation of the NVES as foreshadowed in the Impact Analysis, the Office of Impact Analysis has advised that a detailed Impact Analysis was not required for this instrument (OIA25-09649).

1.                        STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

The following Statement is prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

1.                  Overview

ADR 114/00 specifies requirements for measuring and reporting information on a vehicle’s fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and range.

1.                  Human Rights Implications

ADR 114/00 engages the following rights and freedoms declared by the international instruments set out in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth.). This Rule positively engages article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.  

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

Article 12 – The right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. 

The right to health is positively engaged by this vehicle standard by enabling the protection of the environment by specifying a procedure to measure carbon dioxide emissions for vehicles covered by this vehicle standard. This will indirectly protect human and environmental health by enabling the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions produced by these vehicles. The ICESCR states that the right to health extends to the underlying determinants of health, including the promotion of a healthy environment.

1.                  Conclusion

This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights because it positively promotes and engages human rights.